REASON SEVEN, Part Two

Behind Bobby Darin's singing were some of the greatest swing big band/orchestral arrangements of all time. In his performances, Bobby lived and breathed each song. Every "Ho," every "Hut," every shoulder twitch was used to highlight, to emphasize, to punctuate the sounds behind him. Bobby Darin made his audience aware of the music and he always took the time to credit his arrangers, or to name his accompanists and musicians. He called his arrangers "the chefs"—the people who helped to make the album "cook." They were the designers of the sounds and the rhythms that inspired a Darin kick, a slide, a half-turn, an arm tug, a leg lift—all the enhancements that Bobby used to entertain his viewing audience. Bobby handpicked each and every one of his arrangers. Who were the Darin chefs? Here is our second group of outstanding musicians whose arrangements for Bobby helped Darin rise to new peaks in his vocal artistry.

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Bobby Scott, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (piano, vibes, accordion, bass, cello, clarinet) got an early start in music. A schooled musician, he was a professional by age 11 and by age 15 was playing and traveling with Louis Prima. He worked with Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Lester Young, and closely with Quincy Jones. Bobby Scott composed and had a great hit in A Taste Of Honey. He produced albums for the likes of Sarah Vaughn, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Marvin Gaye and . . . Bobby Darin. Scott and Darin were close friends as well as collaborators. In looking at Scott's pedigree, it would seem that they had similar eclectic tastes in music as well.

When Bobby S. and Bobby D. came into the recording studio in early February of 1960, the ever restless, ever creative, and always interested in trying new styles Darin was ready to shed the big band sound and broaden his repertoire. Scott, with his ample skills in arranging and his outstanding piano playing, was attuned to Darin's vision and moved him away from a big band style to a small jazz combo. Hand-picked musicians including the always excellent Ronnie Zito on drums joined the two Bobbys for some freewheeling, groovy, cool jazz of the period that resulted in the superb album called Winners.

The song What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry is an excellent example of this free jazz style collaboration. It has a cool blend of piano, bass, drums and vibraphone, a similar instrumentation as one might find in the Modern Jazz Quartet or in the work of George Shearing. Zito's work on his drum set is imaginative throughout. Scott has a number of brilliantly clear runs and gives the listeners a pristine extended solo. Overall, this song and album are sophisticated and polished. The players all have a solid technique and their imaginations flow. Darin joins the fun and gives us a relaxed, swinging, improvised approach along with some of his trademark wit and humor.

Heads at the Atco studio, finding this material uncommercial, waited four years to release the album-perhaps a wise decision financially, but artistically a crime. Bobby Darin was building his vision of popular music wherever his broad interests led him. He did not stay in the same musical frame of mind very long, but while there, he and his collaborators performed with excellence and respect for the material.

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"Shorty" Rogers walked into a Darin recording session already having achieved considerable fame and respect as one of the key musicians of West Coast Jazz. He began his illustrious career as a bugler in the Bronx Jewish War Veterans Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps. He played trumpet in Woody Herman's First and Second herds,* then moved on to become an important arranger and player in the Stan Kenton Innovations orchestra. He formed his own "Shorty Rogers and His Giants" jazz big band. When he recorded his arrangements of the music from the Marlon Brando movie, "The Wild One," he was at the top of his game.

1963 found Shorty working at Capitol records. By the late fifties, big band musicians were finding it difficult to find enough work to make a good living. Many of them left the road to find work in Las Vegas and in recording studios. Pete Rugolo, also a Kenton arranger, had a position as head producer and arranger for Capitol records. It stands to reason that Rugolo and Rogers would hire Kenton alumni to play their recording sessions. This is one of the reasons I believe that the playing behind Darin's singing on his Capitol recordings are among the best, if not THE best we have ever heard. It is one of the reasons that generated this riff.

Bobby Darin had a hit single in You're The Reason I'm Living. Bobby and Shorty came into the studio to record an album in support of that single. You could say it was a case of a jazz band legend meeting up with a genre-bending hitmaker. Their collaboration yielded a very interesting and creative blend of two disparate styles: country music and a Kentonesque big band. It was unique.

You can tell it is Shorty's chart from the first few bars of Under Your Spell Again. He gives us classic trumpet flourishes with spicy minor second intervals-a lively beginning. The excitement comes from Rogers' trademark tight, close harmony and neat, crisp rhythms. It has great trumpet playing across the line, all played in its highest range. You cannot really say the two styles match each other, but in a way they are like complementary colors. I wonder what Buck Owens thought about this interpretation of his song. We would have to conclude that Rogers and Darin were successful in finding a place of intersection between two disparate styles.

On other albums, Shorty's musical frames for Bobby contain some of Bobby's best backgrounds and elicited some of Bobby's best singing. The gorgeous The Shadow Of Your Smile, the standing ovation getting Don't Rain On My Parade, the heartfelt The Other Half Of Me, and the spectacular Night Song are just a few of the songs that Rogers arranged for Bobby. Bobby was never better served. Under Rogers' baton, the actor/singer gave us some of his greatest interpretations.

