MEL TORMÉ - BEST OF MEL TORMÉ (1999)
1. Careless Hands
2. Again
3. Blue Moon
4. The Four Winds and the Seven Seas
5. The Old Master Painter
6. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
7. Anywhere I Wander
8. Skylark
9. You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me
10. Lullaby of the Leaves
02 I Surrender, Dear
03 Don't Worry 'Bout Me
04 (I Don't Stand) A Ghost Of A Chance With You
05 Something To Live For
06 I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
07 I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
08 I Cover The Waterfront
09 Prelude To A Kiss
10 I've Got The World On A String
11 Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
12 I Can't Give You Anything But Love
13 A Cottage For Sale
14 Don't Take Your Love From Me
15 Gone With The Wind
16 Love Me Or Leave Me
Smooth as Velvet captures two sessions Mel Tormé cut during the early stages of his career. The first was with a small group headed by Dave Barbour during 1946 and 1947, and the second took place in 1957 with the Marty Paich Dekette (plus strings) for the Tops label. Each session is very good Tormé, and each has its special listening delight. When he hooked up with Dave Barbour (who appears on five of these cuts), Tormé had been recording for four years, and he demonstrates his sympathy for and control over the ballad form. Barbour's understated, calm guitar sets off Tormé's voice to perfection, creating a cozy, intimate setting for such classic tunes as "A Cottage for Sale," "Don't Take Your Love from Me" and "Gone with the Wind." There is also a very good pianist on these cuts who regrettably is not identified; it might be either Buddy Cole or Arnold Ross, both of whom were playing for Barbour during this period. The second date was one of the many mutually rewarding sessions Tormé was to have with Marty Paich over their long careers. On some cuts, Paich added strings, which don't lend much to the proceedings. But they are more than offset by the presence of one of the more lyrical trumpet players of the time, Don Fagerquist, who, as he has done for such singers as Ella Fitzgerald, Jeri Southern and June Christy, plays delicate, intriguing figures to accentuate the musical thoughts expressed by Tormé. Listen to his trumpet on "One Morning in May," "Ghost of a Chance" and particularly on "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me." Most of the tracks illustrate Tormé's special affection for standards, most of which are done in a nice easy tempo. There are songs made famous by others, like "Love Me or Leave Me" (Ruth Etting and "Don't Take Your Love from Me" (Mildred Bailey). But with his inimitable phrasing, sense of timing, and perfect pitch, Torme puts his own imprimatur on these selections. Smooth as Velvet symbolizes a couple of impressive pit stops early in Mel Tormé's trek to becoming one of our finest and most admired pop and jazz singers. Like many albums issued by LaserLight, no discographical information is provided. ~ Dave Nathan
MEL TORMÉ - SONGS FOR ANY TASTE (1959)
A2.Manhattan
A3.Taking A Chance On Love
A4.Home By The Sea
A5.I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
B1.It's D'Lovely
B2.Tenderly
B3.I Wish I Were In Love Again
B4.Autumn Leaves
B5.Nobody's Heart
Personnel: Mel Torme (vocals); Marty Paich (arranger, piano); Dan Fagerquist, Howard McGhee (trumpet); Larry Bunker (accordion, vibraphone, bongos); Ralph Sharon (piano); Max Bennett (bass); Stan Levy, Mel Lewis (drums); Pat Moran Quartet (background vocals).
MEL TORMÉ - AT THE RED HILL (1962)
2. "I'm Beginning to See the Light"
3. "Fly Me to the Moon"
4. Medley: "A Foggy Day"/"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"
5. "Love for Sale"
6. "It's De-Lovely"
7. "Mountain Greenery"
8. "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)"
9. "Early Autumn"
10. "Anything Goes"
11. "(Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young"
12. "Love Is Just Around the Corner"
Mel Tormé at the Red Hill is a 1962 live album by Mel Tormé, recorded at the Red Hill Club in Pennsauken, Pennsylvania.
This was Tormé's first album for Atlantic Records.
MEL TORMÉ WITH RAY ANTHONY BIG BAND - LIVE AT THE PLAYBOY JAZZ FESTIVAL (1993)
2. Medley - I Had The Craziest Dream/Darn That Dream
3. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
4. Medley - Sophisticated Lady/I Didn't Know About You
5. It Don't Mean A Thing
6. Medley - Stompin' At The Savoy/Don't Be That Way/And The Angels Sing/Why Don't You Do Right?/Avalon/Sing, Sing, Sing
Three years before a stroke ended Mel Tormé's career, he appeared with his trio and Ray Anthony & His Big Band at the 1993 Playboy Jazz Festival, though the CD wasn't issued until some nine years later. Tormé sounds as if he has just a touch of hoarseness, though he never fluffs a note and his rhythm is flawless during the set, though it relies rather too heavily on medleys. The cavernous sound quality of playing in the bandshell and the somewhat poor mix (the big band occasionally nearly drowns out Tormé) are also a bit distracting. Those reservations aside, the veteran is full of energy, especially in his swinging arrangement of Duke Ellington's "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'," and he scats up a storm in "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." Tormé's pianist, John Colianni, is a consummate accompanist, and the big band has a few strong soloists, though none of them are identified. It would be difficult to label this as one of the best releases by Mel Tormé during the latter part of his career since there are many far better live recordings available through Concord, but fans of the Velvet Fog will want to pick up this previously unreleased disc as well. ~ Ken Dryden
CLEO LAINE & MEL TORMÉ - NOTHING WITHOUT YOU (1992)
2. "I Thought About You"
3. "Where or When"
4. "I Wish I Were in Love Again"
5. "Girl Talk"
6. "After You've Gone"
7. "Brazil"/"Bahia"
8. "Birdsong"
9. "Isn't It a Pity?"
10. "Love You Madly"
11. "Angel Eyes"
12. "Two Tune Medley"
13. "I Don't Think I'll Fall in Love Today"
14. "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye"
Torme and Laine, friends and admirers for years, combine here in a spectacular album which not only showcases their individual talents but combines them in exciting new ways. Torme's lighter, clearer voice is the perfect foil for Laine's darker, fuller one, and, since both have enormous range and an impeccable sense of harmony, their duets are flawless.
By Mary Whipple
MEL TORMÉ - IT'S A BLUE WORLD (1995)
2. Till The Clouds Roll By
3. Isn't It Romantic
4. I Know Why
5. All This And Heaven
6. How Long Has This Been Going On
7. Polkla Dots And Moonbeams
8. You Leave Me Breathless
9. Million Dollar Baby
10. Wonderful One
11. It's A Blue World
12. Stay As Sweet As You Are
Mel Tormé had spent the first decade of his solo career being treated by record companies as a pop singer when Bethlehem offered to treat him as a jazz artist in 1955. The label requested that his first album be a collection of ballads, probably noting the recent success of Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours. But Tormé picked the songs, ranging from Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse's "Till the Clouds Roll By" from 1917 to Duke Ellington and Paul Webster's "I've Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" from 1941. The 15-piece orchestra assembled by his accompanist Al Pellegrini backed the singer, and Pellegrini, Sandy Courage, Andre Previn, Marty Paich, and Russ Garcia wrote the arrangements Tormé sang with delicate precision, caressing the lyrics. Despite the album title, his interpretations had none of the darkness of Sinatra. Rather, Tormé invested the songs with warmth and confidence. Recorded and released around the time he turned 30, It's a Blue World marked a turning point in Mel Tormé's recording career.
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