Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Orpheus rising ... again!

Between the new and improved score for It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (released on August 26) and the five-disc “Definitive, Super Deluxe Edition” of A Charlie Brown Christmas (coming on October 14), this already has been a banner year for Guaraldi fans.

 

As the old television advertising catch-phrase promised … But wait, there’s more!

 

Craft Recordings will release two enhanced editions of Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus in the next several months.

 

First up is the two-CD Deluxe Edition, scheduled for release on November 18. It also will be available in a digital configuration, and a three-disc vinyl format, the latter expected to ship by February 24, 2023. This edition features oodles of bonus tracks.

 

It will be followed by a Small Batch, One-Step Pressing vinyl edition of the original album (no bonus tracks), also expected to ship by February 24, 2023.


Additional details about both can be found here, and do check out this sleek promotion video.

 

I’ll also supply some pertinent data.



The Deluxe Edition features 16 bonus tracks, 12 released for the first time, with outtakes and alternate takes of nearly every track on the original 1962 LP. The package is produced by Nick Phillips, and includes new in-depth liner notes by Andrew Gilbert, a veteran jazz writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, KQED Arts and other outlets.

 

The track list is as follows, in the two-CD configuration:

 

Disc 1:

“Samba de Orfeu” 5:42

“Manhã de Carnaval” 5:50

“O Nosso Amor” 4:56

“Felicidade” 4:49

“Cast Your Fate to the Wind” 3:10

“Moon River” 5:21

“Alma-Ville” 5:00

“Since I Fell for You” 4:23

ALTERNATE TAKES

“Samba de Orfeu” (Short Version: Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) 3:29

“Samba de Orfeu” (Long Version: Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) 5:48

“Manhã de Carnaval” (Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) 6:32

“Manhã de Carnaval” (Take 2, Set 3) 6:17

 

Disc 2:

“O Nosso Amor” (Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) 5:08

“O Nosso Amor” (Take 2, Set 4) 5:00

“Felicidade” (Take 2, Set 2) 4:55

“Felicidade” (Take 4, Set 3 Previously Unreleased) 4:58

“Cast Your Fate to the Wind” (Take 2, Previously Unreleased) 3:02

“Cast Your Fate to the Wind” (Take 3) 3:04

“Cast Your Fate to the Wind” (Take 5, Previously Unreleased) 3:00

“Alma-Ville” (Take 2, Previously Unreleased) 5:03

“Since I Fell for You” (Take 3, Previously Unreleased) 4:21

OUTTAKES

“Jitterbug Waltz” (Take 1, Previously Unreleased) 6:53

“Jitterbug Waltz” (Take 1A, Previously Unreleased) 6:25

“Jitterbug Waltz” (Take 2A, Previously Unreleased) 6:36


Preview "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" (Take 5, Previously Unreleased) here.


(As wonderful as all these freshly released takes are, it's a shame this package doesn't include Ella Jamerson's vocal version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," backed by Guaraldi's trio, which still remains unreleased. That would have been a particularly delectable bonus.)

 

********



The Small Batch edition is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide. Each pressing is individually numbered and encased in a foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase featuring an acrylic inset of the original artwork. The vinyl disc — extractable through a frictionless ribbon pull-tab — is housed in a reproduction of the album’s original, tip-on jacket and protected by an archival-quality, anti-static, non-scratching inner sleeve. 

 

This edition has new liner notes by Yours Truly, who is jazzed to note (apologies for the lack of modesty) that Craft’s publicity regards me as “the foremost Guaraldi historian.” That’s pretty cool.


So … fatten up your bank account, because it’s gonna be an expensive couple of months! 

5 comments:

Doug A. said...

Wow! What an amazing (and expensive!) year for us Guaraldi fans and completists! I'm wondering whether -- like Great Pumpkin -- this release was somehow the result of pandemic-catalyzed spelunking through the archives (but in this case the holders of the Fantasy tapes, rather than the Mendelsons). Eagerly awaiting the cascade of previously unreleased musical riches in the weeks ahead!

(And there's nothing immodest about accuracy: You are definitely the foremostest!)

Chris White said...

Fantastic news, Derrick! Can't wait to check it out.

Frank Oliver Hellmann said...

Derrick, lacking the Jameson vocal version of "Cast you fate to the wind" I heard the Mel Torme February 1963 version on youtube today. The Atlantic single mentioned Marty Paich as the arranger of the tune. In my opinion, the arrangement is not very good, I don`t like the pop female "Yey Yey" chorus. But after 0:47 comes a piano solo which sounds like Guaraldi himself or somebody who imitades his style perfectly (Marty Paich?) or is it possible that Vince played the piano on this recording?

Derrick Bang said...

I've also never cared for Tormé's version, Frank; it's much too "pop-ish," not only because of the gal chorus, but also the insufferable strings. And the Atlantic single itself gets minus points for mis-titling the song ("Winds," rather than "Wind"). But the pianist is Jimmy Wisner; you can see all the personnel cited in the Discogs entry for "The Mel Tormé Collection 1944-1985," where "Fate" is Disc 4, Track 3.

Frank Oliver Hellmann said...

Derrick, thank you for the information. I never heard of Jimmy Wisner, but he makes a very good job on the Torme recording. I found at wikipedia, that he even records an LP called "Cast your fate to the wind" in 1965. But on this recording he sounds not like Vince as can be heard on the apple music site.