* Don Lamond (Darin's drummer of choice) played drums for the Woody Herman band. Lamond is Bobby's drummer on Mack The Knife, Beyond The Sea with its celebrated drum break, I'll Remember April, and Some Of These Days.

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The avalanche of accolades afforded to the great Gerald Wilson include multiple Grammy nominations, winner of Down Beat Critics' Polls, and an archive of his works by the Library of Congress. A legendary talent to jazz aficionados, Wilson's work includes pieces written or arranged for Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter and . . . Bobby Darin. His symphonic compositions have been performed by the L.A. Philharmonic. For a while Wilson was the accompanist for Billie Holiday.

By the age of 19, Gerald Wilson was a professional musician playing trumpet in the Jimmy Lunceford band. By the age of 27, he organized the first Gerald Wilson Jazz Orchestra. The band was important in bringing swing/bebop harmonies to large ensembles. In the middle of his success, Wilson dissolved the band and went back to studying to further hone his composing and arranging skills. He broadened his studies into the world of classical music—Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel, in particular.

In person Gerald Wilson is a very tall, rail-thin gentleman who brings a charismatic fiery elegance to the podium. His leonine hair gives him an air of powerful authority. He is a joy to watch. Conversely, Wilson's spirit is that of a very humble man. He lauds the work of others and sees himself as a part of a creative community. Of his work with Bobby Darin, Wilson says that Bobby "...was very hands-on" in working out arrangements. Bobby knew what he wanted and he knew which people would help him get there.

Wilson's quietly elegant treatment of Fly Me To The Moon is matched by Bobby's passionately longing vocal. I believe the original title for this song was In Other Words—not as magical a title as its lyrics "Fly me to the moon and let me sing among the stars/Let me see what life is like on Jupiter and Mars..." would seem to warrant. Wilson employs a rich trombone choir and sumptuous strings to caress Darin's vocal. As Debussy was able to capture the movement of the ocean seas (without ever having seen the ocean!) in his 20th century masterwork La Mer, Wilson is able to capture the feeling of a flight in space without ever having flown there himself. Tiny piano arpeggios create an illusion of twinkling stars. Bobby's first chorus is ultra romantic, then a lovely flute solo segues into Bobby's more impassioned second chorus. At the song's end, Wilson uses music to simulate flight elevation. He does that beautifully through a series of major chords—each in a different key. This yields a magical effect, a feeling of suspension and floating, simply and classically elegant all around.

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Can you imagine the wicked sense of humor and nerve it took for Bobby and Bob Florence to turn the seriously respected Rodgers and Hammerstein songs topsy-turvy? They were meant to be included in a Broadway album that never materialized. What a shame because Darin and Florence worked together in the recording studio for two days in January of 1963 to record some great sounds.

One of my favorites is Hello Young Lovers which features some great work by the trombone section. Florence's work is easily detected by the instrumentation he uses in his arrangements. He likes a big, heavy bottom and gets that effect by using both a bass trombone and a baritone sax. He also gets a bright ringing tone from the trumpets. It's an unforgettable sound. When Darin performed this number live, he took it to lightning speed and gave it a great Darinesque ending with a big and long held note. Just listen to the band behind Bobby at the Flamingo. Incredible! Cannot get any better.

Florence was a few years older than Darin. Born in Los Angeles in 1932, Bob was a prodigy pianist as a child. The rigors of hours of practice burned him out, but he developed an interest in composing and arranging while at Los Angeles City College. He came on the scene with fully developed skills at the ready just at the time that interest in big bands was on the way out. He developed a fine career writing and playing for Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, The Tonight Show orchestra, and . . . Bobby Darin. Later, he formed his own powerhouse big band which received national and international fame. He has earned 14(!) Grammy nominations, winning one in 2000, and has won two Emmys.

Though perhaps not Darin's greatest vocal, Florence nevertheless wrote a very interesting arrangement for Bobby with Make Someone Happy, a recording which did not see the light of day until 2005. Again, Florence provides Bobby with a full big band sound with a solid bottom composed of bass trombone and baritone sax. There is a certain playful aspect to his ideas for the person who is listening closely. In the beginning, as each trumpet enters, it has a different mute so you get individual timbre from the get-go. The sounds are interesting and the rhythm behind Bobby piles on the happy feeling of the lyrics. It all comes to an end with a long, sustained pungent chord. Bob Florence has a recognizable sound in his arrangements. I am particularly amused by the contrast between the blaring horn sounds of the band behind Bobby as he sings the lovely words "the sweetest sounds." Now that is humorous.

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In closing . . . If everyone is influenced in some way by those they come in contact with, then we could also say that everyone stands on the shoulders of others. If you think of all the musical influences and experiences each of these arrangers had, then you can imagine the richness and connections to the world of good music that was available to Bobby Darin. By his choices you can then realize how he made all of it a part of his own artistry. The intelligence and skill of each of these seven arrangers serves to intensify the experience of listening to the greatest performer of the 20th century . . . Bobby Darin.