I was a great admirer of the 1958 Count Basie/Neal Hefti album “Atomic Basie” so back in 1960 when I heard that Hefti had arranged an album for Della Reese I quickly bought it.
Shame on me for having no Della in my collection. That may change after your piece. It did do a radio show in Chicago about Hefti’s music. My friend the singer, Frank D’Rhone, airchecked the show and sent a cassette to Neal in LA. A week later, to my great surprise, Neal called me and we chatted for nearly an hour. I was struck by how humble he was. A great shame he stopped writing music. The reason as told to me was the death of his wife, Francis Wayne. When she died in 1976 his muse went with her.
I love Frank D’Rhone. Have his terrific “After the Ball” album. Wonderfull stuff. Under appreciated.
Yes Della could really sing. Her “Della by Starlight” (get it? Stella/Della by Starlight) album is just marvelous. Her “Cha Cha Cha” album is nice too.
I was a jazz disc jockey for public radio stations in Eastern Iowa and Chicago in the ‘90s. I got in on the tail end of the golden era of radio - no programming director gave me play lists, and I used my own collection. I also saw many of the jazz greats who came through Chicago, before it was too late. Frank D’Rhone became a friend after I did an hour long show of his career. When Sinatra died, I asked him to come on my show. He explained how when Frank played a casino showroom in Las Vegas, he insisted that D’Rhone played the lounge. Sinatra helped so many people in so many ways, financially and otherwise. The public rarely knew most of it. The brawling relationship with the press made better copy. Another great memory was the night Dave McKenna came to town and Frank sat in with him. They were friends from Rhode Island where they grew up (Scott Hamilton too). You are keeping the memory of these great artists alive. They should not be forgotten.
Shame on me for having no Della in my collection. That may change after your piece. It did do a radio show in Chicago about Hefti’s music. My friend the singer, Frank D’Rhone, airchecked the show and sent a cassette to Neal in LA. A week later, to my great surprise, Neal called me and we chatted for nearly an hour. I was struck by how humble he was. A great shame he stopped writing music. The reason as told to me was the death of his wife, Francis Wayne. When she died in 1976 his muse went with her.
I love Frank D’Rhone. Have his terrific “After the Ball” album. Wonderfull stuff. Under appreciated.
Yes Della could really sing. Her “Della by Starlight” (get it? Stella/Della by Starlight) album is just marvelous. Her “Cha Cha Cha” album is nice too.
Hefti, of course, is a musical genius.
What radio? You do radio?
I was a jazz disc jockey for public radio stations in Eastern Iowa and Chicago in the ‘90s. I got in on the tail end of the golden era of radio - no programming director gave me play lists, and I used my own collection. I also saw many of the jazz greats who came through Chicago, before it was too late. Frank D’Rhone became a friend after I did an hour long show of his career. When Sinatra died, I asked him to come on my show. He explained how when Frank played a casino showroom in Las Vegas, he insisted that D’Rhone played the lounge. Sinatra helped so many people in so many ways, financially and otherwise. The public rarely knew most of it. The brawling relationship with the press made better copy. Another great memory was the night Dave McKenna came to town and Frank sat in with him. They were friends from Rhode Island where they grew up (Scott Hamilton too). You are keeping the memory of these great artists alive. They should not be forgotten.