In November 1968, Verve Records released what today may seem like an unusual album but back then was perfectly in sync with the youth-focused times. The LP was called Leonard Feather Presents... The Sound of Feeling and the Sound of Oliver Nelson.
Recorded in 1966 (the Nelson big band tracks) and 1967 (the vocal tracks), and produced initially by Creed Taylor and then Jesse Kaye after Creed left for A&M to start CTI, The Sound of Feeling featured a Los Angeles-based vocal trio formed by pianist Gary David that comprised of Gary and identical twins, Alyce and Rhae Andrece.
Gary first met the twins in San Francisco in the early 1960s. The were originally from the Midwest but had moved to Las Vegas where they appeared as showgirls at the Sands Hotel. They were in San Francisco trying to get started as a singing duo when a friendship formed and Gary helped them put together a book of arrangements.
The three of them relocated to Los Angeles in 1964 and began singing as a jazz trio, with Gary on piano, Paul Breslin on bass and Curry Tjader (Cal Tjader's brother) on drums and vibes. Their first gig at the Losers on La Cienega Blvd. But they were too far out for audiences. Nevertheless, the jobs kept coming, and in 1967 they played Donte's in North Hollywood.
In the audience that night was producer and critic Leonard Feather. He wrote a rave review about their performance and reached out to Gary to ask if the group was up for recording an album for Verve. Nelson had just recorded half an album, heard The Sound of Feeling and agreed to record the second half of the album on soprano saxophone behind them.
As Gary writes in his liner notes to The Sound of Feeling: Up Into Silence, released by Britain's Sunbeam Records in 2007:
The band had been playing together for over a year, and though our chats were simple, the moves were not easy. Oliver did not have an easy task. He took my scores, some of them skeletal schemes, and went into a room by himself. After about 45 minutes, he came out and said, “Let's play some music."
The album's release in 1968 led to an invite by George Wein to appear at the Newport Jazz Festival that year, which, in turn, resulted in a Mercury Records contract. The album was called Spleen and came out in 1969. As Gary writes:
I experimented with everything, from original compositions to a theme by Bartok, to Simon and Garfunkel and Donovan... We were treated well at Mercury but there was dissatisfaction with the way the group was being promoted. The beauty of the twins as well as their acting turns on TV's “Star Trek," “Bonanza," “Batman" and other shows naturally led the label to commercial thoughts. We tried a number of tracks along those lines that were never released, for which I'm grateful.
After the group's release from Mercury, other opportunities emerged with art rock bands, but the group eventually ran aground and broke up in the early 1970s. [Photo above of the twins with Leonard Feather]
The first five tracks with Nelson remain bold and way ahead of their time. Gary and the Andrece twins weren't jingle singers or commercial vocal harmony swingers. They were innovative artists who could go places most vocalists and groups couldn't. Nelson clearly sensed the trio members were risk-takers and were up for something free and cutting edge. As you'll hear, he invokes John Coltrane's feel on soprano, weaving in and out of the vocalists, who were well up to the task
Interestingly, the Nelson album came out the same year that Verve released the Velvet Underground & Nico. Believe it or not, the Velvets' album sounds more pedestrian and safe. The Sound of Feeling, as you'll hear, was theatrical and avant-garde, eager to push the boundaries and stick to a sound they felt was artistically significant.
The album's remaining four tracks feature the Oliver Nelson big band in a straight-head mode, a fascinating contrast coming off of the kaleidoscopic vocals of The Sound of Feeling. Spleen is on the Sunbeam set as well and is equally provocative. One of my favorite tracks is Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence. Because the song is familiar, you have a fine sense of how interesting the arrangement and approach were here. [Photo above of Oliver Nelson]
Alyce died in 2005; Rhae passed away in 2009. I'll have an interview with Gary in the coming weeks.
You'll find the album with Oliver Nelson here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Waltz Without Words from the Oliver Nelson album...
Here's the full Spleen...
Recorded in 1966 (the Nelson big band tracks) and 1967 (the vocal tracks), and produced initially by Creed Taylor and then Jesse Kaye after Creed left for A&M to start CTI, The Sound of Feeling featured a Los Angeles-based vocal trio formed by pianist Gary David that comprised of Gary and identical twins, Alyce and Rhae Andrece.
Gary first met the twins in San Francisco in the early 1960s. The were originally from the Midwest but had moved to Las Vegas where they appeared as showgirls at the Sands Hotel. They were in San Francisco trying to get started as a singing duo when a friendship formed and Gary helped them put together a book of arrangements.
The three of them relocated to Los Angeles in 1964 and began singing as a jazz trio, with Gary on piano, Paul Breslin on bass and Curry Tjader (Cal Tjader's brother) on drums and vibes. Their first gig at the Losers on La Cienega Blvd. But they were too far out for audiences. Nevertheless, the jobs kept coming, and in 1967 they played Donte's in North Hollywood.
In the audience that night was producer and critic Leonard Feather. He wrote a rave review about their performance and reached out to Gary to ask if the group was up for recording an album for Verve. Nelson had just recorded half an album, heard The Sound of Feeling and agreed to record the second half of the album on soprano saxophone behind them.
As Gary writes in his liner notes to The Sound of Feeling: Up Into Silence, released by Britain's Sunbeam Records in 2007:
The band had been playing together for over a year, and though our chats were simple, the moves were not easy. Oliver did not have an easy task. He took my scores, some of them skeletal schemes, and went into a room by himself. After about 45 minutes, he came out and said, “Let's play some music."
The album's release in 1968 led to an invite by George Wein to appear at the Newport Jazz Festival that year, which, in turn, resulted in a Mercury Records contract. The album was called Spleen and came out in 1969. As Gary writes:
I experimented with everything, from original compositions to a theme by Bartok, to Simon and Garfunkel and Donovan... We were treated well at Mercury but there was dissatisfaction with the way the group was being promoted. The beauty of the twins as well as their acting turns on TV's “Star Trek," “Bonanza," “Batman" and other shows naturally led the label to commercial thoughts. We tried a number of tracks along those lines that were never released, for which I'm grateful.
After the group's release from Mercury, other opportunities emerged with art rock bands, but the group eventually ran aground and broke up in the early 1970s. [Photo above of the twins with Leonard Feather]
The first five tracks with Nelson remain bold and way ahead of their time. Gary and the Andrece twins weren't jingle singers or commercial vocal harmony swingers. They were innovative artists who could go places most vocalists and groups couldn't. Nelson clearly sensed the trio members were risk-takers and were up for something free and cutting edge. As you'll hear, he invokes John Coltrane's feel on soprano, weaving in and out of the vocalists, who were well up to the task
Interestingly, the Nelson album came out the same year that Verve released the Velvet Underground & Nico. Believe it or not, the Velvets' album sounds more pedestrian and safe. The Sound of Feeling, as you'll hear, was theatrical and avant-garde, eager to push the boundaries and stick to a sound they felt was artistically significant.
The album's remaining four tracks feature the Oliver Nelson big band in a straight-head mode, a fascinating contrast coming off of the kaleidoscopic vocals of The Sound of Feeling. Spleen is on the Sunbeam set as well and is equally provocative. One of my favorite tracks is Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence. Because the song is familiar, you have a fine sense of how interesting the arrangement and approach were here. [Photo above of Oliver Nelson]
Alyce died in 2005; Rhae passed away in 2009. I'll have an interview with Gary in the coming weeks.
You'll find the album with Oliver Nelson here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Waltz Without Words from the Oliver Nelson album...
Here's the full Spleen...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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