George Shearing: Jazz Piano Legend: 1919-2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

SONGS I LOVE:

Gone! One of the greatest musicians, truly. I often listened to him in the 50s on the family radio and was the first time I heard Lullaby Of Birdland. The radio announcer (we call them DJs now) would always say, "Ladies and gentlemen, here's the George Shearing Quintet with, Lullaby Of Birdland." It could be from the BBC? Can't remember.

PARKER, ARMSTRONG, ELLINGTON:

It was one of the first few jazz standards I was introduced to, composed by Shearing himself in 1952. I later found out that the title referred to Charlie 'Bird' Parker, another jazz great who was together with Louis Armstrong and 'Duke' Ellington.

COLE, LEE, TORME:

Britisher Sir George Shearing, who was blind, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II lately. He was one of the best jazz pianist and concert performer having recorded over 300 songs. Legends who had appeared and recorded with him would include Nat King Cole (image), Miss Peggy Lee and Mel Torme.

UNIQUE SHEARING SOUND:

As a teenager he received only 3 years of formal training at a school for the blind. He was a natural and his musical education came from listening to Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. He developed the special 'Shearing sound' characterised by the distinctive sound of the Glen Miller big band.

SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN:

Also recorded by Shearing, Russ Hamilton and so many others, September In The Rain (1937), is another personal favourite. His repertoire of songs would definitely have been played in the dance cabarets of the Great World, Happy (Gay) World and New World amusement parks in Singapore in the late 50s and 60s in Singapore.

Images: Google Search.

Original Article (Website/Newspaper Information): Andy Lim

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Harry Martinez Students - Star Gazers (Pt II)

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Image: clockwise/left: Peter Chan, Wilfred, Richard Yoong, Edwin, Tommy (Drums).

"We studied for 2 years at St. Thomas School and had our band practices at 618 North Bridge Road. Our band was under the tutorship of Harry Martinez at Siglap Road. The group lasted for almost 4 years, from about 1964 to 1968.

We called ourseves "Wilfred & The Stargazers". Wilfred, a journalist and the lead singer had a voice like Tom Jones.

The band had another vocalist, a female Chinese who had a repertoire of Mandarin & Cantonese numbers but I cannot remember her name.

Star Gazers played Japanese & Malay songs too and with our versatility, we performed most instrumental dance melodies using the rhythm and beat popular in the mid-sixties. These included off-beat cha cha, rock, mambo, twist, waltz, fox trot, a-go go, hala hala and tango.

We came into the limelight after winning the Big Beat Contest at the Great World Park in Kim Seng Road and secured some television and recording contracts. We played at night clubs, tea dances, weddings, birthday parties, variety shows and at the Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar Road.

Our recording of four instrumental numbers, White Cloud, Horn Pipe, The Lark and Sunday, a contract with Teo Kwang Record Company near the former Cathay Cinema, exposed us to the pop 60s scene in Singapore and we enjoyed the celebrity status those years accorded."

STARGAZERS, RICHARD WANTS TO MEET YOU ALL AGAIN. GET IN TOUCH!

Article edited/Image: Richard Yoong Collection.

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(2) Songs, Music & Dances In Singapore 40s Slow Fox Trot Waltz, Swinging Before The 60s

Monday, December 21, 2009

ENTERTAINMENT IN SINGAPORE BEFORE THE 60:

The crowds were there during the weekends and the tea-dances were usually filled to the brim. Weekdays would bring in a small crowd to these cabarets but the prices of tickets were not as expensive. And the imported music? Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby melodies, playing to the rhythm of rag-time, boogie-woogie, honky-tonk and of course jazz. The floor was crowded when the orchestra played the blues and dance music in slow-fox trot and waltz. The reason is obvious.

(*Beginning in the late 1920s, dancers in the US enjoyed doing an energetic dance they called the Lindy-Hop. Critics called these gyrating dancers 'jitter-bugs (image)', and in the late 30s the name was applied to the dance itself. What was now known as the Jitterbug was also called Swing, and would remain popular into the 40s.

*There were also many popular dances in the 30s, including the sophisticated Continental and Carioca, the carefree Lambeth Walk and Big Apple, and the Latin-inspired Rumba and Conga.

