Is it hot or is it just me? Sitting near the breeze my window air conditioning unit whispers out on the high setting, I can't help but think about iced tea... or lemonade... or a Moscow Mule. Or June Christy's landmark Jazz album "Something Cool." Where in the Boz Scaggs blog I was kicking off your summer with a top-down-on-the-whip album, I'm bidding adieu, albeit early, with this stunning--STUNNING record.
June Christy is one of my favorite singers ever. I am immensely influenced by her technique--the way she can swing a note from a crescendo to a whisper. She never over-sings (I may on occasion). Her voice sounds as if she drank just enough Manhattans and smoked just enough Pall Malls and then called it quits with them. The voice you hear in the samples above is the voice of a woman who is probably at the top of my "most underrated singers of all time list"--a list that gets longer by the second.
Shirley Luster was from Illinois, born 1925, and went through a few name changes before she landed on June Christy and began singing as the vocalist for The Stan Kenton Orchestra. In the late 1940s she wanted to branch out and teamed up with bandleader Pete Rugolo who hailed from the San Francisco Bay Area (hey-now-hey!) and would go on to arrange and produce 9 or so albums for June, all of them masterpieces in my biased mind. But none was such a landmark as "Something Cool" an album that would inspire the recording and producing process of other albums that were far more gargantuan hits, namely Carole King's "Tapestry" produced by Merry Clayton alum and label CEO Lou Adler. 'Cool' is considered the album that ushered in the "Cool Jazz" movement post WWII. This is Jazz that is inspired by classical music and is more formal and orchestral than other types of Jazz, i.e. Bebop.
Issued as a 10" LP with seven songs in mono in 1954, a fuller version was released in 1955 with the seven songs plus four more, totaling eleven and then the album was re-recorded altogether in 1960 to accommodate for Stereo. Yes my music loves, for those who do not know the difference, in early recording there was monaural and then later stereo. Monaural basically means that what you hear was recorded all at once and fed into one channel into the soundboard. Stereo was developed to mimic human hearing since we have two ears on either side of our head. What is fantastic about the iTunes version of "Something Cool" above and the CD version is that it includes both 11 original mono tracks and the re-recorded 11 stereo tracks. (Please make sure it is the 2001 pressing; all pressings of CD before this are out of original song sequence). The vocals are different on each (there was a 5 year gap between recordings) but I encourage you to listen to the MONO version. When you hear this, picture Miss Christy standing at a microphone with a whole orchestra behind her. That is how this record was recorded to vinyl. It's like you're right there with June, watching her croon with the orchestra. The bass that walks, the brass that shouts, the strings that weep, the flutes and woodwinds that swirl like a cool breeze--it's a magnificent listening experience and I encourage you to sit somewhere: a beach, a bench, a bed--and listen to this flawless musical experience. I've got chills just writing about it.
Usually I single out favorite tracks, or tracks of note on an album, even though I truly believe albums are full start to finish experiences. You wouldn't look at 2 or 3 of the pictures in a family photo album would you? That logic applies here. From the intro flutes and June's restless croon on the title track "Something cool, I'd like to order something cool, it's so warm here in town and the heat gets me down yes, I'd like something cool."
Miss Christy's phrasing is quite unique. The way she pronounces her 'O' vowels are rather spread making the word "moon" sound less like "moooon" and more like "Mewn." Even her "oohs" are more "ews." I've included some video below of her performing live. Have a look at this singing genius:
For me, June Christy is a mystery--well, for most actually. Not much is known about her personal life. She struggled with alcoholism and was agnostic, though according to Wikipedia she was well versed in philosophies and theologies. Have a look at more of her in the brief gallery below. What I and we music lovers know for sure is that it is our duty to keep her legacy alive. If I had the financial wherewithal, I would distribute a copy of "Something Cool" to anyone and everyone. It's that good of an album. It may not sound like it at first listen, but set it on repeat and you'll be a believer.
