That Old Black Magic (Remastered 2014) Peggy Connelly & Russ Garcia Orchestra

• 1That Old Black Magic03:15
• 2Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye03:19
• 3Trav'lin' Light02:30
• 4Ev'ry Time02:11
• 5It Never Entered My Mind04:27
• 6Why Shouldn't I03:00
• 7Gentleman Friend02:47
• 8What Is There To Say02:55
• 9He Was Too Good To Me02:44
• 10I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'02:42
• 11Fools Rush In02:26
• 12Alone Together03:16
• Total Runtime35:32

Info for That Old Black Magic (Remastered 2014)

An excellent album of vocals that's one of the best vocal jazz sessions ever cut on Bethlehem! It's also one of the rarest, and comes packaged in a cool purple, white, and black cover with Connelly stretched out in a montage of some very Laura Petrie-ish images! The backing's by a hip group led by Russ Garcia, and featuring Jimmy Giuffre, Charlie Mariano, Bill Holman, and Pete Candoli. Tracks include 'Gentleman Friend', 'Alone Together', 'That Old Black Magic', 'Why Shouldn't I', and 'Trav'lin Light'.

Russ Garcia conducts the band with his deft touch and musical finesse, something quickly evident to the aware listener. Enjoy them, because these recordings are fully representative of Russ Garcia’s versatile talent as a composer and arranger, in both the instrumental and vocal fields.

Peggy Connelly, vocals
Russ Cheever, soprano saxophone
Charlie Mariano, alto saxophone
Bill Holman, tenor saxophone
Jimmy Giuffre, baritone saxophone
Pete Candoli, trumpet
Stu Williamson, trumpet
Al Hendrickson, guitar
Max Bennett, bass
Stan Levey, drums
Russ Garcia, direction arrangements

Recorded 16-18 January 1956 in Los Angeles, CA.

Digitally remastered.

Peggy Connelly
was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1931 and soon after raised in Fort Worth Texas. Her debut album, Peggy Connelly with Russ Garcia—That Old Black Magic, would be her only solo recording for Bethlehem Records. This EP featured songs taken from that album and also featured the exact same cover that was used for the album. But one can’t really blame the higher-ups at Bethlehem for using it twice because it is a keeper—a dynamic mix of sex appeal, photographic trickery and post-Gigi styling that was on point for its time and is wonderfully kitschy today.

Peggy was also an actress who had a few bit parts in movies like The Girl In the Red Velvet Swing before making her recording debut; she would also star in Ernie Kovacs’ show Take A Good Look in 1959, defying the show biz conventional wisdom that pretty actresses couldn’t be funny. Her renditions of standards are not the best or the worst versions you’ll hear. Her version of “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” can’t quite compare to what Sarah Vaughn or Ella Fitzgerald brought to the song, for example. But it is a good example of a 1950’s mainstream approach to classic jazz standards, and I wouldn’t change the station if it came on the radio.

This album contains no booklet.