Bobby Darin sax player Plas Johnson playing in Los Angeles on February 2nd, 2008

Sax legend Plas Johnson, who can be heard on the Bobby Darin LPs Sings Ray Charles, Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie, Venice Blue, Sings The Shadow of Your Smile, and In a Broadway Bag, as well as many other famous recordings, will be appearing with his Plas Johnson Quartet on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at Charlie O's Jazz Club, 13725 Victory Blvd, Valley Glenn, California. The quartet also features John Gianelli on bass, Roy McCurdy on drums, and Jon Mayer on piano.

For set times and more info, call Charlie O's at 818-994-3058 or visit their website at www.charlieos.com.

Thanks to Jo-Ann from Charlie O's for this info.

Bobby Darin sax player Plas Johnson and Bobby Darin bassist Carol Kaye playing in Los Angeles on January 5th, 2008

The great Plas Johnson, who played sax on numerous Bobby Darin LPs, including Sings Ray Charles, Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie, Venice Blue, Sings The Shadow of Your Smile, and In a Broadway Bag, will be appearing with his Plas Johnson Quartet on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 at Charlie O's Jazz Club, 13725 Victory Blvd, Valley Glenn, California. The quartet also features John Gianelli on bass, Roy McCurdy on drums, and Jon Mayer on piano. Rumor has it that the legendary Carol Kaye, who played bass on Bobby Darin's Lazy River, as well as other Darin recordings, will be in attendance, and will very likely sit in with the band.

Sets are at 8pm, 9:30pm, and 11pm. For more info call Charlie O's at 818-994-3058 or visit their website at www.charlieos.com.

Thanks to Jan Derrer of lostandsound.wordpress.com and Jo-Ann from Charlie O's for this info.

Bobby Darin Arranger Roger Kellaway receives French Jazz Academy Award

Bobby Darin's friend and arranger, Roger Kellaway, will receive the "Best Record Of The Year" award in the "Classic Jazz" category from the French Jazz Academy at a ceremony on Monday, January 7, 2008 at the Grand Foyer of the Châtelet Theater in Paris, France. The award is for the Roger Kellaway Trio album "Heroes."

Kellaway is best known to Bobby Darin fans as the arranger behind Darin's brilliant "Sings Doctor Dolittle" LP. He was also Darin's musical director from 1966 to 1968.

Kellaway's "Heroes" is a tribute to the great piano/bass/guitar trios of the past, including those led by Art Tatum, Nat Cole and, particularly, the great Oscar Peterson. "Heroes" is the second record from the Roger Kellaway Trio, the first being 2005's amazing Darin tribute, "Remembering Bobby Darin."

The prestigious French Jazz Academy Awards were first created in 1955. The college of voters is made up of 60 independent journalists, photographers, writers, and radio and TV producers.

Kellaway had this to say about the upcoming event:

"What a great honor it is to receive Le Prix du Jazz Classique for my latest IPO CD, Heroes. My guitarist, Bruce Forman; bassist, Dan Lutz and I give a warm and heartfelt thank you to the French Jazz Academy and its members. Now, of course, Heroes becomes a memorial dedication to the late and great pianist, Oscar Peterson. My thanks to Guy Chauvier and his Classical Jazz Committee. Also, my thanks to Academy President, Francois Lacharme, for his hospitality. I look forward to renewing our friendship. I will see you all in Paris for the January event!"

Get the Roger Kellaway Trio CD 'Heroes' at Amazon

Get the Roger Kellaway Trio CD 'Remembering Bobby Darin' at Amazon

Hear Samples from the Roger Kellaway Trio CD 'Remembering Bobby Darin'

Bobby Darin CD Profile: Winners

Bobby Darin: Winners (Atco 33-167, June 1964)
CD Release: Collectors' Choice CCM-403, 4/6/2004
Recording Dates: Feb. 1-2, 1960, Los Angeles, CA
Producers: Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun
Arrangements: Bobby Scott
Musicians: Bobby Scott (cond, p)
FEB 1-Larry Bunker (vib); Howard Roberts (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Ronnie Zito (d); Jack Costanzo (cga).

