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Just released!

ONE MORE TIME Vols. IV and V Tom King and The Royal Chicagoans

CD Price $16.00 (plus $2.50 shipping & handling)

Songlist Volume IV -- The Mellow Side Moonlight In Vermont      (John M. Blackburn, Karl Suessdorf) 4:03 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered      (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 3:18 Twilight Time      (Artie Dunn, Al Nevins, Monty Nevins, Buck Ram) 3:27 Moonglow      (Edgar DeLange, Will Hudson, Irving Mills) 4:12 Stars Fell On Alabama      (Mitchell Parish, Frank S. Perkins) 4:27 Mood Indigo      (Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) 2:23 Tenderly      (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) 3:24 I'm Confessin' That I Love You      (Doc Daugherty, Al J. Neiburg, Ellis Reynolds) 4:31 Once In A While      (Michard Edwards, Bud Green) 3:45 Embraceable You      (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 3:34 Someone To Watch Over Me      (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 3:50 Volume V -- The Swing Side It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing      (Duke Ellington) 3:25 Serenade For Gracie      (Steve Sandner) 3:43 There's A Small Hotel      (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 3:06 Don't Be That Way      (Benny Goodman, Mitchell Parish, Edgar Simpson) 3:42 Way Down Yonder In New Orleans      (Henry Creamer, Layton Turner) 4:02 Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now      (Thomas "Fats" Waller, Andy Razaf) 2:47 Don't Get Around Much Anymore      (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) 4:51 Crazy Rhythm      (Irving Caesar, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Joseph Meyer) 3:52 They Can't Take That Away From Me      (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 3:39 C Jam Blues      (Duke Ellington) 4:38

Performers Tom King Drums Harry Goldson Clarinet Steve Sandner Piano Jim Cooper Vibraphone Tom Lockwood Bass Bill Klewitz Guitar Art Davis Trumpet Russ Phillips Trombone Arrangements by Steve Sandner & Harry Goldson

Liner Notes
A few years ago business leader Tom King began what now has become a tradition-a gathering together each autumn of a group of seasoned and gifted musicians solely for the purpose of having an old-fashioned jam session. And from these impromptu meetings has emerge this series of recordings, featuring classics from the golden age of jazz played in a style that is pure and straight from the heart-unadulterated swing with no frills attached-music that is a joy to listen to as well as a joy to play.

The idea for these get-togethers came about as a result of King becoming aware of the recent and most impressive accomplishments of jazz clarinetist Harry Goldson. After listening to his recordings and reading about Harry's many successful years in finance and banking and how, after a forty year hiatus, he re-emerged as a dedicated jazz musician, Tom immediately saw many parallels in each of their respective life stories. Much like Harry, throughout his own varied and highly successful careers as business executive, civic leader and sports figure, Tom too, had never lost his strong feeling for jazz which dated back to high school and college days when he played drums with local dance orchestras. Inspired by Harry's example, Tom took out his sticks and once he sat down behind his drum kit, he began to wistfully think of reviving those exhilarating experience he so enjoyed as a young man playing with a jazz band.

The end result was that Tom set up a meeting with Harry in Chicago in the spring of 1998, and from that meeting emerged this series of jam sessions featuring Harry and fellow musicians: pianist Steve Sandner, vibraphonist Jim Cooper, guitarist Bill Klewitz and bassist Tom Lockwood. Before long, plans were set in motion for making a recording so that Tom and the group could share this wonderful music with their friends. In order to make a recording they needed a name to identify themselves, and sharing an affinity towards Chicago-style jazz, it seemed only natural that they call themselves The Royal Chicagoans.

Under the inspiring leadership of Tom, each musician brings a personal artistry to these sessions. Harry Goldson's unmatched tonal beauty on clarinet, Steve Saudner's lyrical jazz phrasings accompanied by the introspective artistry of Jim Cooper's vibes, backed by the solid rhythm section featuring King, guitarist Bill Klewitz and bassist Tom Lockwood-all contribute to making these recordings a rewarding listening experience for music lovers of every persuasion.

For this latest release, One More Time Volumes IV & V, it was Tom's suggestion that the album be divided into two discs, each devoted to the two most distinctive approaches to jazz-its mellow side and its swing side. The result is an album filled with delightfully fresh renditions of music from the swing era, when good music was jazz…and jazz was good music. Included among the memorable jazz classics featured in this album are compositions by such masters of jazz as Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin. Joining The Royal Chicagoans exclusively for this session are Chicago jazz artists trombonist Russ Phillips and trumpeter Art Davis. Art's work is especially notable for his outstanding solo work on Tenderly and Once In Awhile. This album also marks the debut of Steve Sandner's original composition, Serenade for Gracie dedicated to Tom's King's "Gracie", his lovely wife Barbara Ann Scott King.

What this music and what this album is all about can best be summed up by Tom's own words as expressed in his poem,
A TRIBUTE TO JAZZ

                                        A TRIBUTE TO JAZZ
                                        "Savor the Sound"

Classical Jazz music is
          A sense of well being
It is born of a musical language
Created by hearts of positive and spirited individuals
          Expressing their joy collectively and triumphantly.
The reward comes from the sound and emotion
          Of the entire ensemble.
          It is unvarnished and costs nothing to enjoy.
Genuine, valid and dependable.
          That is Classical Jazz.

                                                  Tom King, January 2003

 

Martin Berliner

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