Werner Klemperer: Colonel Klink Swings World War II

Werner Klemperer was a veteran actor who escaped Germany with his family prior to the start of World War II. Classically trained as a violinist and the son of noted conductor Otto Klemperer, he played Colonel Klink, the bumbling commandant of Stalag XIII on the 1960s television series "Hogan's Heroes," and was occasionally featured in the program playing violin badly. But what many viewers didn't realize is that he also picked up a love of jazz in his youth and would occasionally jam with touring jazz musicians.

While there was a Hogan's Heroes vocal LP issued in the 1960s, Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II, neither Klemperer nor series star Bob Crane took part. However, Crane was an actual drummer who did some recording and he made at least one LP as a drummer and leader. Klemperer was approached about doing a jazz record and he immediately recommended Crane, while Gene Lees, an already famous jazz critic, suggested World War II veteran and former prisoner of war John Bunch as pianist. Since the recording was done on the West Coast, bassist Red Callender, who already had an extensive discography as a sideman and occasional leader by this time in his career, was invited to round out the quartet.

According to Lees' liner notes, the set list came together rather quickly and after a day of rehearsal the men were ready to record. A number of the songs have prison-related titles, even if the lyrics aren't reflective of prison life for POWs. Klemperer sets the mood with a beautiful unaccompanied chorus to open "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues" before the rhythm section joins him with a shuffling rhythm suggesting bored prisoners pacing around the camp. The quartet's humor comes across in a breezy take of "Please Take Me Out Of Jail," featuring a hilarious vocal by Crane and some fine scatting by Callender. Bunch is one of many musicians who spent time working with Benny Goodman, so his extensive repertoire helped with obscurities like "I Can't Escape From You."

Klemperer manages to channel both Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith in the rousing takes of "Gone With The Wind" and "Flying Home," the latter with a fine example of bass slapping by Callender. The brief military cadence to introduce "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is quickly abandoned as it is transformed into a slow ballad, reflecting the burdens of leaving the war behind, with Bunch's heartfelt solo being its centerpiece. It's hard to believe how fast a tempo that the band chose for "Cherokee," but Klemperer keeps up with the more seasoned jazz musicians and gives them a run for their money. They decided to improvise "Stalag XIII Blues" at the end of the session, though they were hilariously interrupted by actor Leon Askin, who burst unannounced into the studio in the middle of the song dressed in character as the portly, pompous General Burkhalter to shout, "Klink, vat are you doing?" The players laughed so hard that they decided to leave the tape unedited, instead of trying another take. Evidently this recording was shelved before its release when the series ended in 1971.

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