FEB 2-Larry Bunker (vib); Howard Roberts (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Ronnie Zito (d); Carlos Vidal (cga).

SPECIAL NOTE: Above credits do not apply to "Milord" or "Golden Earrings," which were recorded at different sessions, as detailed below.

MILORD-June 20, 1960, NYC. Other info unknown.

GOLDEN EARRINGS-March 25, 1961, Los Angeles, CA. Fred Norman (arr, cond); Manny Klein, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock (tp); Marshall Cram (tb); Plas Johnson (sax); Israel Baker, Al Beller, Jacques Gasselin, Dan Lube, Erno Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Misha Russell, Marshall Sosson (vln); Armand Kaproff, Edgar Lustgarten (cello); Richard Behrke (p); Irving Ashby, Barney Kessel (g); Keith Mitchell (aka Red Mitchell) (b); Larry Bunker, Ronnie Zito (d).

Original LP Sequence:

Side 1:
Milord (Marguerite Monnot/Georges Moustaki) (June 20, 1960)
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler) (February 2)
Anything Goes (Cole Porter) (February 1)
Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell) (February 2)
Golden Earrings (Ray Evans/Jay Livingston/Victor Young) (March 25, 1961)
When Day Is Done (Buddy DeSylva/Robert Katscher) (February 2)

Side 2:
I've Found A New Baby (Jack Palmer/Spencer Williams) (February 2)
What A Difference A Day Made (Stanley Adams/María Mendez Grever) (February 2)
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry (Walter Donaldson/Abe Lyman) (February 2)
Hard Hearted Hannah (Milton Ager/Charles Bates/Bob Bigelow/Jack Yellen) (February 1)
Easy Living (Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin) (February 2)
They All Laughed (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) (February 1)

NOTE: Bobby's friend and mentor, comedian George Burns, provides the laughter for the track, "They All Laughed."

Comments: With smoky, intimate arrangements by Bobby Scott and backed by Scott's 6-piece combo, Darin turns out the jazziest album of his career. This record is truly a milestone, not to mention a wonderful listen. Bobby is so cool, so smooth, so laid back, and yet so ultimately thrilling with his delivery. One of his best.

New Bobby Darin CD: “Sings Doctor Dolittle/Born Walden Robert Cassotto”

The good news coming from UK label Demon/Edsel just never seems to stop. First, they gift Bobby Darin fans with re-issues of the "Shadow of Your Smile/In a Broadway Bag" and "If I Were a Carpenter/Inside Out" 2-on-1 CDs... and now, they're bringing us a 2-on-1 disc containing the "Bobby Darin Sings Doctor Dolittle" and "Born Walden Robert Cassotto" LPs. Yes, you read that right: for the first time ever, "Bobby Darin: Born Walden Robert Cassotto" will be available on CD. The release date for the "Dolittle/Born Walden Robert Cassotto" disc is 08/21/2007. You can pre-order it now at the DarinLand.com site.

HA... CHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bobby Darin sings "I Got Rhythm" in 1961 (and dances too!) (video clip)

Here he is, in all his singing, dancing glory, the one, the only, the multi-talented Mr. Bobby Darin. This clip is taken from his 1961 TV special, "Bobby Darin and Friends," and it serves once again to demonstrate the limitless nature of this man's talent. Just watch him move. He has the music surging through his nervous system. He is the music, shaped into the flesh and blood marvel known as Bobby Darin.

To see the clip, click this link:

Bobby Darin sings "I Got Rhythm" in 1961

HA CHA!

