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solo soprano
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Tony Scodwell
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 Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:23 am Post subject: Frankie Avalon |
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Having worked with Avalon over the years, I knew he was a trumpet player as a younger person but when asked why he didn't play later on after he was quite famous he just brushed it off saying he didn't practice anymore. It seems a shame as he sounded wonderful on this recording with some serious Harry James influence. The last time I worked with him, he had cut his band down to a rhythm section, tenor and trumpet but still did the same basic arrangements. His conductor was a bit of a jerk and had a tendency to "correct" me on his charts that were written wrong when I had played exactly what was on the page. On one occasion he said to me, "what did YOU do with Doc Severinsen, carry his case?" I politely replied (hard to do at the time) that he needed to come over and look at what was on the page and he could clearly see that it was incorrect. After that he didn't say much but tried to re-neg on the offered pay when payday came around and offered a New Years Eve gig at such low money that I laughed out loud. Such is the state of the music business these days in Las Vegas.
Tony Scodwell
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kehaulani
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:35 am Post subject: |
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Not that he was a featured trumpet soloist, but he did continue to play trumpet from time to time after his fame. I remember seeing him play trumpet on somebody's (Andy Williams' ?) TV variety show.
Also, I hear a real Italian singing style in his playing. Very nice.
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tim_wolf
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Location: Lancaster, PA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:10 pm Post subject: Re: Frankie Avalon |
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| Tony Scodwell wrote: | Having worked with Avalon over the years, I knew he was a trumpet player as a younger person but when asked why he didn't play later on after he was quite famous he just brushed it off saying he didn't practice anymore. It seems a shame as he sounded wonderful on this recording with some serious Harry James influence. The last time I worked with him, he had cut his band down to a rhythm section, tenor and trumpet but still did the same basic arrangements. His conductor was a bit of a jerk and had a tendency to "correct" me on his charts that were written wrong when I had played exactly what was on the page. On one occasion he said to me, "what did YOU do with Doc Severinsen, carry his case?" I politely replied (hard to do at the time) that he needed to come over and look at what was on the page and he could clearly see that it was incorrect. After that he didn't say much but tried to re-neg on the offered pay when payday came around and offered a New Years Eve gig at such low money that I laughed out loud. Such is the state of the music business these days in Las Vegas.
Tony Scodwell
www.scodwellusa.com |
I had the exact same thing happen to me during a rehearsal for a musical. The leader (piano player and arranger) made more than a few mistakes in my part, and then got on my case when I played the part as written. I SO wanted to ask, "Were you drunk when you did my part." He probably was. But, I kept my mouth shut. |
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dstdenis
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:53 pm Post subject: |
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Avalon was only 11 when this recording was made? Impressive.
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solo soprano
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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Frankie, as a young trumpet player in Philly won a Ray Anthony sound alike contest, and the prize was a "Label X" recording contract. His father then when on and opened a teen-age night club in Philadelphia. The rest is history.
He also played trumpet in the movie "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", the movie not the TV series! Walter Pigeon was the headline star in the movie.
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GordonH
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Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:24 am Post subject: Re: Frankie Avalon |
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| Tony Scodwell wrote: | Having worked with Avalon over the years, I knew he was a trumpet player as a younger person but when asked why he didn't play later on after he was quite famous he just brushed it off saying he didn't practice anymore. It seems a shame as he sounded wonderful on this recording with some serious Harry James influence. The last time I worked with him, he had cut his band down to a rhythm section, tenor and trumpet but still did the same basic arrangements. His conductor was a bit of a jerk and had a tendency to "correct" me on his charts that were written wrong when I had played exactly what was on the page. On one occasion he said to me, "what did YOU do with Doc Severinsen, carry his case?" I politely replied (hard to do at the time) that he needed to come over and look at what was on the page and he could clearly see that it was incorrect. After that he didn't say much but tried to re-neg on the offered pay when payday came around and offered a New Years Eve gig at such low money that I laughed out loud. Such is the state of the music business these days in Las Vegas.
Tony Scodwell
www.scodwellusa.com |
This reminds me of an opposite sort of story told by Derek Watkins about recording the score for the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me with Marvin Hamlisch. They were re-recording the big bond theme and Hamlisch said to the trumpet section "you are playing that with the wrong rhythm". Derek had to point out that they had been playing it wrong since the first recording in 1964 and they couldn't start playing it correctly now.
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Pat
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| Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| I think I remember seeing an interview of him in which he mentioned that he studied with Seymour Rosenfeld. Does this sound right? |
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