Michael Feinstein, Jazz Artist ... Listening to Arlen Plays Arlen is a revelation. These instrumental Arlen standards sound fresh and new, making this CD the perfect party record for a new generation. This CD, like the songs it celebrates, is timeless.
CD liner note
Fans of the music of composer Harold Arlen will want this one for their collection. Big Band fans will love its smooth, imaginative imagery. A fine collection!
This is a memorable listening experience, a tribute to the best-known songs of composer Harold Arlen. Arlen's son, well-known saxophonist Sam Arlen, leads the big band sounds in fine form. Among the fourteen songs are Arlen's best. Songs include "Come Rain Or Come Shine," "Stormy Weather," "Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is Home," "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea," "Over The Rainbow," among others. Fans of the music of composer Harold Arlen will want this one for their collection. Big Band fans will love its smooth, imaginative imagery. A fine collection! A fine display of saxophone techniques and big band sound are found in all the songs, and special note to "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "Stormy Weather."
Lee Prosser
Sam Arlen has never been to Buffalo, but his family connection to the city stretches back a century. Arlen, 47, not only feels that bond, he also hears it in the music of his father. Harold Arlen, who composed the music for such standards as "Over the Rainbow," "Stormy Weather," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "That Old Black Magic" and "Come Rain or Come Shine," was born in a Clinton Street home in 1905. "This was Harold's hometown, and he never forgot it," his son said. "It's nice to know that Buffalo never forgot Harold Arlen." The city and Erie County will honor Harold Arlen this morning with proclamations when his plaque is dedicated.
"This was Harold's hometown, and he never forgot it," his son said. "It's nice to know that Buffalo never forgot Harold Arlen."
Arlen will be honored today as the first person inducted into Music Heritage Walk at Kleinhans Music Hall. An exhibit of Arlen's life and work will be on display in Kleinhans. Two concerts celebrating the centennial of Arlen's birth will be performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra with guest artist John Pizzarelli at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Kleinhans. Sam Arlen, a saxophonist, will take part and play two of his father's songs. The city and Erie County also will honor Harold Arlen this morning with proclamations when his plaque is dedicated.
The Arlen centennial has been marked by concerts and events throughout the world, but the stop in Buffalo has deep meaning for his family. "Buffalo was where it all started for my father. This is where he made something of himself, and this is where his musical influences began," Arlen said. "It's exciting to come here. I want to go the neighborhoods where he grew up."
Harold Arlen was born Hyman Arluck, son of Cantor Samuel and Celia Orlin Arluck. The family lived near William Street on the East Side, a neighborhood mostly populated by Eastern European Jews and African-Americans.
Hyman began singing in synagogues at age 7, but during his teenage years, he was playing and singing ragtime songs all over Buffalo. The Jewish and African-American cultural blend came out in his music, and Buffalo played a significant role in his artistic creativity.
When the Arlens lived on Pratt Street, they rented an upstairs apartment to an African-American family. That family helped introduce Arlen to new musical culture. "The significance of coming back is to see Harold's beginnings and the place where he developed as a musician and composer," said Sharon Marotta, Harold Arlen's granddaughter and Sam's daughter. Arlen lived in Buffalo until his mid-20s, then went to New York City, where he soon became a national success. He died in 1986.
He is one of the most honored composers in American history. "Over the Rainbow" last year was voted the No. 1 movie song of all time by the American Film Institute. In 2001, it was voted the No. 1 song of the 20th century by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
An article in The Buffalo News' First Sunday Magazine last February helped spur a local movement to honor Arlen. When the concept of a musical heritage walk at Kleinhans was devised, it was decided that Arlen should be the first one honored.
"He's not only a nationally and internationally acclaimed artist, but Arlen represents something very special about Buffalo," said Catherine F. Schweitzer, a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Board and executive director of the Baird Foundation.
"He used his culture, his family and his background in the broader context of community," Schweitzer said. "It wasn't about economics - the people in Arlen's neighborhood didn't have a lot of money - it was about people coming together and helping each other.
"That was 100 years ago, but the lesson of Harold Arlen is significant today. We have to work together for Buffalo, especially during these times."
Harold Arlen found musical comradeship all over Buffalo. He joined a neighborhood band called The Snappy Trio and later became a member of The Buffalodians, best known for big band dances on the Canadiana, the Crystal Beach boat.
The Philharmonic was looking for mementos of Arlen's career here when Mike Wesolowski, a record collector and sound engineer, heard about it.
Wesolowski, 37, who lives in the Town of Tonawanda, purchased an old 78 rpm recording of "Baby Face," by the Buffalodians, earlier this year. It was recorded in the early 1920s. "I didn't even know who the Buffalodians were," Wesolowski said. "I didn't know that Harold Arlen played with the Buffalodians. I just bought it because I like old records; they're like a part of history."
Wesolowski took the recording and cleaned it up using his computer, burned it to a CD and sent it to the BPO. It will be played during the ceremonies at 10:35 a.m. this morning and be part of the Arlen exhibit. "I think it's wonderful," Wesolowski said. "This is our musical heritage."
