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1 of 1- Graham Pascoe
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Offline - Registered: 30/11/2010
- Posts: 571
John Scott Trotter
Last weekend my wife and I were in Goulburn, a rural city population about 25,000, some 130 miles south-west of Sydney (I'll bet Ron Field has been there), and while we were in a charity shop (run by the Red Cross or one of the churches) I was looking through their baskets of second-hand LPs for sale. There were no Crosby LPs but I noticed a 12-inch Warner Bros disc (W1223) with a catchy title A THOUSAND AND ONE NOTES. Then what caught my attention was the name John Scott Trotter and a cover photo of the great man on a beach with a few children. I turned it over and most of the reverse cover was a letter of recommendation from Bing. It was a US pressing from 1958. No, I didn't buy it but I didn't know that JST had made recordings under his own name.
- Richard Baker
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- From: Kenilworth, Warwickshire, Engl
- Registered: 20/11/2010
- Posts: 1,542
Re: John Scott Trotter
Graham Pascoe wrote:
- - I noticed a 12-inch Warner Bros disc (W1223) with a catchy title A THOUSAND AND ONE NOTES. Then what caught my attention was the name John Scott Trotter and a cover photo of the great man on a beach with a few children. I turned it over and most of the reverse cover was a letter of recommendation from Bing. It was a US pressing from 1958. No, I didn't buy it but I didn't know that JST had made recordings under his own name.
It's quite good Graham, mixing light orchestral versions of some standards with some vaguely classical. Good stereo sound and available as a download from several sources. Both Amazon (whoops, I meant eBay) US and UK have copies currently listed and one sold for $15 last year.
There are other LPs apart from Bing - "I Remember Hal Kemp" (on Decca, reissued on Coral), "Escape To The Magic Mediterranean" and "John Scott Trotter's Music Hall" (and no, it's not culled from the KMH shows). The Hal Kemp is quite easy to find and is a good recreation. I know nothing of the Mediterranean title.
"A Thousand and One Notes" has the following tracks -
1. Fiddle Faddle
2. Adios
3. Sophisticated Lady
4. Sabre Dance
5. Blue Tango
6. Holiday For Strings
7. Solitude
8. Tico Tico
9. Gobelues
10. In An Eighteenth Century Drawing Room
11. Autumn Nocturne
12. Anna
And I had never heard of Gobelues until this. It's by Richard Hayman.
Last edited by Richard Baker (26/8/2013 10:59 pm)
- Richard Baker
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- Registered: 20/11/2010
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Re: John Scott Trotter
The Hal Kemp is quite easy to find and is a good recreation.
Had a rapid response challenging this statement. Very well, I withdraw. It is not a note by note facsimile of the original Hal Kemp records (which were arranged by JST) but it is a good (modern in the 1960s) re-interpretation of the 1930s originals. And it is complete with the triple tongued staccato phrases where appropriate. And adjusting one's ears for the modern stereo recording techniques and multi microphone usage, I don't really think it is too far removed.
And I like it!
- 48blonde
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- From: Staten Island
- Registered: 11/1/2013
- Posts: 408
Re: John Scott Trotter
I like JST arrangements. I loved seeing him in "Rhythm on the River", he looked like he had a great relationship with Bing.
Peace and Love!
- Ron Field
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- Registered: 23/11/2010
- Posts: 888
Re: John Scott Trotter
Ah, Goulburn. Yes, Graham I have been there. Not really in winter when it can be as cold as charity, but passed through there several times. Did you travel through Crookwell to get there?
Also, the famous chocolate shop/tea shop - like the one in Katoomba. Forgotten the name.
Also has the big jail there and there used to be a seminary there too (guess that has long gone).
- Graham Pascoe
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- Posts: 571
Re: John Scott Trotter
Yes Ron, we drove via Crookwell (had coffee there) but returned via Yass (by-passed actually) and Boorowa, a longer route but much better roads. The gaol's still there (a maximum security prison) but I don't know about the seminary. For railway enthusiasts, the Rail Heritage Museum is fascinating with a large collection of locomotives and carriages (at least one built in the 19th century) in various states of restoration by the (mostly) aged experts. Goulburn was a big rail town in the steam locomative days and is, of course, on the Sydney-Melbourne line. The rail service to Crookwell was closed several decades ago. I think the shop you mentioned is still trading (and very busy).
- •
Thread Starter- Ron Field
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- Posts: 888
Re: John Scott Trotter
Paragon is the name of that shop. Popular in Goulburn and Katoomba.
- Steve Fay
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- From: Fulton County, Illinois, USA
- Registered: 26/5/2011
- Posts: 359
Re: John Scott Trotter
I have found a few of Buddy Cole's solo albums, but now I have to start looking for these John Scotts, too.