Virginia Biano Mathis

The open fire of the title is a warm hearth, not an invitation to gunplay. On this 1959 album, Johnny Mathis creates an atmosphere of fireside intimacy by dispensing with his usual orchestral accompaniment so that the purity of his voice entices the listener's full attention. Al Caiola and Tony Mattola play the two guitars that supplement Mathis' crooning, with an upright bass providing the album's only other instrument. Producer Mitch Miller is often associated with gimmicky or novelty productions, but his work on Open Fire, Two Guitars is perfectly understated, emphasizing the gentle caress of Mathis' voice over the relaxed counterpoint of the two guitars. The songs give prominence to the pop standards of Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, and the Gershwins, but the title track, "Open Fire," is a new composition by Leiber & Stoller. The album's effect seems nearly a cappella at times, but "In the Still of the Night" finds Mathis intoning the lyrics over gently rhythmic guitar figures that educe new harmonic complexities from a well-known song. The enduring popularity of Open Fire, Two Guitars is attributable in part to its hypnotic aura of closeness and confidentiality, but also to the simple instrumentation that appeals to many rock-era listeners' preference for guitars over orchestral arrangements.
Review by Greg Adams @ Allmusic

Reed Mathis has announced the release of Beathoven due September 30 on Royal Potato Family. The revered bassist extraordinaire is best known for his work with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Tea Leaf Green and Billy & the Kids (led by the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann) among numerous others, but his first love was always Ludwig van Beethoven. With this debut release under his own name, Mathis did the unthinkable and fused all of his worlds together, bringing old world masterpieces by the classical composer to today's premiere musical improvisors and updating their arrangements for a modern jam band. The result is the world's first CDM ("classical dance music") ensemble.

Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole is a soundtrack album released in the UK in 1983 by the CBS Records division of Columbia in conjunction with the broadcast of American pop singer Johnny Mathis's BBC television concert special of the same name that featured Cole's daughter Natalie. The front of the original album jacket credits the concert performers as "Johnny Mathis and Natalie Cole", whereas the CD booklet reads, "Johnny Mathis with special guest Natalie Cole".

Ondine's successful Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) recordings with the NDR Sinfonieorchester conducted by Christoph Eschenbach continue with another release featuring two major symphonic works by the composer: Symphonie ‘Mathis der Maler' and Symphonie in E-flat. The orchestra's and Christoph Eschenbach's previous Hindemith release together with Midori won a Grammy Award in 2014. The ‘Mathis der Maler' Symphony is based on an opera that treats the life of the Renaissance painter Mathias Grünewald. Hindemith started to work on the symphony already prior to the completion of the opera. The symphony was premiered with great success by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler on 12 March 1934. Hindemith wrote his Symphonie in E-flat during his exile in the United States in 1940. The Symphony is absolute music in the tradition of the four-movement symphony of Beethoven and the romantic period.

"The Hits of Johnny Mathis" is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in the UK in 1992 by Columbia Records and has three of his UK singles chart entries ("Misty", "I'm Stone in Love with You", and his 1981 duet remake of "When a Child Is Born" with Gladys Knight). This collection, however, focuses primarily on his covers of hits from the late 1960s through the 1970s.

For Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville, Johnny assembled a handpicked group of the finest musicians in Nashville to record an album that is devoid of modern studio tricks. The tracks which include What a Wonderful World featuring Lane Brody and Let it be me featuring Alison Krauss were recorded live in the studio over the course of a week. The approach to these country standards is sympathetic to the original arrangements, the manner in which the players musically interrelate allows for a refreshing openness and transparency that supports, but never overwhelms the vocal performance. Mathis in Nashville makes the point that sometimes simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication.

Johnny Mathis is teamed with producer, arranger, and writer Thom Bell and his cohort, lyricist Linda Creed. Both became very popular for their works with the Spinners, Stylistics, and others. On this outing, Bell applies his ubiquitous arrangements to the dulcet yet captivating vocals of Mathis. The album did spawn one single in the title track, "I'm Coming Home." It peaked on the Billboard R&B and pop charts at 92 and 75, respectively. Its flow is as beguiling as a cool summer's night. Mathis even provides his own renditions of the seldom heard "I'm Stone in Love with You," "Life Is a Song Worth Singing," and "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)."

The early 1970s was a tough time for established ballad singers, but Johnny Mathis, who was younger than his peers and Columbia Records labelmates like Tony Bennett and Andy Williams, weathered the lean times better than most. Some of the reasons why are suggested in this 1973 album. It wasn't a big seller by any means, but this enjoyable, contemporary-sounding set made the charts. Basically, all Mathis did was turn on the radio and cut a bunch of soft rock and easy listening hits of the time the title song, a chart-topper for Roberta Flack, Bread's "Aubrey," Perry Como's "And I Love You So," the Stylistics' "Break Up to Make Up," Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)," Skylark's "Wildflower," Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," the Carpenters' "Sing," and Diana Ross' "Good Morning Heartache."