Dick Schory's New Percussion Ensemble Music For Bang, Baaroom and Harp

TAS Super LP List! Best Of The Bunch: Popular
180g Vinyl LP Pressed at QRP!
Remastered & Cut from the Original 3-Track Tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound!
Released in 1958 As Part of RCA's Pioneering Living Stereo Series, Remastered & Improved!
For music lovers, "Music For Bang, Baroom And Harp" from 1958 has long been legendary, and for the record industry, the instrumental classic is the first stereophonic recording to become a bestseller. As one of the best-selling instrumental albums of the late fifties and early sixties, "Music For Bang, Baroom And Harp" stayed in the charts of Billboard, Record World and Cash Box magazines for over two years.
The success of the album is based on a simple concept: about fifty different standard and exotic drum instruments (including, for example, the manifold of a 1946 Chevrolet) are used in original compositions and standards, and whether polka, march or swing: the New Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Dick Schory plays with incredible precision and a large portion of wit. "Music For Bang, Baroom And Harp" was recorded on June 2 and 3, 1958 at Orchestra Hall Chicago. Two custom-built Ampex 300-3 half-inch 3-track tape recorders recorded the eight percussionists and musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on piano, double bass, guitar, banjo and harp.
"Little did any of us who were involved in the planning and recording of Music for Bang, Baaroom and Harp know, back in 1958, what an impact this album would have on the record industry and how it would effect my career," writes Dick Schory, about the audiophile instrumental classic, the first stereophonic recording in the industry to be classified a "Best Seller."
Now, revel in the enhanced clarity and sonic richness of a 180-gram pressing by Quality Record Pressings, and remastering and lacquer cutting by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, giving this classic a fresh, vibrant appeal. The superb remastering from the original 3-track master tapes brings out subtleties of the instruments, arrangements, performance and ambiance of Chicago's Orchestra Hall lacking from the original pressing and subsequent versions.
The concept for this album is simple: Dozens of standard and exotic percussive instruments (re: manifold from a 1946 Chevrolet) were employed in original and standard tunes arranged by Schory, Bobby Christian, Mike Simpson, Willis Charkovsky and Skitch Henderson, who at the time was musical director for NBC's Tonight Show. Three tracks are of particular note: the quirky "Tiddley Winks" and the exotic "Baia" and "Typee." The jacket, depicting Schory poking out from a pile of instruments, is a classic of LP art.
The recording, utilizing RCA Victor Record's Red Seal Classical Division's equipment — the same used to record the Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston Symphony orchestras at the time — was recorded in Chicago's Orchestra Hall on June 2 and 3, 1958. Two custom Ampex 300-3 half-inch 3-track tape recorders, running at 15 and 30 inches a second, captured the performances by eight percussionists together with other performers from the Chicago Symphony on piano, string bass, guitar, banjo and harp.
Commercial success followed. Not only was the album an audiophile classic, it also became one of the best-selling instrumental albums of the late 1950s and early '60s with Billboard, Record World and Cash Box magazines listing it on their charts for more than two years, and in the "Top 10" best sellers for more than six months. The album kicked off an era of percussion recordings that tried to duplicate the success of Music for Bang, Baaroom and Harp, with limited results.
Analogue Productions and Quality Record Pressings bring you this remastered and improved pressing so that a whole new generation of audiophiles and even casual music lovers can discover for themselves the wizardry, wit and wonder that is Music for Bang, Baaroom and Harp!

Features:

• 180g Vinyl
• Remastered from the Original 3-Track Master Tapes
• Remastering & Lacquer Cutting by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Musicians:

• Harold Siegel, bass (string)
• John Frigo, bass (string)
• Dick Schory, conductor
• John Gray, guitar (2)
• Earl Backus, guitar, banjo
• Carol Baum, harp
• Russell Crandall, harp
• Bob Wessberg, percussion
• Bobby Christian, percussion
• Dale Anderson, percussion (2)
• Edward Metzenger, percussion
• Frank Rullo, percussion
• Hubert Anderson, percussion
• Jim Ross, percussion (5)
• Tom Davis, percussion
• Willis Charkovsky, piano

Selections:

Side A
1. National Emblem March
2. Baía
3. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
4. Ding Dong Polka
5. April In Paris
6. Holiday In A Hurry
Side B
1. Buck Dance
2. Duel On The Skins
3. September In The Rain
4. Tiddley Winks
5. The Sheik Of Araby
6. Typee