Happy Friday! I thought I’d spin a little tune for you by a band I really like—Oranj Symphonette. The core of Oranj Symphonette was Matt Brubeck (cello-bass—yes, that Brubeck family), Joe Gore (guitar), Ralph Carney (lots of horns & winds) & Scott Amendola (drums); the band formed when Brubeck, Gore & Carney met to work on Tom Waits’ soundtrack for Night on Earth, & they recorded two excellent albums: The Oranj Album & The Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini. Both are still available, tho out of regular distribution. My recommendation: get them while you can! The Oranj Symphonette created some amazing takes on Mancini & other 60s tunes.
& for now, enjoy this gorgeous take on Mancini’s tune “Lujon.” “Lujon” was composed for the 1950s TV series Mr Lucky, tho it later appeared in Hatari! &, more recently, in The Big Lebowski. Have a great Friday, all!
Cool! That's a very tasty arrangement. Thanks for bringing these guys to light!
ReplyDeleteI saw Night on Earth, a quirky and very interesting movie. I probably would never have seen it except that Tom Waits was involved and I'm always up for hearing more of his stuff. It played in the local art theater here back in '91.
Cool and smooooth! A perfectly delicious Friday treat. Thanks, John. xx
ReplyDeleteWonderful music, thanks for introducing me to it. Tried to find them on Spotify with no luck - will try iTunes next.
ReplyDeleteHi Roy, Willow & Alan
ReplyDeleteRoy: Yes, they're very good--glad you liked them! I never did see Night on Earth--meant to, but didn't happen.
Willow: So glad you enjoyed this!
Alan: I know they're available on Amazon--since the cds seem to be out of distribution, not sure how available they are as mp3s.
Night on Earth: I highly recommend it!
ReplyDeleteMysterious and intriguing woooooo
ReplyDeleteputs you in the mooood! Exciting!
Thanks for introducing me to this great band. A friend came over a couple of weekends back for a "record party" (real LPs). I pulled out a couple of Henry Mancini discs -- the great soundtrack from Hatari! and Mr. Lucky Goes Latin which included "Lujon". My friend said, "Oh, that sounds like the music they cue up in a movie when the naughty lady comes on."
ReplyDeleteI used to think I was too "sophisticated" for Mancini but now love him. Night on Earth is a great movie, and I love its soundtrack, sort of like a Tom Waits take on Kurt Weill.
Hi Christine, Crystal Mary & Ladrón
ReplyDeleteChristine: Duly noted! I really would like to see it--maybe I'll queue it on Netflix.
Crystal Mary: It is mood music! Thanks for stopping by.
Ladrón: Mancini was a victim of those 60s sweet string arrangments--very good composer whose music wasn't presented to its best advantage. Glad you like Oranj Symphonette--they played around SF quite a bit in the 90s.