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JEFF GOLDBLUM AND FREDA PAYNE COLLABORATE ON LAZY AFTERNOON  RECORDING

Superstar of the Silver Screen JEFF GOLDBLUM and legendary vocalist FREDA PAYNE team up for their  performance and recording of JEROME MOROSS’S and JOHN LATOUCHE’S hit song LAZY AFTERNOON. LAZY AFTERNOON was the breakaway favorite from the 1954 musical, THE GOLDEN APPLE.

JEFF GOLDBLUM, known as an actor for his many box office hits such as THE BIG CHILL, JURASSIC PARK, THE FLY and INDEPENDENCE DAY is also an accomplished jazz pianist performing regularly with his band The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.

FREDA PAYNE, well-known since the 60s, achieved stardom with her own hit BAND OF GOLD, joins Goldblum as vocalist. 

LAZY AFTERNOON, which was first sung by KAYE BALLARD, exactly 69 years ago, in her Broadway role of Helen, has over the years been covered by numerous artists, including TONY BENNETT, BARBRA STREISAND, WYNTON MARSALIS and SHIRLEY HORN.

The song is the latest to be taken from Goldblum’s upcoming new EP, PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS, which will feature a number of other collaborations.

Listen to JEFF GOLDBLUM, FREDA PAYNE and the THE MILDRED SNITZER ORCHESTRA on YouTube:

JEFF GOLDBLUM

FREDA PAYNE

CHRISTINE EBERSOLE RELEASES NEW ALBUM AFTER THE BALL

From BroadwayWorld.com—
AFTER THE BALL, a new album from two-time Tony Award winner CHRISTINE EBERSOLE, will be released in physical and digital formats on Friday, September 30. Featuring American classics by composers and songwriters from Jerome Kern to JEROME MOROSS in original arrangements by Broadway veteran Lawrence Yurman, the new recording finds Ebersole at the start of a brave new chapter, reflecting on life, love and family now that the last of her three adopted children has flown the nest. AFTER THE BALL is produced by Ebersole herself, in collaboration with Yurman.

… JEROME MOROSS and JOHN LA TOUCHE’S “LAZY AFTERNOON” featured on the album, evoke carefree childhood days on her grandfather’s farm.

Pre-order the album at club44.lnk.to/AfterTheBall

WARNER ARCHIVES RELEASES NEW RACHEL, RACHEL BLU-RAY DVD

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Reviews


Excerpt from review Randy Miller III, August 30, 2022

Paul Newman’s emotionally barbed 1968 directorial debut Rachel, Rachel, starring his second wife Joanne Woodward, was inexplicably nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, which it eventually lost to Carol Reed’s musical Oliver!. Not that it’s a bad movie, of course: it’s a fitfully effective coming-of-age tale about a lonely woman’s latent childhood trauma spilling over well into adulthood, laced with creative editing flourishes and internal monologues that really cram us into the main character’s head. But it doesn’t hold up to the competition during that strong decade of cinema, and one of the film’s other nominations (Best Actress) may be the only one it truly deserved.

Excerpt from McBastard’s Mausoleum

Rachel, Rachel (1968) arrives on Blu-ray in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) with a new 2022 4K scan of the OCN and it looks simply gorgeous. We get lush grain with copious fine detail, warm well-saturated colors and organic textures throughout. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. It’s clean, well-balanced and has some nice depth to it, including the subtle but effective score from JEROME MOROSS . Extras are pretty slim, we get a silent 2-min behind-the-scenes featurette and a 2-min trailer for the film. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster.

RUTH PAGE: THE WOMAN IN THE WORK

Congratulations to JOELLEN MEGLIN on her new book RUTH PAGE: THE WOMAN IN THE WORK published by Oxford University Press. RUTH PAGE, the Chicago ballerina emerges as a highly original choreographer who, in her art, sought the iconoclastic as she transgressed boundaries of genre, gender, race, class, and sexuality. Author Joellen A. Meglin shows how her works were often controversial and sometimes censored even as she succeeded in roles usually reserved for men in the ballet world: choreographer, artistic director, and impresario. Page collaborated with JEROME MOROSS on the music for their groundbreaking ballet FRANKIE AND JOHNNY.

