From Ragtime To Rock: A History of American Music

Other Album Covers & Images

LP - back cover

Label: Mrs. Paul’s Kitchens (USA)
Year: 1970
Released on LP: No
Released on CD: No

Tracks

Lullaby de Mexico

Notes

Performed during the Today Show, NBC Television Broadcast, on 13th January 1970. "The Duke" was also performed but not included on the LP.

The limited run, 100 copies of the LP was sponsored for private commercial purposes by "Mrs. Pauls Kitchens".


Dave Brubeck - piano
Gerry Mulligan - baritone sax.
Jack Six - bass
Alan Dawson - drums

Reviews

All Music Guide – Review – copyright

This is a most unusual compilation LP, as it consists of excerpts from NBC's Today Show as broadcast on January 13, 1970, a special program devoted to the history of jazz. Most of the artists evidently appeared live on the program or were videotaped a short time before. There are several special treats. Louis Armstrong plays and sings the swinging "Some Day." Pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith enthusiastically plays and growls through "Russian Rag" (he's also credited as playing "Maple Leaf Rag," but this performance sounds unlike him). Tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman's mellow but brisk reading of "I Got Rhythm" is rewarding. Duke Ellington's performance of "Satin Doll" was actually recorded several years earlier but had not been previously broadcast. Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan offer a brief rendition of Mulligan's lovely ballad "Lullaby de Mexico."

There are several problems with this disc. Doc Severinsen's rather uninspired medleys should have been replaced with individual features for other more deserving artists. Lionel Hampton's rendition of "Flying Home" is less rousing than usual since he's working with Severinsen's band instead of his own. The obscure rock group the Jam Factory is totally out of place; their inclusion is a feeble attempt to connect the evolution of music from ragtime to rock.

Host Hugh Downs' narration is unconvincing, because it sounds as if he knows little about jazz and is reading the prepared script for the first time during the broadcast. The failure to identify the rest of each band's members is regrettable. There's no telling what other performances were broadcast but omitted from this LP, which was evidently only issued by Mrs. Paul's Kitchens as a promotional piece. But the rarity of the memorable tracks may make it worth it for some collectors to track down this very obscure record.

Ken Dryden

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