MERCURY. e IMPRESSIONS OF DUKE ELLINGTON ° BILLY BYERS e PPS 6028
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ORIGINALLY RECORDED ON 35 MM MAGNETIC FILM
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f:35° Perfect-Presence Sound marks a new film . q Ly BY FE RS
breakthrough in sound engineering. Only Mercury’s
f:35° recording technique can achieve “infinite
depth” in the widest range of authentic sound
possible. Original recording made on 35 mm film.
Engineering Department
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Mercury
IMPRESSIONS OF DUKE ELLINGTON
arranged and conducted by
BILLY BYERS
This album—a rare fusion of singularly imaginative content and extraordinary accuracy and
range of sound reproduction—is, above all, one of the most challenging possible tests for an
arranger-orchestrator. Duke Ellington is not only the pre-eminent composer in jazz history
so far, but he has also developed a uniquely subtle orchestral language which has provided him
with an unparalleled scope f expressivity. For another writer to undertake an album of Elling-
ton compositions requires thorough technical competence and alert inventiveness.
Quincy Jones, who supervised this unusual musical experience, selected Billy Byers because,
as Quincy explains, ‘I knew Billy had so much ability as an orchestrator that he wouldn’t
have to worry about the technical end of the assignment. He succeeded brilliantly, and thereby
did honor not only to Duke, but to his own insufficiently recognized abilities.”
Temperamentally, Billy Byers resembles Ellington in his urbanity, mocking wit, and
cosmopolitan tastes. A widely experienced trombonist and arranger, Byers had spent part of
the past six years in Paris. He got to know Ellington well during the filming of Paris Blues,
for which Byers was technical advisor. ‘‘This album was done with respect and affection. I
aimed for the most durable elements of Duke’s style, and those include his humor and his
diversity of moods.”
Byers had a particular advantage in the musicians available for the sessions. Byers wrote
these scores with full awareness of the particular strengths of the men on these dates. There
were three different sessions. On the first, Mood Indigo, Just Squeeze Me, All Too Soon, and
Solitude were recorded with the following personnel:
Trumpets—Ernie Royal, Doctor Christian, Clark Terry, Joe Newman. Trombones—
Jimmy Cleveland, Melba Liston, Wayne Andre, Tony Studd. French horns—Jimmy Buffington,
Ray Alonge, Don Corrado, Bob Northern. Tuba—Harvey Phillips. Reeds—Jerry Dodgion
(alto, flute, clarinet), Eric Dixon (tenor, flute, clarinet), Sol Schlinger (baritone and bass
clarinet).
The rhythm section was the same on all three sessions—Osie Johnson (drums), Patti Bown
(piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Eddie Shaughnessy, Eddie Costa (added percussion).
Recorded at the second session were Caravan, Don’t Get Around Much Any More, and
Sophisticated Lady. At the final session, Chelsea Bridge, I’m Beginning To See The Light, and
Take The ‘‘A”’ Train were completed. For the second and third dates, Julius Watkins replaced
Don Corrado, and Jack Rains replaced Wayne Andre. On the second session, Al De Risi went
in for Doctor Christian; and on the final date, Spencer Sinatra took the place of Eric Dixon.
Vendor
Mercury Record Corporation Printed in U.S.A.
MERCURY e IMPRESSIONS OF DUKE ELLINGTON © BILLY BYERS e PPS 6028
Side One
TAKE THE “A” TRAIN
(Billy Strayhorn), Tempo Music, Inc., (ASCAP) ... 2:13
“On Take The “A” Train,” Byers notes, “the train soon jumps the track in 5/4 time, moving
by Spanish Harlem and narrowly missing Broadway. Ernie Royal puts it back on the track,
sending it along its express route.”
The whole journey has, in fact, been invigoratingly kaleidoscopic, and Mr. Byers has not
only distilled his impressions of Ellington, but has also revealed a great deal about his own
extensive resources as arranger, orchestrator, and humorist.
SOPHISTICATED LADY
(Duke Ellington, Mitchell Parish & Irving Mills), Gotham Music Service, Inc., (ASCAP) ... 2:27
On Sophisticated Lady, Sol Schlinger is followed by Eric Dixon on tenor, Jack Rains on trombone
with cup mute, and Eric Dixon again.
