379 – Girl Crazy

Recorded by Katsu at The Studio, NYC

Liner Notes: Andrew Sordoni, Mike Hashim, Paul Bacon

Photos: Hank O’Neal, Duncan Schiedt, Ian Clifford

Among the most convivial and talented personalities in the Chiaroscuro family is Paul Bacon, (1923-2015), whose career in graphic design is reflected in thousands of book jackets and hundreds of LP and CD covers. His original artwork has been part of American Popular Culture since 1949 and is indelibly marked in our nostalgic memory.

Bacon is furthermore a charming interpreter of vintage songs, a talent conclusively demonstrated in his project Girl Crazy. He was also one of the few recorded ‘hot comb’ players. The ‘hot comb’ is a novelty device made by affixing cellophane (from a Lucky Strike cigarette pack) over a standard pocket comb which gives the practitioner a unique sound that is a variation of scat singing with jug band overtones. The album demonstrates the effect which caused trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso to remark, “You’re really a trumpet player!”

Recorded in the 1990s, Girl Crazy is a thematic compilation of 17 vintage popular songs written between 1903 and 1944 by such award-winning tunesmiths as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Harold Arlen. The practice of using female names as inspiration continues to be popular and includes highly successful writers like Paul Anka, Lennon & McCartney and Jerry Herman.

For this recording Paul Bacon and musical director Keith Ingham assembled the Manhattan Serenaders, a group of compatible, world-class musicians and ‘musical pals’ to create wonderful settings for the varied lyrics and referenced ladies. All of the players provide swinging accompaniment and memorable improvisations that compliment and enhance the tunes while adding further charm to the lyrics, many of which reflect an earlier era.