December 31, 2012

Everyone Is Dirty @ the Utah

Lee Malone has morphed into Everyone Is Dirty

It's still headed by Sivan Gur-Arieh & Chris Daddio.
photo by Styrous®

And it's still backed up by Celia Harris
on violin on the left,
and Tatiana on viola on the right.
photo by Styrous®

They, in turn, are backed up by 
Kevin White, Tony Sales and Bill Cameron.

But they've added a drummer,
photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

        

photos by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

photo by Styrous®

All photos by Styrous®
@ The Utah
December 20, 2012




 Styrous® ~ Last day of the year, 2012





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December 30, 2012

20,000 Vinyl LPs 16: Jack Scott and the birth of Stereo Pt 3

photo of album cover by Styrous®

RobGems.ca made a comment on my blog entry, Jack Scott and the birth of Stereo Pt. 1

It had such good information in it, I decided it needed to be more than just a footnote to a blog entry, so, I am reproducing it in its entirety (unedited but with links to his references) as an update to my two previous Jack Scott entries:

20,000 Vinyl LPs 10: Jack Scott & the birth of Stereo Pt. 1
20,000 Vinyl LPs 11: Jack Scott & the birth of Stereo Pt. 2

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Anonymous December 27, 2012 2:43 PM

12/27/12
RobGems.ca wrote:
Yes, Jack Scott's first album on Carlton Records is great in true stereo (if you can find it; mono copies of this album are more common),but I hate to burst your bubble with this information:only ten of the twelve tracks are actually in true stereo. If you have a pair of headphones handy the next time you hear this stereo album,"My True Love" and "Leroy" are actually in fake electronic stereo! This single was probably recorded in mono before the rest of the album was recorded, and was issued as a single about three months before the album's arrival. Other than that, the rest of the album is most certainly in true stereo. And after the Carlton label went out of business in 1963, the stero master tapes were considered MIA for decades after that. Not even Jack Scott himself knew what happened to the stereo master tapes went to when a fan asked him about it in 1984. They were finally re-located around 1998,to be issued on a couple of stereo C.D.'s afterwards, about four decades of being lost. Two other rock-related true stereo albums from around this period were noteworthy: Duane Eddy's "Have Twangy Guitar, Will Travel" (with seven songs in tue stereo),and "The Teddy Bears' Sing" Album,released on Imperial Records(which caused Phil Spector to despise true stereo afterwards after listening to the results; he preferred to record his songs in mono.)   

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Thanks for helping me to make my blog better, RobGems.ca, VERY much appreciated.


Jack Scott website




The entire collection is for sale. Interested? Contact Styrous®


Styrous® ~ December 30, 2012

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December 10, 2012

20,000 Vinyl LPs 15: The Nutcracker & Joyous Tidings

The Nutcracker
tasseled book-bound vinyl LP album

photo by Styrous®

At this time of year, beside Santa, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Jesus, Mary & Joseph, one of the great holiday traditions is The Nutcracker ballet. Every little kid thrills at the sight of the tree growing (or Clara shrinking, depending on your point of view) in the first act. Through the magic of clever staging, lighting, incredibly dramatic but exquisitely beautiful ascending modulating music I still get goose-bumps when I see it happening. Watch it in action on YouTube.

I saw my first performance of the Nutcracker in 1962, performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the San Francisco Opera House. It featured George Zorich. Zorich has been quoted as once saying, “Dance should live; if it doesn’t come from the heart, it is not dancing.” I had been dancing for four years by then and was about to dance in a production of the Nutcracker. I absorbed every move he made.

(click on any image to see larger size)
photo by Styrous®                                             George Zoritch 
                                                                 April 11, 1942
                                                                                photo by Carl Van Vechten

The Nutcracker was in the Ballet Russe repertoire for almost the entirety of the company's existence, from 1940 to 1962, except in 1953 when it was not performed. I saw one of the last performances of it by the company. There is actually a DVD of the performance at the Chicago Public Library. It was originally filmed in 16 mm by Ann Barzel. She was 101 years old when she died as documented in the New York Times.

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was first performed on December 18th of 1892 at the Maryinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with decor by Botcharov.

Marius Petipa                                      Lev Ivanov
(1818-1910)                                       (1834–1901)
                                                                                             photographer unknown

(1840-1893)
photographer unknown

The libretto is from an adaptation (The Tale of the Nutcracker) by Alexandre Dumas, père of the E.T.A. Hoffmann story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" written in 1816.

Alexandre Dumas, père                             E.T.A. Hoffmann
November, 1855                                                                                         .
photo by Nadar                                                                                                             .

Hoffmann is the subject and hero of the opera, The Tales of Hoffmann, by Jacques Offenbach.

photographer unknown


Early images of the Nutcracker


original costume sketch
for The Nutcracker ca. 1890


Photo of Stanislava Belinskaya as Clara (left), 
an unknown performer (center), & 
Vassily Stulkolin as Fritz (right) 
in the Imperial Ballet's original production of
Circa December, 1892
Scanned from the book 
"The Life and Ballets of Lev Ivanov" 
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire


Konstantin Ivanov's original sketch 
for the set of The Nutcracker (1892)


Photographic postcard of the ballerina 
Olga Preobrajenskaya (1871-1962) 
as the Sugarplum Fairy & 
the danseur Nikolai Legat (1869-1937) 
as Prince Coqueluche in the
original production of "The Nutcracker" 
(The Kirov Ballet under Soviet rule,
now the Mariinsky Ballet)
Circa 1900
Unknown photographer of the photography
 department of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre 
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire.


Ivan Vsevolozhsky's original costume designs for 
Mother Gigogne and her Polichinelle children.
circa 1892

Some critics called The Nutcracker "astonishingly rich in inspiration" and "from beginning to end, beautiful, melodious, original, and characteristic." But some critics found the party scene "ponderous" and the Grand Pas de Deux "insipid" (You can't please everyone).

Many recordings have been made since 1909 of the Nutcracker Suite (also see: Nutcracker Suite), which made its initial appearance on disc that year in what is now historically considered the first record album. Antal Doráti was especially well known for his recordings of Tchaikovsky's music.

photographer unknown

Doráti was the first conductor to record the complete performances of all three of Tchaikovsky's ballets - Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. The albums were recorded in mono in 1954, for Mercury Records, with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. All three ballets were first issued separately, but later re-issued in a 6-LP set.

The photos below are of the first complete recording of the ballet issued in 1954, in mono, of course, with the red bookmark cord and tassel. I have loved looking at it all these years. It featured an elaborate and beautifully bound book with liner notes/descriptions of the story, the history of the Ballet and the recording of the ballet by Clair Van Ausdall; it has delicate line illustrations by Dorothy Maas and the cover design was by George Maas.


All photos of the Antal Dorati/Nutcracker album by Styrous®

(click on any image to see larger size)














So, in closing, this is my way of wishing you all the best of the holiday season. Here's hoping happiness and love find you well and hit you up one good. All the best in the brand new year ahead of us.

And don't forget, dance brightly on.


The entire collection is for sale. Interested? Contact Styrous®


Styrous® ~ December 10, 2012
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