Mercury Records Collection: SR-60015: Mr. Percussion

SR-60015: Mr. Percussion / Bobby Christian

Label Type :	black Mercury type C (large oval)
Matrix Number :	SIDE-A	SR_60015_A FR1 A2 I
	SIDE-B	SR_60015_B FR1 A1 I

Comments

Jan. 14, 2006: replaced with earlier pressing (as well as earlier cover design).

First variation of the front cover (see the second variation and compare!)

Equivalent release: Mercury MG-20335 (mono).

An FR pressing: sound quality is very nice.

with original Mercury inner sleeve.

Inside The Groove

A danceable, listeningable nice big band led by a percussion maestro.

Personal Impression (and brief notes)

This album, one of the earliest and finest jobs in his career, is very listenable, even astonishing. Backed up with his own orchestra, Mr. Percussion rushes hard around playing tons of instruments. The liner note on the back cover mentions as follows:

     ... In recording this album, Christian played the following instruments
     during the session. At no time was there any multiple dubbing.
     He rushed around in a 15 x 15-foot area, performing on the following
     instruments: Musser Vibraphone, Jenco Xylophone, Musser Marimba,
     Deagan Parsifal Bells, Wm. F. Ludwig bass, snare and tom-tom drums,
     Zildjian cymbals - medium, heavy and special 22-inch Hi Hat cymbal,
     equipped with two 16-inch cymbals triangle, woodblick, ratchet,
     temple blocks, sligh bells, tambourine, greco cymbals, piccolo xylphone,
     guiro, maraccas, piano and celeste.

Even without such eye/ear-catching gimmick, the sound presented here is awesome. Very swingy, and truly enjoyable ensemble. I like this pretty album (although it's not very serious kind).

BTW, I learnt on the liner note that famous drummers like Cozy Cole or Lou Singer were students of Bobby Christian School of Percussion, which Bobby Christian helmed from 1944 to 1950.

Strictly Personal Rating (to what extent I could enjoy this album)

8 out of 10

Track Listing

SIDE-A
A-1	PB667 (16713)	Doll Dance (Nacio Herb Brown)	2:40
A-2	PB668 (16714)	Cherokee (Indian Love Song) (Ray Noble)	2:21
A-3	PB657 (16693)	Alone (Freed - Brown)	2:36
A-4	PB658 (16694)	Crickets On Parade (Christian - Armentrout)	2:25
A-5	PB655 (16691)	Georgia On My Mind (Carmichael - Gorrell)	3:18
A-6	PB669 (16715)	Miami Beach Rhumba (I. Fields - A. Gamse - J. Camacho)	2:39
SIDE-B
B-1	PB656 (16692)	The Lady Is A Tramp (Rodgers - Hart)	2:13
B-2	PB525 (16539)	I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles (Kenbravin - Kellette)	2:53
B-3	PB666 (16712)	Lost In A Fog (McHugh - Fields)	2:21
B-4	PB526 (16540)	I Want To Be Happy (Youmans - Caesar)	2:14
B-5	PB524 (16538)	Manhattan (Rodgers - Hart)	2:01
B-6	PB527 (16541)	Ballin' The Jack (Smith - Burris)	2:31

Personnel

Personnel/recorded date/master numbers confirmed with the Ruppli's discography.
(“The Mercury Labels - A Discography” by Ruppli and Novitsky, Greenwood Press, 1993)

According to the master numbers, {B-2, B-4, B-5, B-6}, {A-3, A-4, A-5, B-1} and {A-1, A-2, A-6, B-3} are from different sessions.

Bobby Christian (leader, arranger, percussions) and his Orchestra.
(see all instruments Bobby Christian played in the session!)
Recorded at Universal Recording Studios, Chicago, IL in 1958.