The Blues and the Beat

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The Blues and the Beat
The Blues and the Beat.jpg
Studio album by
Henry Mancini
Released1960
RecordedFebruary 22, 26, 29, 1960
StudioRCA Victor Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California
Genre Jazz
Label RCA Victor
Producer Dick Peirce
Henry Mancini chronology
The Mancini Touch
(1959)		The Blues and the Beat
(1960)		 Music from Mr. Lucky
(1960)

The Blues and The Beat was Henry Mancini's fourth studio LP for RCA Victor Records, following the successes of The Music from Peter Gunn, More Music from Peter Gunn, and The Mancini Touch.

Contents

Origin and concept

The Blues and The Beat was recorded in February 1960 at RCA Victor’s Music Center of the World in Hollywood, California. Liner notes attributed to Mancini observed that jazz can be distilled into two essential components: the blues and the beat. The album treats songs on the first side with a "blues feel", and on the second side with a "stirring jazz beat". [1]

Mancini's orchestral albums had been characterized by critics as fresh and impressive. For The Blues and The Beat, the blues selections "were darker, somewhat less distinctive ballad covers (the brass choir of four French horns blending with trumpets and trombones enriched tunes like 'Smoke Rings' and 'Mood Indigo')." On the "beat" side, "Pete Candoli's powerhouse trumpet carried Mancini's slowly building arrangement of 'Sing, Sing, Sing' to the edge of frenzy." [2]

Two tracks were released as a 45 rpm single: "The Blues" c/w "Big Noise From Winnetka". [3] Reviewing the record, Billboard magazine gave it four stars, with very strong sales potential. [4]

Critical reviews

The Cash Box praised The Blues and The Beat, naming it one of the Popular Picks of the Week in August 1960: [5]

The "dramatic jazz" Mancini touch is put to another big band session sure to meet with commercial success. Actually there is only one blues number in the package, "Alright, Okay, You Win," and that shows up on the "beat" side of the disk. The "blues" side does contain some effective murky ballad moods: "After Hours," "Mood Indigo," "Misty;" the "beat" side contains well played, clean and crisp swingers: "Big Noise From Winnetka," "Sing, Sing, Sing."

Billboard magazine was equally enthusiastic, noting that the "unusual instrumentation" would appeal both to jazz fans and to the pop market. It observed that the album "doesn't have the assist of a big TV show (a la Mancini's 'Peter Gunn' and 'Mr. Lucky' best sellers) but quality-wise it's first-rate." [6]

Not all critics were kind. In Hi/Fi Stereo Review , Ralph J. Gleason characterized The Blues and The Beat as a gimmick album, "the sort of thing that, in the music business, follows the Hollywood formula of artfully packaging something of no value at all." He acknowledged that "there are good soloists present who pop up once in awhile on one channel or another." He classified the overall performance as slick, and the recording as brittle. [7]

Awards

The Blues and The Beat won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance Large Group in 1961, the first year of the category. It was nominated in the category Best Performance By A Band For Dancing. [8]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Blues"Henry Mancini2:41
2."Smoke Rings"H.Eugene Gifford, Ned Washington 3:15
3."Misty" Erroll Garner 3:35
4."Blue Flame"James "Jiggs" Noble, Joe Bishop, Leo Corday2:47
5."After Hours" Avery Parrish 3:07
6."Mood Indigo" Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills 3:03
7."The Beat"Henry Mancini3:06
8."Big Noise from Winnetka" Bob Haggart, Ray Bauduc 2:39
9."Alright, Okay, You Win" Mayme Watts, Sid Wyche 2:58
10."Tippin' In"Bobby Smith, Marty Symes 3:45
11."How Could You Do a Thing Like That to Me"Allan Roberts, Tyree Glenn3:30
12."Sing, Sing, Sing" Louis Prima 3:11

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ↑ The Blues and The Beat (LP record). Vol. LSP-2147. New York, New York: Columbia Records. 1960.
  2. ↑ Caps, John (2012). Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music (Music in American Life). Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN   978-0252036736.
  3. ↑ "Advertisement: RCA Victor Records". The Cash Box (Advertisement). New York, NY. July 30, 1960. p. 53.
  4. ↑ "Reviews of This Week's Singles; Special Merit Spotlights". The Billboard. New York, NY. July 25, 1960. p. 45.
  5. ↑ "Album Reviews". The Cash Box. New York, NY. July 30, 1960. p. 38.
  6. ↑ "Reviews of This Week's LP's; Spotlight Winners of The Week". The Billboard. New York, NY. August 1, 1960. p. 43.
  7. ↑ Ralph J. Gleason (November 1960). "Henry Mancini—The Blues and The Beat". HiFi/Stereo Review. New York, NY. p. 96.
  8. ↑ "[1961 Grammy Awards] – Complete List of Winners and Nominees (3rd)". Grammy Database. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
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