JUST SQUEEZE ME (But Don’t Tease Me)
(Duke Ellington & Lee Gaines), Robbins Music Corporation, (ASCAP) ... 3:12
Just Squeeze Me underlines the high-spirited parody of which Ellington is very much capable.
The opening, recurring motif is sounded by Joe Newman and Clark Terry. Eric Dixon again
solos on tenor, and as Billy Byers puts it, “the guy can amaze you. He just stands up there and
paints the most surprising pictures, but it’s all beautifully organized.” Once more, behind
Dixon is the leaping, incisive brass section.
CHELSEA BRIDGE
(Billy Strayhorn), Tempo Music, Inc., (ASCAP) ... 3:05
Chelsea Bridge is an essay in impressionism, or, as Byers phrases it, ‘‘a wall of fog obscures the
early morning view.” The soloists are Clark Terry and Spencer Sinatra.
CARAVAN
(Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington & Irving Mills), American Academy of Music, Inc., (ASCAP) ... 5:15
Caravan, Byers observes, ‘‘takes in the whole Near East. I wanted the effect of a caravan
approaching from the distance, and I also asked for a windstorm at the very end.” The musicians
obliged by literally blowing—through pursed lips, and without horns.” The soloists, after the
atmosphere has been set, are Jimmy Cleveland, Jerry Dodgion,. Eddie Costa (marimba),
and Osie Johnson. Soaring over the concluding windstorm is Clark Terry, playing what Byers
describes as ‘‘sandy trumpet.”
Side Two
MOOD INDIGO
(Duke Ellington, Irving Mills & Albany Bigard), Gotham Music Service, Inc., (ASCAP) ... 4:40
Mood Indigo begins with a brass chorale in the context of what Byers calls “in and out
atonalism.”’ The melody, sketched in a four-octave range, moves throughout the orchestra.
As the rhythm section falls gently into regular jazz pulsation, Byers approximates the feeling
of a typical Ellington small combo, except that the flute replaces the clarinet over the brass.
The tenor solo is by Eric Dixon with characteristic Ellington brass commentary behind him.
Dixon builds to a bursting climax as the brass also open up. At the close of the number, the
small combo approach reappears, and the final pungent trumpet is by Joe Newman with a
Harmon mute.
I’M BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT
(Harry James, Duke Ellington, John Hodges & Don George), Alamo Music, Inc., (ASCAP) ... 3:02
The rollicking I’m Beginning To See The Light has, according to Byers, “that feeling of
recklessness that is also not outside the Ellington tradition.” The soloists are Joe Newman
and Jerry Dodgion.
SOLITUDE
(Duke Ellington, Eddie De Lange & Irving Mills), American Academy of Music, Inc., (ASCAP) .. . 3:35
Sol Schlinger is the principal soloist in Solitude, and Byers uses the baritone with various
combinations of horns and tuba. The muted trumpet is Doctor Christian, and there are ex-
changes between Newman and Terry. The only times in the album, incidentally, in which the
three reeds operate as a regular sax section is when they play Ellington-style unison passages.
The rest of the time, they’re heard in solos and they double with the rest of the orchestra.
Byers preferred to work with the French horns and tuba as a kind of sax section because “I
didn’t want to set up in competition with the sonority Ellington’s own reed section gets.”
DON’T GET AROUND MUCH ANYMORE
(Duke Ellington & Bob Russell), Robbins Music Corporation, (ASCAP) ... 3:10
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore highlights expert soft-shoer Osie Johnson. Johnson borrowed
Patti Bown’s shoes, and by putting his hands in them, puppeteer-style, he ‘“‘danced” on a box
covered with sand. Mr. Johnson emulates Baby Lawrence with deft aplomb. The arrangement
as a whole reflects the surging euphoria that is also a part of the Ellington style.