From extensive dramaturgical analysis of her most famous ballets ― La Guiablesse, Frankie and Johnny, Billy Sunday, Revenge, The Merry Widow, Camille, Carmina Burana, and Alice ― to embodied re-imagining of an avant-garde solo performed in a “sack” designed by Isamu Noguchi, this biography follows the global reach of Ruth Page’s career spanning the greater part of the twentieth century. In the process of discovering the woman in the work, one encounters with an international cast of dancers (Anna Pavlova, Harald Kreutzberg, Frederic Franklin, Alicia Markova), composers (JEROME MOROSS, William Grant Still, Aaron Copland,  Darius Milhaud), visual artists (Noguchi, Pavel Tchelitchew, Antoni Clavé), and companies (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Ballets des Champs-Elysées, London Festival Ballet). Disrupting notions that New York was the only cradle of the American ballet, and George Balanchine, its exponent to eclipse all others, Ruth Page explores the woman’s unique sensibility, corporeal praxis, and collaborative ethos to reveal her Chicago-centered network of creativity.

FROM BROADWAY TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

LAZY AFTERNOON, the breakout hit from THE GOLDEN APPLE , the MOROSS/LATOUCHE iconic musical masterpiece, is over 6 decades old. Yet, we find recent recordings from superstars to rising stars every month. Hundreds of artists have recorded it with new releases and new interpretations published all the time. This page brings attention to just some of  these artists and allows us to pay tribute to them. We regularly add new finds .

MABEL MERCER

MABEL MERCER — arguably the supreme cabaret artist of the twentieth century — was born in England and emigrated to the United States at the outbreak of World War II. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, performed Le Ruban Bleu, Tony’s, the RSVP, the Carlyle, and the St Regis Hotel in New York, and eventually hosted her own room, the Byline club.

By the 1930s she was the toast of Paris, introducing her inimitable style of singing to adoring audiences and beguiling such steadfast admirers as Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, and the Prince of Wales.

World War II brought her to America where she began a series of engagements at New York’s finest supper clubs.

Midnight at Mabel Mercer’s, which featured LAZY AFTERNOON by JEROME MOROSS was hailed by Stereo Review as one of the best recordings of the previous twenty years.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan presented Mabel Mercer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony. In bestowing America’s highest civilian honor upon her, the president described Mercer as “a singer’s singer” and “a living testament to the artfulness of the American song.” Mabel Mercer died on April 20, 1984

RANEE LEE

RANEE LEE, American born, is now celebrating over 40 years in Montreal, Quebec, where she enjoys a successful, multi-faceted career as one of Canada’s most popular jazz vocalists, an award-winning actress, a songwriter, and a proud author of children’s books.

 

Throughout her career Ranee has performed with many jazz notables, including Clark Terry, Bill Mayes, Herb Ellis, Red Mitchell, Milt Hinton, Oliver Jones and Terry Clarke, to name a few.

She is on the music faculty of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music.

Among her many albums is her most recent “What’s Going On,” an inspired and deeply moving collection of originals and standards, including JEROME MOROSS’S LAZY AFTERNOON.

DANNY BACHER

DANNY BACHER, vibrant vocalist, soprano saxophonist, actor and comedian, is also an award-winning songwriter and entertainer in the fullest sense of the term. Along with a busy touring schedule and working at venues such as the Blue Note, Birdland, Feinstein’s 54 Below, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Town Hall, he has performed several times at Carnegie Hall and most recently alongside the legendary Michael Feinstein. Bacher has released two studio albums as a leader, “Swing That Music!” and “Still Happy” which includes JEROME MOROSS’S breakaway hit from the musical THE GOLDEN APPLE, LAZY AFTERNOON.

A recent recipient of the prestigious Margaret Whiting Award, Bacher was also nominated for best male vocalist in the 2019 National Jazz Times reader’s poll along with Harry Connick, John Pizzarelli, and Tony Bennett, and in 2020 placed in the top 3 in the country. Along with Kurt Elling and Gregory Porter.

 

JOHN THADE

JOHN THADE, Zurich-based American tenor, has recently released an exciting double CD album, “A Song Sounds Inside Me,” featuring favorite opera, operetta and Broadway hits sure to appeal to music lovers around the globe. Thade includes in his compilation JEROME MOROSS’S famous hit from the musical “The Golden Apple,” LAZY AFTERNOON.

 

 John was born in New York City into the famous musical family of Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura. Initially, John sang the lighter repertoire Performing Classic Broadway show tunes in elegant Manhattan super clubs earning enthusiastic reviews from the New York Press.

Moving to Zürich in 2012, John made his debut with a program of Broadway and Operetta favorite at the Jecklin Forum in Zürich with additional concerts following in Switzerland. In 2015, he was invited to Perform in Bergedorf/ Hamburg an evening of Operettenmelodien which was well received by the press and audiences alike.

JOE HENDERSON

JOE HENDERSON (sax) teamed up with this all-star jazz ensemble including HERBIE HANCOCK (piano), JACK DE JOHNETTE (percussion), RON CARTER (bass) and MIKE LAWRENCE (trumpet).

