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Acker Bilker's Easter

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By bye, mr. Strange

Billy Strange, a prolific Los Angeles session guitarist who recorded with Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole and the Beach Boys, wrote a No. 1 single for Chubby Checker and arranged Nancy Sinatra’s No. 1 pop hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” died on Wednesday in Franklin, Tenn. He was 81.Die in 24/02/2012

A mainstay of the celebrated team of Hollywood studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, Mr. Strange played on psychedelic touchstones like the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” and Love’s “Forever Changes.” In 1962 he arranged and played on Cole’s hit “Ramblin’ Rose.”

He also contributed the eerie tremolo guitar figure — a reverberating mix of country, pop and surf music — to Ms. Sinatra’s late ’60s cover of Cher’s 1966 hit, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” The record later appeared on the soundtrack to the director Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 action thriller “Kill Bill.”

Mr. Strange made numerous recordings under his own name, including instrumental versions of “The James Bond Theme” and the theme from the movie “Goldfinger.” Both singles stalled just outside the pop Top 40, in 1964 and 1965, respectively. He made a series of guitar albums during this period as well, but his signature accomplishments remained his contributions, as a guitarist, conductor and arranger, to the recordings of others, among them Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans.

Wando - Moça by Paul Mauriat

O cantor Wando foi enterrado hoje (9/2/12), por volta das 11h30, no Cemitério Bosque da Esperança, em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. A estimativa da administração do cemitério é de que seis mil pessoas passaram pelo velório, realizado no mesmo local. Pouco antes do caixão descer à sepultura, Gabrielle Burcci, uma das filhas de Wando, chegou a puxar o coro de uma das suas músicas, “Moça” (1975).

Click here for hear MOÇA, by Paul Mauriat

Clare Fischer, Arranger and Keyboardist, Is Dead at 83

2/2/2012

Clare Fischer, a prolific composer, arranger, conductor and keyboardist active in jazz, R&B and pop music for more than 60 years, died on Jan. 26 in Burbank, Calif. He was 83.
The cause was a heart attack he had suffered two weeks earlier, said Claris Dodge, a representative of Mr. Fischer’s family.

Mr. Fischer may not have been a household name, but the respect he earned across a broad musical spectrum was evident in a flurry of Twitter posts that followed the news of his death. Jazz bloggers posted links to favorite tracks showcasing his writing or playing, like a performance of his “Pensativa” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and a version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “One Note Samba” that Mr. Fischer recorded with the vibraphonist Cal Tjader.

Visit the oficial website - http://www.clarefischer.com/

John Levy, Bassist and Talent Manager, Dies at 99 in 24/01/2012

Jimmy Jones and John Levy, 1947.

John Levy, a bassist and pioneering talent manager whose roster included some of the biggest names in jazz, notably Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Cannonball Adderley and Wes Montgomery, died on Friday at his home in Altadena, Calif. He was 99.
Widely credited as the first African-American personal manager in jazz, Mr. Levy entered that profession by happenstance: he was a member of the original George Shearing Quintet in the late 1940s, and by virtue of his diligent practicality, he gradually found himself entrusted with most of the group’s business decisions. He established his management company, John Levy Enterprises, in 1951; Shearing, the British pianist then still riding the momentum of an international hit, “September in the Rain,” became his first client.

He would go on to represent singers like Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Shirley Horn; pace-setting bandleaders like Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Freddie Hubbard and Herbie Hancock; and crossover stars like Roberta Flack and Les McCann.

Larry Butler dies at 69

Larry Butler, the producer of some of Kenny Rogers’s biggest hits and the only Nashville session leader ever to win a Grammy Award for producer of the year, died on Friday at his home in Pensacola, Fla. He was 69.
His death was from natural causes, said Jana Talbot, a friend of the family. He died in 24/01/2012.

As a musician, producer, songwriter and record executive, Mr. Butler had a hand in creating significant country recordings that also became major pop hits in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

He played piano on Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey,” the maudlin ballad that reached No. 1 on both the country and the pop charts in 1968. With the producer Chips Moman he wrote B. J. Thomas’s 1975 hit, “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” another single that reached the top of the country and pop charts.

The Night Before Christimas - Vcitor Salon Orchestra

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