Bobby Darin sings Work Song (video clip)

This clip from the "Seeing is Believing" DVD demonstrates the incredible versatility of the one and only Mr. Bobby Darin. No one could get inside a song like Bobby, and no one could draw so much raw, real emotion from a lyric as Bobby could. His take on the Nat Adderley/Oscar Brown, Jr. tune "Work Song" is a study in tension, power, and mood. Sheer brilliance.

Click the link below to see the clip:

Bobby Darin sings "Work Song" from the Seeing is Believing DVD

Waverly Seven play “Nature Boy” from their Bobby Darin Tribute, “Yo! Bobby”

The talents of saxophonist Anat Cohen are showcased in this amazing clip of the Waverly Seven performing a haunting and stylish rendition of "Nature Boy," from their newly released 2-disc Bobby Darin Tribute, "Yo! Bobby."

Bobby Darin Tribute Record released today!

"Yo! Bobby," the Waverly Seven's 2-disc tribute to the legendary Bobby Darin, is out today on Anzic Records. This New York jazz outfit has put together 24 tracks of pure brilliance, saluting the great Mr. Darin with kickin' interpretations of "Splish Splash," "The Good Life," "I Wanna Be Around," "The More I See You," and "Some of These Days" (to name-drop a few). Clearly, these young jazz musicians know their Darin, because they also offer up versions of several lesser known Darin classics, including "I Guess I'm Good for Nothing But the Blues," "Work Song," and "Black Coffee." It's taken decades, but at last, the jazz world is giving Bobby his due. Love it!

You can get Waverly Seven's "Yo! Bobby" on the DarinLand.com site.

Bobby Darin: Alabamy Bound (The Hit Single That Could Have Been)

Many of Bobby Darin's early hit singles had essentially the same set of traits that rocketed them up the charts. The formula for a Darin hit seemed to be one part finger-snappin' rhythm, one part sly or humorous lyrics, and a heaping splash of Darin's undeniably thrilling vocal style. "Splish Splash," "Mack the Knife," "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," and "Things," all released between 1958 and 1962, showed time and again that this recipe was a virtual guarantee of a place in Billboard's Top Ten. But somehow, this trend was overlooked when Darin recorded the Buddy DeSylva/Bud Green/Ray Henderson chestnut "Alabamy Bound" with arranger/conductor Jimmie Haskell in September of 1962. Instead of being released as a single, or even as an album track, the recording languished on a shelf, until it finally appeared in 1995 as part of Capitol's "Spotlight on Bobby Darin" CD.

The choice not to release "Alabamy Bound" back then seems even stranger when you consider the fact that the tune's arranger, Jimmie Haskell, was at the helm for several of Darin's hit singles, including the abovementioned "Beautiful Baby" and "Things." The latter had reached #3 on the charts only months before "Alabamy Bound" was recorded.

One listen to the tune (check it out at the DarinLand Myspace) confirms it has the same Darin magic that made "Mack," "Beautiful Baby" and "Things" so irresistible. Haskell's arrangement for "Alabamy Bound" is simply brilliant. This man knows what to do with a train song. Haskell's train is not chugging lazily along, but roaring down the track, with horns and drums kicking out with an infectious intensity. Darin sings the song with a perpetual smile in his voice, loving every line. When he talks about puttin' his "eight-and-a-halfs in an upper berth" you know he's getting a charge out of the entire experience. And when Bobby Darin is charged up, he tends to pass that spark right over to the listener. This, my friends, is how hits are born.

While it is unfortunate this tune never had the chance for the chart-topping success it so richly deserved, we can at least be glad we have it to enjoy now, along with all the other amazing Darin performances available on CD and DVD.

Bobby Darin sings "When the Saints Go Marching In"

Holey moley, what a performance! Young Bobby Darin drives the crowd into a frenzy with a medley that begins with "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and builds to an incredible rave-up version of "When the Saints Go Marching In." Just watch those hands and those snappin' fingers as they guide the audience and drive the melody home. By the time he's done, he's got the whole room whoopin' and hollerin' like they're at an old-time revival meeting. Do it, Bobby!