Results for "Van Dyke Parks"

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American composer, arranger, producer, and musician, noted for his collaborations with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys on the legendary album "SMiLE." As a child Parks acted in the 1956 movie The Swan, which starred Grace Kelly. He also worked steadily on television as a child actor between 1953 and 1958, including a role as Ezio Pinza's son on the NBC television show Bonino, as well as a recurring role as Little Tommy Manacotti (the kid from upstairs) on Jackie Gleason's The Honeymooners. Early on, Parks also played in the folk group, The Greenwood County Singers with his brother, Carson Parks

Ludovico Granvassu's 2021 Sonic Delights

by Ludovico Granvassu
December 29, 2021

Jazz is not a competitive sport and “Best Ofs" are misnomers. End of the year listicles have no bearing on the artistic standing of the albums they include, or on those they neglect, just like a five star review doesn't make the album it graces any better than it already is. But, apparently, humans ...

Size Matters: (Mostly New) Jazz for Big Bands and Orchestras, Part 3

by Ludovico Granvassu
August 10, 2021

Big bands and orchestras have something smaller ensembles cannot offer, sheer power and energy, and that often equals tons of fun, like you will find in our ongoing deep-dive into the world of forward-looking big bands and orchestras [after Part 1 and Part 2]. This show features mostly new and upcoming albums from some of the ...

Deerhoof: Love-Lore

by Troy Dostert
October 7, 2020

"Where, in short, are the flying cars?" So asked David Graeber in 2012, in a widely-circulated essay entitled “Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit." Graeber, an anthropologist of a decidedly unconventional bent, dedicated much of his academic career to challenging preconceived wisdom concerning the allegedly unlimited potential of capitalist economics and its attendant ...

Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks: Orange Crate Art 25th Anniversary Edition (2 CD)

by Doug Collette
June 28, 2020

Personal estrangement, lawsuits and terminal illness permeated the Beach Boys' world when Orange Crate Art was originally released in 1995. It is thus little wonder it was greeted with more than a little ballyhoo (even if that was bit tentative), but that's also because it was, apart from the single song “Sail On Sailor" from Holland ...

Hank Williams, Jaco Pastorius, Harry Dean Stanton Headline Record Store Day Titles from Omnivore Recordings

March 2, 2014

If only every day could be like Record Store Day. On a mid-April Saturday, the hearty breed of surviving disc emporiums teem with music fans and crate diggers — all hoping to get their hands on the many limited-edition vinyl records issued by the labels. Omnivore Recordings will contribute four titles to the Record Store Day ...

Van Dyke Parks: First three solo albums reissued

by John Eyles
July 20, 2012

Songwriter, singer and pianist Van Dyke Parks has so many claims to fame that together they would form the basis of an excellent “true or false" quiz. Consider the following: as a child actor, he appeared with such legendary figures as Lillian Gish, Grace Kelly and Alec Guinness; his first arranging job was “The Bare Necessities" ...

Van Dyke Parks: London, England, June 23, 2012

by John Eyles
July 11, 2012

Van Dyke Parks with Britten Sinfonia + special guestsBarbicanLondonJune 23, 2012The most obvious reason for Van Dyke Parks to play this one-off London concert was that his first three solo albums-- Song Cycle (Warner Bros, 1968), Discover America (Warner Bros, 1972) and Clang of the Yankee Reaper (Warner Bros 1975)--had just ...

Allen Toussaint: The Bright Mississippi

by Mike Perciaccante
May 8, 2009

When asked about Allen Toussaint, Van Dyke Parks once said, “he's the greatest pianist alive, only no one knows it... including him." High praise from one legend to another. With The Bright Mississippi, Toussaint has finally released a jazz-oriented album. Though jazz-influences can be found on many of his rock/funk sides as well as in many ...