Shorty Rogers - The Wizard Of Oz

Attention: Opposite to the slogan "Living Stereo" on the jacket, this release is NOT stereo, but Mono only!

Shorty Rogers took the majority of numbers on this LP from the musical "The Wizard Of Oz", which Americans in the 1950s knew from Broadway and from the cinema. But to detect basic jazz improvisations within them and arrange these was a real challenge. To achieve the best possible result, it needed a man as brilliant as Shorty Rogers to tackle the score with a baton in his hand.

The six musical titles on Side A — all of which Judy Garland sang, performed, and virtually embodied and which, of course, were all smash hits — offer a wonderful opportunity for elaborate improvisations by all soloists thanks to their simplicity, catchiness and lightheartedness. Worth special mention are "Ding Dong!" and "Over The Rainbow," with the delightful miniature piano concerto by Pete Jolly.

The five numbers on the B Side are all well known to jazz fans, and have been for many years, because Harold Arlen contributed repertoire to the Great American Songbook. "Blues In The Night" is not quite 'black' enough — but that's only logical since they were white West-Coast musicians, and not from Harlem. But otherwise all the numbers have that famed cool drive, which audiences under the warm Californian sun so loved in the '50s and '60s.

Both sides of this LP are proof positive that Shorty Rogers and His Giants perform music that swings. And who's to say that such music shouldn't be jolly and fun?

Recording: February 1959 at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood
Production: Dick Peirce

 

Side 1

We're Off To See The Wizard

Over the Rainbow

Jitterbug

Merry Old Land of Oz

If I Only Had a Brain

Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead

Side 2

My Shining Hour

Get Happy

Blues In The Night

Let's Fall In Love

That Old Black Magic

Customer Reviews (3.00 Stars) 2 person(s) rated this product.

Classic, fun album with horrible mastering!! posted on 09/17/2016 1 Stars Reviewer: Rudy (at Record Collector Guide) I will warn you right now that the mastering on this sonic turd is deplorable. The cover is emblazoned with the Living Stereo logo, yet the record inside is frickin' mono! I own both the original mono and Living Stereo pressings of this on RCA, along with a CD release by RCA Spain, and let me tell you that this is the absolute worst I've ever heard it. The high frequencies are a dead giveaway that something is amiss--to me, it sounds as though the stereo were folded down to mono using a misaligned tape head; the highs suffer from classic azimuth alignment issues. The RCA mono is clear as a bell. The stereo is the same, yet has that wonderful Living Stereo spread that graces other RCAs from that era. The music is a blast, though--Rogers puts his West Coast arrangements to a side of Wizard of Oz tunes, with another side of Harold Arlen tunes. (And how often do you hear a contrabass sax in a big band??) Cool music. Too bad it is ruined by the label's awful mastering.

Fun record posted on 09/09/2013 5 Stars Reviewer: JeffB I knew the name of Shorty Rogers, but not his music. I went to another site to hear some samples and decided to take a chance on this. It's a lot of fun with some really good big band arrangements. Plus the pressing and mastering is really good too. If you're looking for a jazz album with a different flavor to it, give this one a try.

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