ALL TOO SOON
(Carl Sigman & Duke Ellington), Robbins Music Corporation, (ASCAP) ... 2:58
All Too Soon contains the only Billy Byers trombone solo in the album, “After that one,”
he says, “I had all I could handle with the conducting.”’ Without directly imitating Lawrence
Brown’s original statement on the Ellington recording of the tune, Byers communicates the
same kind of poignancy. After Patti Bown’s piano, Clark Terry is heard on fluegelhorn. Just
before Clark enters, a 12/8 section starts which Byers incorporated to underline “the kind of
loose rhythmic feeling Duke can get.”
Prepare to enter a new adventure in the world of sound. Sound you’ve never experienced in record listening before. Sound with a new
dimension that defies comparison with any other recording technique. MERCURY’S new f:35¢ Perfect Presence Sound involves so many
revolutionary elements that a whole new chapter has been created in the history of sound recording.
These are some of the fantastic elements that rocket f:35¢ PPS recordings to new plateaus of listening pleasure.
CONVENTIONAL
RECORDING TECHNIQUE
Film fidelity. Not high fidelity... not
increased fidelity... but ultimate fidelity.
The greatest signal to noise ratio ever.
#:35°°RPS
RECORDING TECHNIQUE
This original recording is made from 35 mm magnetic film.
TRACK NO.1 TRACK NO.2 TRACK NO.3 J
Film means better, broader sound with a greater distor-
tion-free dynamic range. It means that instruments and
singers’ voices are more accurately reproduced in terms
of timbre, clarity and naturalness, thanks to the ab-
sence on film of flutter and background hiss. It means
that the entire recording gains in perspective and
spaciousness.
I-n-f-i-n-i-t-e D-e-p-t-h
f:35¢ Perfect Presence Sound offers far more than the ordinary separation found on other stereo recordings. The early attempts at
separating sound into two channels, (still used in other recording techniques), permitted the hearer to recognize music from the
right and left, with increased definition of the various instruments of the orchestra. “Infinite depth” permits you to hear music
not only left and right, but front and rear as well. Advancing! Receding!
This realistic depth was one of the achievements of MERCURY’s Perfect Presence Sound series. The “infinite depth” phenomenon
can even be perceived in PPS monaural recordings.
The oscillograph pattern on film used on the cover is MERCURY’s graphic
illustration of £:354 film recording and is not, of course, literal.
Perfect Presence Sound is perfect proof of MERCURY’s distinguished leadership in sound engi-
neering. PPS recording studios have maximum space and “‘live”’ sound. Microphones are used in
specific and carefully organized relationships to each section of the orchestra. The microphone
set-up is, of course, different for each group of instruments. Multiple microphone placement is
generally necessary for the string section and rhythm section. (See rear of album). The addition
of vibraphone, bells, novachord and celeste all require their own unique arrangement to insure
a balance that will be absolutely realistic.
Perfect balance is achieved, even though
the trombones may be playing open while
the trumpets are muted. Music stands are
kept low to avoid blocking sound. In addi-
tion, two overall microphones are placed
at twice the distance from the accent micro-
phone as the accent microphone is placed
from the musician. These two microphones
are fed only to the two ‘‘outside’’ channels
of the f:35% 3-track film. The addition of
these ultra-sensitive microphones contrib-
utes to Perfect Presence Sound’s ‘infinite
depth.”
Some interesting attempts have been made by other recording firms to achieve this astonishing
presence with three, four or five instruments. MERCURY alone multiplies ‘‘presence,” multiplies
depth, multiplies listening pleasure, by bringing you recordings with the sound of full orchestration
...Yich, vibrant music played by renowned recording artists. MERCURY alone has the vast
library, the great names, and the superb music that make Perfect Presence Sound more than an
achievement in the reproduction of pure sound. You get first rate performances by internationally
acclaimed artists like Cugat, Carroll, Fennell and other MERCURY stars.
Below is a block diagram of the f:354 automatic phasing, mixing console. Each channel has its
own preamplifier with built-in equalization, electronic reverberation, and gain reduction amplifiers.
Any part of the frequency spectrum can be varied by as sensitive a measurement as + 14 db.
indicating the new techniques
necessary for scoring a selection
for f:35% Perfect Presence
Sound.
Because all background noise is eliminated, distortion of a
ppp passage in an orchestration is non-existent, while the ff
passage takes on crispness and clarity you’d never expect
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