Henry Mancini

The first-ever album from Henry Mancini - and a wonderfully spooky set! The style here is quite different than most of Hank's better-known film work and instrumental hits - as the record is very moody and laidback - cut with a slow-moving, dreamy sort of darkness that's really compelling! The instrumentation is very unusual - a mix of organ, accordion, and guitar by Laurindo Almeida - all stepped gently along with some spare electric bass bits by Bob Bain, who really knows how to preserve a sense of space in the set. There's a bit of wordless vocals from the lovely Lulu Jean Norman - almost in modes that would show up later in Italian soundtracks - and although there's a bit of an exotica feel to the record, it's very slight, given the lack of any percussion or drums - and instead comes off with a very spooky dream-like quality.

The first-ever album from Henry Mancini - and a wonderfully spooky set! The style here is quite different than most of Hank's better-known film work and instrumental hits - as the record is very moody and laidback - cut with a slow-moving, dreamy sort of darkness that's really compelling! The instrumentation is very unusual - a mix of organ, accordion, and guitar by Laurindo Almeida - all stepped gently along with some spare electric bass bits by Bob Bain, who really knows how to preserve a sense of space in the set. There's a bit of wordless vocals from the lovely Lulu Jean Norman - almost in modes that would show up later in Italian soundtracks - and although there's a bit of an exotica feel to the record, it's very slight, given the lack of any percussion or drums - and instead comes off with a very spooky dream-like quality.

The Big Latin Band of Henry Mancini (1968). A great little album of Latiny tunes from Henry Mancini - played by a very hip lineup of west coast jazzmen! The rhythms have a great mix of Latin influences and Mancini magic - the kind of grooves you'd hear on his 60s soundtracks at the time, played by a lineup that includes Bud Shank and Tom Scott on reeds, Buddy Childers and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Ray Brown on acoustic bass, Max Bennett on fender bass, Larry Bunker on percussion, and Shelly Manne on drums. The vibe is nice and relaxed - a bit more upbeat than bossa, but not as all-out as other RCA Latin sessions - thanks to Mancini's nice sense of warmth and space in the arrangements…

The Big Latin Band of Henry Mancini (1968). A great little album of Latiny tunes from Henry Mancini - played by a very hip lineup of west coast jazzmen! The rhythms have a great mix of Latin influences and Mancini magic - the kind of grooves you'd hear on his 60s soundtracks at the time, played by a lineup that includes Bud Shank and Tom Scott on reeds, Buddy Childers and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Ray Brown on acoustic bass, Max Bennett on fender bass, Larry Bunker on percussion, and Shelly Manne on drums. The vibe is nice and relaxed - a bit more upbeat than bossa, but not as all-out as other RCA Latin sessions - thanks to Mancini's nice sense of warmth and space in the arrangements…

Henry Mancini really needs no introduction. His music is as much a part of the twentieth century as rock 'n' roll, the Lennon and McCartney partnership, jazz and the great American songbook. This Vocalion release compiles two albums from the later part of Mancini's more than twenty-year association with the RCA Victor label, and both show that he was more than able to 'get with it' in the funky 1970s. This is borne out in Mancini's Angels (1977), which, of course, is a paraphrase of 'Charlie's Angels', the massively popular US TV show that invited viewers into the glamorous world of a trio of beautiful female private detectives. In 1978 Henry Mancini and his orchestra were back in the studio to record The Theme Scene, another exploration of film and television music…