Big Band Magazine - Magazine - Page 9
Tutti's
TROMBONES
By Martin Eaton
I have a confession to make, despite being a sax/clarinet player for 53 years, I've
often thought being a trombonist would have been another option. Never a
drummer, guitarist or trumpeter!
At 16 years old I joined The Royal Artillery as a Junior Musician and moved to
London. A trombonist in the Junior Musicians Troop introduced me to an album
called Tutti's Trombones.
Salvador 'Tutti' Camarata (1913-2005) was born in New Jersey and attended Juilliard
and Columbia University in New York. He was a classically trained musician who
became a big band arranger for Charlie Barnet in the 1930's before moving on to
Jimmy Dorsey's band. It was here that he hit the big time. The band had a radio
series sponsored by Twenty Grand cigarettes with a three minute spot near the end
of the show that they had to find a way to spotlight vocalists Bob Eberly and
Helen O'Connell plus Jimmy on either alto sax or clarinet. So Tutti had the idea of
three versions of the same song. Firstly, Bob would sing a ballad version of
whichever song then Jimmy played part of the same tune up-tempo to be followed
by Helen singing the final chorus mid-tempo.
It caused a sensation and led to hits like Amapola and Green Eyes which cemented
Tutti's arranging reputation.
Fast forward to Tutti's Trombones in 1966, Camarata was working for Walt Disney
and had his own recording studio in Hollywood. He assembled ten of the finest
trombonists from the Hollywood studio recording scene, plus a fine rhythm section
which included the drummers Irv Cottler (Sinatra's drummer for many years) or
Hal Blaine (an incredibly versatile player on countless sessions).
Now to the repertoire - it was a real mix of current film and show music of the 1960's
with a few popular older tunes.
We start with an up-tempo version of The Sweetest Sounds, with a full ensemble
sound, and our introduction to the mercurial genius that is Frank Rosolino playing
an incredibly agile solo over what is a tricky chord sequence with an incredible high
note finish from Tommy Pederson (I think). A really exciting start to the album.