*In the late 30s, jazz that was written for dancing broke off into its own musical style... swing music. Performed by big bands, swing would become the most popular music style in the 40s.)

The song list played in these cabarets might include: April In Paris, The Way You Look Tonight, Goody Goody, Ebb Tide, Harbour Lights, Lullaby Of Broadway, I'm In The Mood For Love, It's Only A Paper Moon, Lady Of Spain, All Of Me, etc.

In Singapore, with some influence from HK, Shanghai and Malay culture, the cabarets would have a mix of the West and the East and the locals songs might include the ones sung by our 40s Shanghai ladies ( Zhou Xuan, Wu Yingyin, etc), peppered with the ronggeng, samba, rhumba, Latin music and old Malay songs.

Image: http://www.semaphoresa.com/

*Reference for 3 paragraphs: http://www.angelfire.com/

Original article: Andy Lim Collection

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(1) Singapore Tea Dances In The Late 30's - Live Music, Entertainment And Cabaret

ENTERTAINMENT IN SINGAPORE BEFORE THE 60s:

Tea-dances didn't start in the 60s with The Trailers at the Palace Theatre in Katong, East Coast Singapore nor did it start with The Checkmates at the Golden Venus nightclub at the end of the shopping strip at Orchard Road. Tea-dances were around way before the 40s. And with a poster to prove.

The orchestra, with at least 8 musicians, used to be called "live" because they were all on stage providing the swingingest music ever. If one looks at the year, it was 1939 and way before the Japanese decided to make our beautiful country its island gateway - about 22 years before Cliff Richard and The Shadows landed in Singapore.

There is a difference though, because, at this tea dance, one had to pay for a female dance partner as patrons were not allowed to bring female companions. For S$3.00 (expensive!) a patron would get 3 tickets to dance thrice with whoever he wished. Male friends would go as a group and buy beer for the night, sitting at tables provided in the cabaret.

The 20 or more "charming dancing partners (image)" in waiting would be sitting in a row in front of the orchestra. Blogger has been told that some cheeky patrons would place the ticket stub on the low-cut dresses of these ladies. A dance usually lasted about 3 minutes ie, the duration of the music. Remarks made after the gentlemen returned to their seats? "One dollar gone!" Those who just wanted a drink,"the first class bar" mentioned in the poster provided the water-hole.

Image: National Heritage Board, Singapore.

Original Article: Andy Lim Collection.

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(1) Sincerely Learning The Blues, Cherry Pink, Yellow Rose, Autumn Leaves, Let Me Go Lover

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

(1) TOP TUNES INFLUENCE: 1955/1956. First in this series of 8 postings:

It is important to realise that Postings 1 - 7 under Top Tunes Influence is written to explain that the songs featured on the music charts in the mid-50s have in many ways shaped Singapore 60s music. Surfers need to realise that Cliff Richard just didn't materialise from thin air and appeared at the Badminton Stadium with his Shadows.

My own ideas revealed:

Like most teenagers who love pop music, the mid-50s in Singapore was an exciting time for them especially if their home radio was tuned to English language broadcasts. In 1955, when the rock n roll era began, the following songs were heard often on the radio.

Let Me Go Lover - Joan Weber
Sincerely - McGuire Sisters
The Ballad Of Davy Crockett - Fess Parker
Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado/Orchestra
Unchained Melody - Les Baxter
Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Learnin' The Blues - Frank Sinatra
The Yellow Rose Of Texas - Mitch Miller & His Orchestra
Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing - Four Aces
Autumn Leaves - Nat King Cole (1956)
Sixteen Tons - Tennesse Ernie Ford

Autumn Leaves, Learning The Blues, Let Me Go Lover, Sincerely, Unchained Melody and A Many Splendoured Thing had English-educated women, swooning as they listened to these tunes from the kitchen. These songs were categorised under 'sentimental love songs'.

Splendoured Thing had patrons rushing to the cinemas to watch William Holden and Jennifer Jones hold hands and fall in love. Sighs and theme music mingled in the cinema halls as the images kissed (image). Cabarets at the amusement 'Worlds' were playing the same tunes to crowded dance floors.

Cherry Pink and Yellow Rose were being whistled all over the country as listeners fell in love with the Latin flavour of the first and the marching beat of the second.

Image: http://www.thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/

Original article: Andy Lim Collection.

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