In 1961 a group of individuals spearheaded by Fred Astaire (including Jackie Mills, Thomas Wolf and Elmer Bernstein) formed the Ava record label. In its brief four years the label focused primarily on the film music of Elmer Bernstein. The most famous of these albums were To Kill a Mockingbird and Walk on the Wild Side. Each album was meticulously recorded in superb three-channel stereo using top Hollywood and West Coast symphony musicians, jazz performers and soloists. In addition to using his original scores with their expert orchestrations by Leo Shuken and Jack Hayes, the composer employed top arrangers like Shorty Rogers and conducted each of the albums himself. All the records were relatively brief, with running times of 24 to 33 minutes. In 2014 Intrada collected up all these recordings and released them in a box set (now out of print), from pristine condition master elements found after extensive searching.
Given the popularity of both To Kill a Mocking Bird and Walk on the Wild Side, Intrada makes these available once again as a stand-alone release. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most famous film scores, the film and music featuring a child-like innocence and wonder, along with suspense and thrills as the two sides tangle both musically and dramatically. While there are several recordings of the score, this recording features the intimacy and detail of the actual film score and remains the most faithful to what you hear in the film. Passion and turbulence are on display in Walk on the Wild Side. It shows the jazzy side of Bernstein, crisply recorded like all Ava recordings and was actually the first Bernstein title to appear in the catalog.
Both have been isolated onto their own disc because both should remain in print for generations to enjoy. The title will be available on CD and digital.
For track listing and sound samples, please visit the To Kill a Mocking Bird/Walk on the Wild Side page. [http://store.intrada.com/]
Jeremy [Six Strings]
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