Decameron Nights 1953

Arnold Schönberg. Austrian composer and painter, best known as the (putative) innovator of the twelve-tone technique. Leader of the Second Viennese School…

Autumn in New York (1950). An early LP for Jo Stafford (and the LP format itself), 1950's Autumn in New York assembled a dozen standards set at ballad tempo and arranged with crying strings by Stafford's primary arranger (and husband), Paul Weston. Most of them were show tunes, some dating back to the '20s, and all seemed tailor-made for Stafford's sweet, pure tone and way with a lovelorn lyric. The title song and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" earned pride of place, but there simply wasn't a deficient tune in the bunch - "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Just One of Those Things" - and Stafford treated them all with the reverence and devotion they deserve…

This LP contains two broadcasts featuring Charlie Parker at Boston's Storyville club in 1953. one set finds him accompanied by the Red Garland Trio (two years before Garland became famous playing with Miles Davis) while the other one also features trumpeter Herb Pomeroy and a trio led by pianist Sir Charles Thompson. The recording quality is just so-so but Bird was in fine form for these sessions, playing hot versions of his usual repertoire.