Performing LAZY AFTERNOON music by JEROME MOROSS, the group puts a new standard of “cool” in this sultry interpretation. 

 

WYNTON MARSALIS

WYNTON MARSALIS is one of the most brilliant and versatile artists of our or any age. He is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won at least nine Grammy Awards, and his Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He is the only musician to win a Grammy Award in jazz and classical during the same year.

ERNESTINE ANDERSON

ERNESTINE ANDERSON, Houston-born, began singing gospel music in church before moving with her family to Seattle. She toured with R&B star Johnny Otis and in 1952, began working with Lionel Hampton, with whom she sang at President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration. Settling in New York, she sang on Gigi Gryce’s 1955 album Nica’s Tempo and released her own debut, Hot Cargo, the following year on Mercury Records. In 1959, Anderson relocated to Los Angeles, where she continued to record for Mercury.
Her 1960 album, “Black Moonlight” includes LAZY AFTERNOON.

Anderson signed with Quincy Jones’ Qwest label. She was nominated in 1993 for a Grammy. 

Anderson toured internationally and played many of the great venues in the U.S., including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, as well as performing at major jazz festivals.

She died in 2016 at 87.

TAWANDA SUESSBRICH-JOAQUIM

TAWANDA SUESSBRICH-JOAQUIM, 25, an exciting rising star among jazz vocalists, grew up in Las Cruces, NM. Her parents filled her home with music from South Africa, folk-pop and classical.

Tawanda discovered jazz later in college where her singing was inspired by jazz legends Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughn and Nina Simone and contemporary greats

 Esperanza Spalding and Jazzmeia Horn, among others.Tawanda competed at the 9th annual Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition aka “The Sassys” in June 2021 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The competition had been delayed due to the Covid pandemic. There, she won 1st prize, sharing honors in a tie.Like SARAH VAUGHN, Tawanda has performed JEROME MOROSS’S LAZY AFTERNOON, now an established Jazz favorite.

Click here: https://youtu.be/lJe7Co1wlcs

Other winners of the “Sassys” whom we have posted include DEELEE DUBÉ (2016) and CYRILLE AIMEE (2012).

HANK JONES

HANK JONES, 5-time Grammy winner who recorded more than 60 albums was one of the most beloved jazz pianists of his age. His death, 10 years ago at 91 left behind a history of influence on all the jazz greats, from Cannonball Adderly to Ella Fitzgerald and so many more. While all are thoughts are focused on our family’s at this time and our future, take a moment to relax with HANK JONES’ recording of JEROME MOROSS’S LAZY AFTERNOON.

SHIRLEY HORNE

SHIRLEY HORNE collaborated with many jazz greats including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and others. She was most noted for her ability to accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence and ability on the piano while singing, something described by arranger Johnny Mandel as “like having two heads”, and for her rich, lush voice, a smoky contralto, which was described by noted producer and arranger Quincy Jones as “like clothing, as she seduces you with her voice”.

GRANT GREEN

GRANT GREEN, guitarist was described by critics Michael Erlewine and Ron Wynn as , “A severely underrated player during his lifetime, Grant Green is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar … Green’s playing is immediately recognizable – perhaps more than any other guitarist.” Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as “lithe, loose, slightly bluesy and righteously groovy.”


Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri and died at the young age of 43.

SARAH VAUGHAN

SARAH VAUGHAN was a comet whose career took off and never slowed down. She sang with all the greats and while called a jazz singer, “Sassy’s” voice defied description. In 1972, Sinatra was quoted as saying, “Sassy is so good now when I listen to her I want to cut my wrists with a dull razor.” In 1990, we lost her too soon at 66.

CAROLINE HENDERSON

CAROLINE HENDERSON, a singer with a global reputation that spans decades, has made Jazz a truly international art form. She was born in Stockholm, grew up in Philadelphia, New York and Paris, and in 1983 she moved to Copenhagen.

As a teenager she sang in various jazz bands, and in 1989 she got her breakthrough in Denmark, which she now calls home. Henderson has released over a dozen albums, including “Don’t Explain” featuring “The Golden Apple’s” LAZY AFTERNOON.
https://youtu.be/hpxdAGF5Lfw

Henderson has won numerous awards and serves as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef with special attention to violence against children.

For those of you who have overlooked her, you are in for remarkable treat.

 

HOLLY COLE

HOLLY COLE, acclaimed Canadian vocalist, isn’t an artist who falls into any single category. Her smoky voice is sultry, yet she’s ironically humorous and candid while reshaping traditional standards and pop classics. 

