Mel Torme

Mel Torme – Mel Torme with the Meltones and Artie Shaw (Remastered) (1946/2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

Acknowledged as one the greatest jazz vocalists of all time, Mel Tormé was admirably nick-named “The Velvet Fog” for his ultra smooth vocal stylings. A gifted composer as well, Torme penned one of the most famous songs of all time; the perennial “Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).” In 1944 he formed the vocal quintet “Mel Tormé and His Mel-Tones,” who were among the first jazz-influenced vocal groups which became the model for The Four Freshman and The Manhattan Transfer. Recorded with Artie Shaw’s group in 1946, this classic recording captures Mel and his early group at their vocal best. All selections newly remastered.

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Mel Torme – The Velvet Fog (Remastered) (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

There is only one Mel Tormé, yet there are several brilliant talents. He could have made it as a drummer, pianist, arranger, actor, or author. In fact, he excels in each of these secondary roles while claiming the title of best of the jazz singers.

In this historic recording made December 1958 especially for the World Broadcasting Systems at the famous Radio Recorders studios in Hollywood, California Mel sings every song with great feeling and beauty of vocal tone. The selection of tunes is impeccable and he never sounded better.

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Mel Tormé – Songs For Any Taste (1959/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

Turn down the lights, turn up the volume and get transported back in time to a legendary jazz night club on the Sunset Strip in 1957. Songs For Any Taste is one of a trio of live albums Mel Tormé recorded at the Crescendo Club in Los Angeles. This album, the last of the three, fleshes out the remaining unreleased live material with one studio take. Tormé’s longtime collaborator Marty Paich plays piano, arranges and leads the band.

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Mel Tormé – Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire (Original Recording Remastered 2013) (1957/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

Mel Tormé reunites with arranger and conductor Marty Paich and his 10-piece ensemble the Dek-tette on this 1956 recordings dedicated to Fred Astaire, Tormé’s favourite singer. Heavy on material from the Gershwins and Irving Berlin, these songs all appeared in Astaire’s films.

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Mel Tormé – Mel Tormé And The Marty Paich Dek-Tette (Remastered 2013) (1956/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

After flirting with bobby-soxer idolatry early in his career, Mel Tormé teamed up with arranger Marty Paich to explore the full range of his artistic potential. Together they conceived the idea of a 10-piece instrumental backing ensemble they dubbed the “Dek-tette”. On this reissue of 1956’s Bethlehem LP, Tormé is found singing with one of those Dek-tettes. Our featured track is the song that would become a Tormé trademark, “Lulu’s Back in Town”.

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Mel Tormé – Comin’ Home Baby! (1961/2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

“Comin’ Home Baby” is a song originally written as an instrumental by Ben Tucker and first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet in 1961, and shortly thereafter by Herbie Mann. Lyrics were added by Bob Dorough, and the vocal version became a US Top 40 hit for American jazz singer Mel Torm’e in 1962. The song has since been covered numerous times.

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Mel Tormé – Cocktails…With A Velvet Fog! (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

Mel Tormé was a jazz-oriented pop singer who worked at his craft steadily from the ’40s to the ’90s, primarily in nightclubs and concert halls. In his 1988 autobiography, It Wasn’t All Velvet (its title a reference to his nickname, “The Velvet Fog,” bestowed upon him by a disc jockey in the ’40s to describe his husky, wide-ranging voice), he mentioned a wish that he had been born ten years earlier, that is, in 1915 rather than 1925. If he had had his wish, Tormé would have been an exact contemporary of Frank Sinatra, and like Sinatra, he might have had a full-fledged career as a big-band singer. In fact, given the breadth of his talents, he might have been a bandleader, since in addition to singing, he was also a drummer good enough to have gotten offers to go on the road as early as his teens, a songwriter responsible for one of the perennial Christmas standards, and an arranger who wrote the charts for much of the music he performed. Amazingly, this is still only a partial list of his accomplishments, which also included acting in more than a dozen feature films and on radio and television; hosting radio and TV shows; and writing television dramas, numerous articles for periodicals including Down Beat and The New York Times, and six published books of fiction, biography, and music criticism.

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Mel Tormé – A New Album (1980/2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 30, 2023 · Comments off

This 1977 studio release marked jazz singer Mel Tormé’s return to commercial and critical success after an eight-year hiatus.

Recorded in London with The Chris Gunning orchestra featuring Phil Woods.

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Mel Torme – The London Sessions (1977) [Audio Fidelity 2002] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · June 22, 2023 · Comments off

Mel Tormé had recorded relatively few rewarding albums in the decade before this set, originally put out by Gryphon before being reissued on CD by DCC Jazz. However, his voice had improved with time, his range had widened, and he had become an even stronger jazz singer than before. Since Tormé is joined here by the largely anonymous Chris Gunning Orchestra, with guest altoist Phil Woods, on a set of generally “contemporary” pop songs (including “All in Love Is Fair,” “New York State of Mind,” “Send in the Clowns” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”), this set is not too essential. However, Tormé’s professionalism and ability to swing makes this an interesting outing anyway, and launched his “comeback”.

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Mel Torme and George Shearing – A Vintage Year (1988) [Reissue 2003] MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · June 22, 2023 · Comments off

Singer Mel Tormé and pianist George Shearing make a perfect team, bringing out the best in each other. With the assistance of bassist John Leitham and drummer Donny Osborne, the swinging, witty duo performs a variety of standards, including Noël Coward’s “Someday I’ll Find You”, “The Way You Look Tonight”, and “Anyone Can Whistle”, and a couple of medleys highlighted by a humorous six-song “New York, New York Medley”. All of the Tormé/Shearing collaborations are quite enjoyable and highly recommended as some of their best work of the 1980s.

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Mel Torme with The Marty Paich Orchestra – Mel Torme Swings Shubert Alley (1960/2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · November 16, 2015 · Comments off

Mel Torme with The Marty Paich Orchestra – Mel Torme Swings Shubert Alley (1960/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 39:06 minutes | 1,53 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | @ The Verve Music Group

4.5 Stars – Very Good Plus – “..Torme has outdone himself…His voice is warm, rich, and pure, a mature vocal instrument. His perceptive phrasing is sheer delight…This is truly jazz singing..” – Down Beat

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