Lou Stein - Lou Stein at Large! (1953)

"Poinciana (Song of the Tree)" by Lou Stein Trio

Tonight! America After Dark had a series of house bands as it did hosts. The Lou Stein Trio started with the new late-night experiment, and Lou himself had some past history with Al "Jazzbo" Collins. Before either's tenure with Tonight!, Lou Stein provided the backing jazz for a couple of Collins's bebop fairytales while Collins wrote the liner notes for Lou Stein's debut album Lou Stein at Large! released in 1953 on Brunswick Records.

It's true what the album says: Lou Stein is at large! After bassist Bob Carter gets a couple bars to solo on "You Stepped Out of a Dream," you don't hear much special from him again and never anything but perfunctory percussion (on drums or bongos) from Cliff Leeman. The rest is Lou Stein. Lou's style of jazz is rudimentary. He hugs the original material closely, filling in as much of the time-space as he can with whatever arpeggiations, and doesn't have such an engaging style to make any interpretation a must-listen. So instead, a little structuring and genre fusion build the noteworthy tracks. A close listen reveals a busy left hand that consistently plays something close to a boogie-woogie rhythm while overtop is a melody that can at times bring in adept classical flourishes, extended minor chord progressions, latin touches and cocktail lounge solos. The most interesting songs combine everything together in "sections" divided by time signature changes. But "interesting" doesn't mean much here, Lou Stein is doing something jazzy but doesn't bring these arrangements and touches to a whole. And those are the good tracks ("Poinciana (Song of the Tree)," "Tenderly," "Carioca,") the rest are just—and this seems to be a recent Tour trend—background jazz and so much filler.

Note: This was another album not available online (but for the "Poinciana" single and "Tenderly" B-side.) I bought a used vinyl for this entry, and I hit lucky with a record that was once Jazzbo's own personal copy. It has his unique Jazzbo signature/caricature stamp and is dedicated and signed by Lou Stein himself: "To MY MAN JAZZBO 'THE ABSOLTE [sic]! WHAT CAN I SAY.' Lou Stein (orch)"

Here is the discography surrounding Lou Stein's debut album:

Poinciana (Song of the Tree) (1953 single as the Lou Stein Trio)

Lou Stein at Large!

"Tenderly" by Lou Stein Trio

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LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra - Alone Together (1953)

"Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)" by LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra

When Ernie Kovacs got his two days to host Tonight! he got to work with his own orchestra. Where Steve Allen employed Skitch Henderson, Ernie worked with LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra. Starting his career as a songwriter and arranger, Holmes then signed—after World War II when he was a pilot and flight instructor—with MGM Music Studios as a record producer where he'd arrange and conduct backing music for MGM stars. A benefit of leading a house band meant that LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra got to release their own singles and their first album Alone Together in 1953 on MGM Records.

Singles are where LeRoy Holmes shines as an arranger and bandleader. From 1950 to 1953, his orchestra releases the variety of music you'd expect from a versatile house band: uptempo dance music, slow dance music, ballads, dixieland, popular songs, classics, novelty and throwback World War II propaganda songs all by way of a Big Band. Cleverly arranged with layered brasses, generous with solos (even if the soloists go nameless,) and with a rhythm section dominated by a driven bass, the singles make for memorable and danceable instrumental hits. When there's a singer to take the lead, the musical interplay can be even more fun like with the playful guitar dancing around Elly Russell's voice on "The Lately Song."

There are no singers on the album though. Alone Together is all instrumentals of songs by Howard Deitz and Arthur Schwartz. In a short eight song set, the orchestra doesn't aspire to be more than forgettable background music. The arrangements are simple and the same general formula is applied across all eight songs: alternating bars and tones between sleepy strings, blaring trumpets and a selection of deeper, melodic brass. There is some interplay between the sections but not enough to make for exciting listening, and sometimes the layering is non-existent like in "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan." The occasional soloists make for the most dynamic part of the arrangements but are just part of the arrangements and lack any surprise or personality. The songs themselves are classics and hard to do wrong, but the album opts instead to do nothing with them at all.

Note: Normally, I'd include a link to a song from the album in the post, but Alone Together has yet to be digitized. All the songs linked to in this Tour stop are singles released before the album.

Note 2: It's either LeRoy Holmes or Leroy Holmes. Or both. I couldn't come to a definitive answer. I chose LeRoy because a few of his early singles list him as such, but everything after is labeled all in uppercase and so: inconclusive.