Jazz is her bedrock, but not exclusively. It’s a sound that helped build her a loyal fan base after she emerged on the Toronto jazz scene in the 1980s. Working with her trio of bassist David Piltch and pianist Aaron Davis, she earned accolades, including Juno Awards for 1993’s Don’t Smoke in Bed and 2003’s Shade. Her music remains deeply inventive and atmospheric, even when drawing upon the classic traditional pop sound of the ’50s and ’60s, as she did on 2007’s Holly Cole.
-MacKenzie Wilson

Her recent album HOLLY features “The Golden Apple” hit LAZY AFTERNOON.

JOHN COLTRANE

JOHN COLTRANE was one of the most famous saxophone players of all time. He was featured in Winner’s Circle, a 1957 album by jazz musicians who came in first or second in “Down Beat’s” critics’ poll of the same year. He selected Jerome Moross’s and John Latouche’s LAZY AFTERNOON for his recording. A great compilation of the greats.

LA TANYA HALL

LA TANYA HALL, American vocalist, is poised to take her place as one of the foremost jazz artists in the world today. Her ability to reinvent the Great American Songbook is amassing glorious reviews from around the globe. “It’s About Time,” featuring Moross/Latouche’s LAZY AFTERNOON (Bridge Records 2008),

Hall’s debut recording, has been heralded as “an impressive debut from one of jazz’s brightest stars,” Jazz.com describes her as “a woman ripe with talent [whose] interpretative skills are a marvel.”

With a very extensive bio, her versatility in a variety of musical genres has allowed her to collaborate with some of music’s most celebrated artists, including Diana Ross, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Belafonte, Michael McDonald, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Michael Feinstein Aretha Franklin, Rob Thomas, and Patti Labelle. And she has appeared as a soloist in her own right with the American Composer’s Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony.

ERIC BIBB

It is easy to point to Eric’s accomplishments. A five-decade career recording with folk and blues royalty. Two Grammy nominations and multiple Blues Foundation awards. . .To meet Eric is to be struck by both his humility and his warmth. There is no pretense in him. He is remarkably centered, his convictions based in the values of the civil rights movement of the sixties. Eric’s music works in service of that dream, holding out a hope for a new world.

Eric carries this mantle honestly. His father, the late Leon Bibb, was an activist, actor, and folk singer who marched at Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King. Eric’s youth was spent immersed in the Village folk scene. Names like Dylan, Baez, and Seeger were visitors to his home. He was deeply influenced by Odetta, Richie Havens, and Taj Mahal. And he has synthesized all of that into his very own style.
From Joe McSpadden

Eric and his father, Leon, sing LAZY AFTERNOON by Moross and Latouche as a duet from Eric’s album ROADWORKS

Eric carries this mantle honestly. His father, the late Leon Bibb, was an activist, actor, and folk singer who marched at Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King. Eric’s youth was spent immersed in the Village folk scene. Names like Dylan, Baez, and Seeger were visitors to his home. He was deeply influenced by Odetta, Richie Havens, and Taj Mahal. And he has synthesized all of that into his very own style.
From Joe McSpadden

Eric and his father, Leon, sing LAZY AFTERNOON by Moross and Latouche as a duet from Eric’s album ROADWORKS.

EARTHA KITT

EARTHA KITT, singer, actor, anti-war activist, legend. Her sultry voice was unmistakable with hits like “C’est Si Bon” and “Santa Baby.” She died Christmas Day, 2008 at 81. Here she sings the classic Moross/Latouche favorite, LAZY AFTERNOON,” our holiday gift to you.

VANESSA WILLIAMS

VANESSA WILLIAMS, is one of just a few artists to score No. 1 and Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Album and Singles charts in the combined areas of Pop, Dance, R&B, Adult Contemporary, Holiday, Latin, Gospel and Jazz—the latter is where her release, “The Real Thing,” debuted at No. 1 in June of 2009.

Included on the album is LAZY AFTERNOON, adding Ms. Williams to the club of superstar artists who have recorded it.

 

DEELEE DUBÉ

DEELEE DUBÉ (pronounced Doo-beh, accented “é”) made history by becoming the first British Winner and recipient of the 2016 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and is one of today’s foremost gifted vocalists to have emerged from the London scene in many years.

 Embodying a stellar African musical lineage, the eclectic tastes of a London upbringing and a deep love and respect for the jazz tradition, Deelee possesses what Jazz Times called ‘a warm tone, genuine blues feeling and easy rhythmic authority.’ Deelee’s late father was the famed South African jazz pianist Jabu Nkosi. . She formed her first band at the age of 14. She attended the BRIT School for arts and music, and received formal voice sessions under Anton Browne later studying as a music undergraduate at South Bank University and Morley College with vocalist Clare Foster, and forming the first of many musical relationships with jazz pianist Roland Perrin.

