MORRIS NANTON TRIO
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Morris Nanto Trio: Flower Drum Song (Warner Bros, 1256, 1959)
Cast Notes: I was actually familiar with New Jersey pianist Morris Nanton already thanks to his underrated 1966 album for Prestige, Soul Fingers but I never realized that recording an FDS album was his first recording.
Music: Unfortunately, even though my vinyl copy of this LP looks near mint, it had so much noise in playback (even after a thorough cleaning) that recording it seemed pointless as the sound files would have been too cracky to enjoy. If someone has a cleaner copy and wouldn't mind digitizing some songs, please let me know.
Given that the official soundtracks were recorded by big bands and orchestras, it's intriguing to hear the same songs tackled by a far quieter and more intimate jazz trio. Had I included songs, I would have highlighted "Chop Suey" since, interestingly, Nanton's choice on arrangement here is actually to "Orientalize" the song through some stereotypical Eastern music motifs...even though the song is all about American assimilation! His "Grand Avenue" is lively and jazzy and is fitting enough and his take on the slower ballads "works' in a jazz trio treatment though perhaps a bit too sparse for my tastes.
Cover Art: This cover is striking on a few levels; while shot off of Grant Avenue (not clear what the intersection is), there is absolutely nothing visual that suggests Chinatown. More than that, all the visible faces you see are White, notably the two male musicians walking across the street and then there's that white lady at the corner who is staring - not in a very friendly way - at a presumably Chinese couple whose back is to us. Considering that this album is recorded by an African American lead...about a Chinese American story...you'd think they could have thrown some more color on there but perhaps Warner Bros. was a little gunshy about having too many (or, uh, any) non-White faces here. (Nanton doesn't even get his photo anywhere here...and it's his debut. At least there's no Oriental font anywhere.
Speaking of which, the backcover has a small illustration of S.F. Chinatown (pagodas and cable cars, check!) plus a rather out-of-place photo of Warner Bros' studio console. Sexy!
Labels: album
1 Comments:
For what it's worth (and if this blog is still being monitored), the presence of steel tracks in the intersecting street means the cover photograph was taken from the southeast corner of Grant and California, facing north. This picture from 1945 has nearly the same perspective, and you can see the "Sing Chong" sign in both pictures at the left side.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Francisco,_CA_Chinatown_in_1945_(2729060072).jpg
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