Here is the discography surrounding Leroy Holmes and His Orchestra's debut album:

The Sheik of Araby (1950 single)

When You Wore a Tulip (And I Wore a Big Red Rose) (1950 single)

The Billboard March (1951 single)

I Shall Return (1951 single)

In a Persian Market (1951 single)

In Your Arms (1951 single)

Little League (1951 single)

Make Believe Land (1951 single)

Old Soldiers Never Die (1951 single)

Pretty Little Bells (1951 single)

Pretty Polly Polka (1951 single)

This Is the Time of Year (1951 single)

Baia (1952 single)

The Gypsy in My Soul (1952 single)

I'll Walk Alone (1952 single)

Idaho (1952 single)

Isn't This a Night for Love (1952 single)

Would You (1952 single)

Alone Together

Songs by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz: Dancing in the Dark (1953 EP)

Brazil (Aquarela Do Brasil) (1953 single)

Caravan (1953 single)

I'll Be Hangin' Around (1953 single)

Serenade (1953 single)

"The Sheik of Araby" by LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra

"The Billboard March" by LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra

"Isn't This a Night for Love" by LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra

"The Lately Song" by LeRoy Holmes and His Orchestra

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Axel Stordahl - Dreamtime - The Strings of Stordahl (1953)

"Carefree" by Axel Stordahl and His Orchestra


When Frank Sinatra broke away from Tommy Dorsey to start his solo career, he brought along the longtime and popular Dorsey arranger Axel Stordahl to be his music director for radio and records to the big screen.  Axel's success with Sinatra made him the go-to arranger for other musicians in the Capitol Records lineup and even gave him the opportunity to release his own albums.  Axel Stordahl's debut album Dreamtime - The Strings of Stordahl came out in 1953 on Capitol.

Here is the discography surrounding Axel Stordahl's debut album:

Foolish Tears (1950 single with His Orchestra)
Sadie Thompson's Song (1953 single with His Orchestra)
Carefree (1953 single with His Orchestra)
The Piccolino (1953 single with His Orchestra)
Dreamtime - The Strings of Stordahl

Dreamtime - The String of Stordahl by Axel Stordahl


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The Quintet - Jazz at Massey Hall (1953)

Jazz at Massey Hall by The Quintet


Max Roach was the drummer for a makeshift, one-night-only quintet that performed at Massey Hall in Toronto on May 15, 1953.  It featured five of bebop's pioneering musicians on their respective instruments: the aforementioned Max Roach, Charles Mingus on bass, Bud Powell on piano, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, and Charlie Parker (billed as "Charlie Chan" for contractual reasons) on alto saxophone.  Billing themselves as "The Quintet" and the concert as "the greatest jazz concert ever", Jazz at Massey Hall came out on in 1953 on Debut Records, the record label founded by Max Roach and Charles Mingus.

Here is the complete discography for The Quintet:

Jazz at Massey Hall
Complete Jazz at Massey Hall (2004 album reissue)

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Léo Ferré - Léo Ferré (1953)

"Paris Canaille" by Léo Ferré


Jean Gabin had another narrator role in a radio play, De sacs et de cordes, written and orchestrated in 1951 by a young, unproven songwriter named Léo Ferré.  It took another two years of song-peddling before Ferré secured a recording contract with Odeon.  His debut album Léo Ferré released in 1953 and the single Paris Canaille helped him break out as one of France's leading songwriters of chansons.

Here is the discography surrounding Léo Ferré's debut album:

Le Chanson du scaphandrier (1950 single)
Le Bateau espagnol (1950 single)
Monsieur Tout-Blanc (1950 single)
Le Flamenco de Paris (1950 single)
L'Inconnue de  Londres (1950 single)
L'Esprit de famille (1950 single)
Monsieur William (1950 single)
De sacs et de cordes (1951 radio play)
Léo Ferré
Martha la mule (1953 single)
Paris Canaille (1953 single)

"Monsieur William" by Léo Ferré


"Le Chanson du scaphandrier" by Léo Ferré


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Fred Astaire - The Astaire Story (1953)

"Puttin' on the Ritz" by Fred Astaire


Fred Astaire and George Gershwin became friends when Fred was still a teen and trying, with his sister Adele, to break from Vaudeville, where they grew up, to Broadway.  Gershwin eventually wrote for Fred and Adele in a couple of his Broadway musicals Lady, Be Good and Funny Face.  After over a decade on Broadway and with a hit record under his belt, Fred "graduated" (while Adele retired) to movies where he led the reinvention of the Hollywood musical.  The long-playing record (our unit of measurement on this blog) was non-existent in those days so Fred Astaire made his greatest impact as a singer on singles and celluloid.  Come 1953 after a nearly five-decade career, Fred Astaire paired up with Oscar Peterson and his band to freshly record every significant song of his career in a modern, wizen-voiced, and laid-back fashion.  The recordings were released as The Astaire Story.