Look for her album TRYING TIMES with LAZY AFTERNOON.

ERICA PAPILLION-POSEY

ERICA PAPILLION-POSEY, versatile vocalist, songwriter and author wraps up our survey of artists for Black History Month. Papillion-Posey is equally at home in the jazz and classical idioms. This Louisiana native is not to be missed on any stage! The release of her 3rd studio album, BETTER ANGELS, April 2019, an 11 track work which boasts 10 original compositions complemented by Papillion-Posey’s own, thought-provoking, introspective lyrics. With each record she continues to evolve, not just as a vocalist but as a noted lyricist, emerging arranger and composer.

Erica Papillion-Posey performs BECAUSE OF THEM, 3rd Annual Women’s History Month Tribute (virtual)an array of jazz standards, made household gems, by celebrated artists: Sarah, Nina, Nancy and some originals form her current LP, BETTER ANGELS with pianist, Mason Margut.

 

JOYCE DIDONATO

JOYCE DIDONATO, MET Opera superstar coloratura mezzo-soprano performed LAZY AFTERNOON on her album of Broadway and operatic masterpieces, “Joyce and Tony Live at Wigmore Hall.”

Multi-Grammy Award winner and 2018 Olivier Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, Kansas-born Joyce DiDonato entrances audiences across the globe, and has been proclaimed “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” by the New Yorker. With a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold” according to the Times, Joyce has soared to the top of the industry both as a performer and a fierce advocate for the arts, gaining international prominence in operas by Handel and Mozart, as well as through her wide-ranging, acclaimed discography. She is also widely acclaimed for the bel canto roles of Rossini and Donizetti.

TIM ARMACOST

TIM ARMACOST is a jazz sensation. After a life of travel and discovery on three continents, the Grammy-nominated saxophonist brings his unique life experience to improvised music that is as adventurous as it is soulful.  Armacost has established himself as one of the most distinct saxophone voices in the jazz world today. 

With his recently released album, “The Inevitable Note,” Armacost presents a neatly programmed set of contemporary hard bop with some cracking compositions that suit his new quintet very well indeed. Opening with JEROME MOROSS’S  hit LAZY AFTERNOON, the quintet settles into their groove. The theme is delivered with a commanding tenor statement for Armacost before he launches into his first solo of the album.

https://timarmacost.com/

STEPH JOHNSON

STEPH JOHNSON, San Diego based singer/guitarist and social activist, is an award-winning, multi-dimensional recording artist whose music deftly blends jazz, soul, funk and blues. She’s a captivating performer whose engaging smile is complemented by a lush and distinctive voice.

A shoutout to Steph for her recently released album SO IN LOVE. It’s a 10-song collection of Johnson’s favorite jazz standards and ballads which includes JEROME MOROSS and JOHN LATOUCHE’s American classic LAZY AFTERNOON from their musical THE GOLDEN APPLE. This record features pianist Josh Nelson (Natalie Cole), guitarist Anthony Wilson (Diana Krall), trumpeter Chris Lawrence, bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Richard Sellers. You can find her music on all digital platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and can purchase it on her website.

https://www.stephjohnsonband.com/copy-of-albums

STEPH JOHNSON singing LAZY AFTERNOON.

 

SHEILA JORDAN

SHEILA JORDAN (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pioneered a bebop and scat jazz singing style with an upright bass as the only accompaniment. Jordan’s music has earned praise from many critics, particularly for her ability to improvise lyrics; Scott Yanow describes her as “one of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers.” Charlie Parker often introduced Jordan as “the lady with the million dollar ears.”

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE of NPR invited her to sit down with him this month to be interviewed for his show, JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA. Their conversation was a veneration of what was and what will be in music.

 

JERRY ORBACH

JERRY ORBACH, versatile, award-winning actor, created many iconic roles, from Lenny Briscoe on “Law and Order” to Dr. Jack Housemen in “Dirty Dancing.” His career was launched however not in film but on Broadway where he was the handsome leading man in such all-time hits as “Chicago,” “42nd Steet” and “The Fantasticks.” In addition to his recordings on original cast albums, Orbach released his album OFF BROADWAY in 1963 which features many of his favorites from the Great American Songbook. It includes the classic hit by JEROME MOROSS and JOHN LATOUCHE, LAZY AFTERNOON. He died 19 years ago (December 28, 2004) after a heroic battle against prostate cancer at age 69.

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