Marian Montgomery

Artist: Marian Montgomery

LP: Swings For Winners and Losers 

Song: "Breezin' Along With the Breeze"

[ listen ]

Song: "Confessin' the Blues"

[ listen ]

I've been weeding records out of the vocalist section of my collection over the past few days and, as usual, I've re-discovered some gems along the way. Marian Montgomery's 1963 debut LP is one of them. A few years after the release of "Swings For Winners and Losers," Marian went to England to perform. She fell in love there with pianist Laurie Holloway, they married, and she never came back. She eventually changed the spelling of her name to "Marion," and she and her ivory-tickling husband became fixtures in the London jazz scene. It was a long road from Marian's birthplace in Natchez, Mississippi to the swinging London of the '60s; you can read about Marian's journey down that road on Wikipedia here. The lovely Ms. Montgomery also talks about her early life and career on the Jazz Professional website here (I especially enjoyed reading that she always used to hang out in record stores), and there's an interview with her on the back of this album that I've included below.
 

 [ Marian Montgomery: November 17, 1934 — July22, 2002 ]

Vic Dana

Artist: Vic Dana

LP: Warm & Wonderful

Song: "Young and Warm and Wonderful"

[ listen ]

When someone named this 1966 album "Warm & Wonderful," they weren't referring to that steaming cup of coffee handsome, young, and half-undressed crooner Vic Dana holds in his hand on the cover. Vic's songs do indeed feature "the Dana Touch—the touch of intimacy and warmth between he and you" that he's used so effectively in large nightclubs, concert halls, and on all his records, but I can't help but wonder what the Dana touch might feel like on my living room sofa with the lights down low. You can read about Vic Dana here and go here to listen to another one of his songs. 

Hugo Blanco et sa Harpo Indienne

Artist: Hugo Blanco et sa Harpo Indienne

LP: 7" single

Song: "Moliendo Café"

[ listen ]

Though this 7" EP was pressed in France, these four lovely tunes from Venezuelan composer and harpist Hugo Blanco were originally recorded for Pallacio Records in Caracas. "Moliendo Café" means grinding coffee, which is what I'm about to do right now, only my grinder is electric. Though it doesn't have quite the same zing without percussion, there's a lovely harp duet performance video of "Moliendo Café" (most of it, anyway) included here:

Harp players on YouTube:

[ "Moliendo Café" ]