Here is the discography surrounding Fred Astaire's debut album:

Oh Gosh Oh Gee (1923 single with Adele Astaire)
Fascinating Rhythm (1926 single with Adele Astaire)
Hang on to Me (1926 single with Adele Astaire)
Swiss Miss (1926 single with Adele Astaire)
Funny Face (1928 single with Adele Astaire)
High Hat (1928 single)
Not My Girl (1929 single)
Puttin' on the Ritz (1930 single)
The Band Wagon (1931 experimental recording with Adele Astaire)
I Love Louisa (1931 single)
Night and Day (1933 single)
Flying Down to Rio (1934 single)
Cheek to Cheek (1935 single)
Isn't It a Lovely Day? (1935 single)
Never Gonna Dance (1936 single)
The Way You Look Tonight (1936 single)
Change Partners (1937 single)
They All Laughed (1937 single)
Nice Work if You Can Get It (1937 single)
They Can't Take That Away from Me (1937 single)
Things Are Looking Up (1937 single)
The Yam (1938 single)
So Near and Yet So Far (1941 single)
Dream Dancing (1941 single)
I'll Capture Your Heart (1942 single with Bing Crosby)
Holiday Inn (1942 soundtrack album)
Blue Skies (1946 soundtrack album)
Medley from the Film "Three Little Words" (1950 single with Red Skelton)
Easter Parade (1950 soundtrack album with Judy Garland)
How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life (1951 single)
Royal Wedding (1951 soundtrack album with Jane Powell)
Dancing in the Dark (1952 single)
Bachelor Dinner Song (1952 single)
The Belle of New York (1952 soundtrack album)
I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan (1953 single)
The Band Wagon (1953 soundtrack album)
The Astaire Story
Sluefoot (1955 single)
The Best of Fred Astaire (1955 compilation album)
Fred Astaire (1955 compilation album)
Cheek to Cheek (1956 EP)
Mr. Top Hat (1956 compilation album)

"Fascinating Rhythm" by Fred and Adele Astaire


"Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire


"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" by Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers


"How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life" by Fred Astaire & Jane Powell


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The Cal Tjader Trio - The Cal Tjader Trio (1953)

"Chopsticks Mambo" by The Cal Tjader Trio


The Dave Brubeck Trio featured the percussion art of Cal Tjader who played the drums and vibraphone, but also stood out for bringing bongos and other traditional latin and african instruments to the West Coast jazz scene.

Cal Tjader's work with Brubeck brought him rapid notice but an unfortunate accident ended the trio's work suddenly.  Tjader went on to record and tour with bandleaders like George Shearing and Alvino Rey.  He also formed his own trio and recorded his first 10" record for Fantasy Records.  His band featured bassist Jack Weeks and pianist John Marabuto (on Side A) and newcomer Vince Guaraldi (on Side B).  The Cal Tjader Trio came out in 1953.

Here is the discography surrounding Cal Tjader's debut album:

The Cal Tjader Trio

"Three Little Words" by The Cal Tjader Trio


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Tom Lehrer - Songs by Tom Lehrer (1953)

"Be Prepared" by Tom Lehrer


Both Dr. Roger S. Payne and musical satirist Tom Lehrer graduated from Harvard.  Lehrer, in fact, graduated with an AB in mathematics by the age of 19 in 1946 and an MA degree the year after.  In his time not spent studying, Tom would write humorous, satirical songs to entertain his friends.  He would extend these private revues to playing local nightclubs to great appreciation while still teaching mathematics at Harvard, MIT, and Wellesley.  Encouraged by the positive feedback, Lehrer would record an independent album Songs by Tom Lehrer in 1953 and sell it locally around Harvard.  His songs did not get any radio airplay, however, because of the delicate and risque subject matters they covered.  Still, his music grew in popularity through word-of-mouth and was spread out enough to warrant concert tours.

Here is the discography surrounding Tom Lehrer's debut album:

Songs by Tom Lehrer

"National Brotherhood Week" and "When You Are Old and Gray" by Tom Lehrer


"The Irish Ballad" by Tom Lehrer


"I Wanna Go Back to Dixie" by Tom Lehrer

"I Hold Your Hand in Mine" by Tom Lehrer

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