Enoch Light, Vincent Lopez, Nick Perito, and Jayne Mansfield--Moments to Remember (1958)

 

Jayne Mansfield appeared on at least four Waldorf jackets, and she also adorned covers for Tops and Premier (Spin-O-Rama).  And I used to have that Spin-O-Rama LP.  I had a ton of stuff I should've kept, but I can't keep everything.  All we need to know is that today's playlist is packed with lush instrumental music in Full Dynamic Range, with Enoch Light, Vincent Lopez, and Nick Perito leading their orchestras.  This is a "King Size" Waldorf LP, otherwise known as a twelve-incher.  For what market did Waldorf feel it was necessary to refer to 12" LPs as "king size"?  And shouldn't it be "king sized"?

Anyway, this is from 1958--one year before Enoch Light sold his labels to Ampar.  Hence, it's a last-minute raiding of the vaults--but, remarkably, only The High and the Mighty and The Song from Moulin Rouge (Enoch Light, both) are blog repeats. And I'm proud of myself for having the restraint not to suggest that "king size" might possibly refer to the bosom on display.  For one thing, the phrase would have to be "queen size."  But I didn't go there, and I'm glad.

Accordionist Nick Perito leads the orchestra on "Moritat" from the Three Penny (actually, Threepenny) Opera.  Says Wikipedia, "A Moritat is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by singing minstrels."  Far out.  The song is better known, of course, as Mack the Knife.  I've always associated it with Louis Armstrong, though Wikipeida says people usually identify it with Bobby Darin.  Enoch Light's lovely version of Georges Auric's Song from Moulin Rouge is as good as the huge Percy Faith hit of 1953, imo.

We all know Malaguena, hopefully.  I can't pretend to understand what's happening modally when the melody moves up a half-step (semitone modulations are a staple of such pieces), because in both this piece and, for instance, Misirlou, at least two different scales or modes are in use.  Mixolydian mode starting on A, maybe, plus (on A#) a mode which seems like almost the major scale, save for a tritone.  I left my Berklee degree downstairs, so your guess is as accurate as mine, but you can get the same approximate effect by simply playing an A major triad in root position, raising everything a half step, then going back down.  Voila!  I think of it as going from A to Bb, because then there's no C double-sharp to worry about.

This up-and-down-a-half-step stuff, which is a big thing in "Exotica" music, may represent a collision between older harmonic practices and the coming of tonality, aka the tonal system.  And, the more I look at that weird cover shot, I guess we have to conclude that Jayne is waiting for her man to come home--she has his pipe, slippers, ashtray, and matches ready.  I'm not sure what she's holding.  "Sit here, honey."  "Well, tarnation, then scoot out of the way, woman!"  I don't think that's the exchange being anticipated here, but this is a pretty dumb cover, the more I look at it.  A nicely balanced photo, but...

I've had this ready for a bit, and I needed to put it up in time to beat the holiday rush.  So, here is Moments to Remember.  I've always wanted to say that.  Any excuse to sound ungrammatical while still being grammatical is to be cherished.  To the music...

DOWNLOAD--Moments to Remember (Waldorf Music Hall MHK-33-1214; 1958)

April in Paris--Enoch Light and His Orch.
Soft Summer Breeze--Vincent Lopez and HIs Orch.
Song for a Summer Night--Enoch Light and His Orch.
When the White Lilacs Bloom Again--Same
Canadian Sunset--Same
Port Au Prince--Same
Theme from the Three Penny Opera--"Moritat"--Nick Perito and His Orch.
Lisbon Antigua--Vincent Lopez and His Orch.
The High and the Mighty--Enoch Light and His Orch.
Malaguena--Same
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White--Same
Song from Moulin Rouge--Same

Lee