ANTHONY VIOLANTI, Buffalo News Staff Reporter. June 9 2005
Sam Arlen, Arlen Plays Arlen (* * *) The many artists saluting Harold Arlen on this year's centennial of his birth include the late composer's own son... Saxophonist Sam Arlen has a little more fun with his father's material, offering a breezy, Latin-tinged Come Rain or Come Shine and a playful Wizard of Oz medley. But the younger Arlen also mines the pathos in darker gems such as Ill Wind (You're Blowin' Me No Good), reaffirming the depth and breadth that will continue to draw musicians of all stripes to his dad's treasure chest.
Elysa Gardner
I’ve done retrospectives of many composers, but the one that seems to resonate the most with audiences is my Harold Arlen show. People are tremendously moved. Harold’s son Sam captures that on his excellent new CD.
A Family Affair
A Timeless Tribute to Harold Arlen - By Steven M. Housman
BarbraNews.com January 29, 2005 and syndicated
Sam’s way of celebrating the 100th anniversary of his father’s birth was to release a new album in tribute titled Arlen Plays Arlen. The CD is produced by Joan Arlen, Sam Arlen and Edd Miller. Sam is a gifted and well respected tenor saxophone player and bandleader, and through his company, he rounded up some of the best musicians in the business to collaborate with him on this tribute album. If you’re a fan of big band music and jazz, you will absolutely love this collection of thirteen Harold Arlen classics which include the Academy Award-winning song of 1939, “Over the Rainbow,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Stormy Weather,” “Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is Home,” a fantastic medley of “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead/If I Only Had A Brain” and a favorite of mine and many “It’s A New World” featuring Harold Arlen on vocals. I urge you to pick up the CD, Arlen Plays Arlen - it’s gorgeous.
Ever since the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, I have become more and more aware of how important and united we are as a nation. Sure, the last election divided us more than I’d like to say, but I think the reason we are so divided is because since that horrible day three and a half years ago, we have all become much more passionate about our country. Passion delivers very strong emotions, so this explains the red states and the blue states. I honestly don’t believe people voted for George W. Bush because they don’t care about this country. Quite the contrary, I think people came out to vote in record numbers this past November because they do care about this country. Whether you agree with the President or not, (just for the record, I don’t) you can’t ignore the fact that the citizens of this country are patriotic.
By now, I know what you must be saying, ‘What in the world does all of this have to do with this music column?’ Well, the reason I have carted out and reviewed the Great American Songbook so much over the past few years is to show my support for this great nation of ours. The best way I know how is through great American music and its creators and interpreters.
My latest profile on Harold Arlen is no exception. Harold Arlen was one of the greatest American composers of the 20th century. For the past two years, his son Sam Arlen, with his music company S.A. Music Co. that was formed in 1996, has been coordinating a celebration to honor Harold Arlen for what would have been his 100th birthday on February 15, 2005. Sam comments, “Because his name is not as well known as his compositions, our goal with the 2005 Centennial Celebration of Harold Arlen is to bring attention to Harold’s enormous catalog of music, to connect the Arlen name with the standards everyone knows so well and the rich body of music he contributed to the 20th century.”
Just so you know how significant Harold Arlen’s music is, the centennial celebration will feature events in cities across the nation and around the world, including all-star gala concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl; major exhibitions and retrospectives through premier cultural institutions like the Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress; and several touring productions at key performing arts centers, concert halls, and festivals. Sam is spearheading the celebration; joining him as co-chairs are Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Michael Feinstein and Marilyn Bergman.
One of the celebrations will be at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert on February 20th. It’s titled Over the Rainbow, a show celebrating a “Century of Harold Arlen” starring Tom Wopat and Faith Prince. This multi-media and musical concert offers a look at Arlen’s life with behind-the-scenes clips from The Wizard of Oz, home movies and photos. Tom Wopat performed at the McCallum in “Chicago,” and Faith Prince won Tony Awards for “Bells are Ringing” and “Guys and Dolls.”
In coordination with the events, Sam’s way of celebrating the 100th anniversary of his father’s birth was to release a new album in tribute titled Arlen Plays Arlen. The CD is produced by Joan Arlen, Sam Arlen and Edd Miller. It was arranged and conducted by Richie Iacona.
Sam is a gifted and well respected tenor saxophone player and bandleader, and through his company, he rounded up some of the best musicians in the business to collaborate with him on this tribute album. He says, “It’s always been a dream of mine to record a big band album. Like Harold, I’ve always loved to perform. In my late teens and early twenties, I performed with various bands at notable New York venues including the Roseland Ballroom. I loved the excitement and the music that seemed such a part of me.”
If you’re a fan of big band music and jazz, you will absolutely love this collection of thirteen Harold Arlen classics which include the Academy Award-winning song of 1939, “Over the Rainbow,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Stormy Weather,” “Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is Home,” a fantastic medley of “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead/If I Only Had A Brain” and a favorite of mine and many “It’s A New World” featuring Harold Arlen on vocals. The song has always been an Arlen family favorite, so Sam, his wife Joan, and Harold’s 1955 recording, have been remixed with all three of them on the final cut of the album. It’s a true family affair. Ah, technology. For those who may not know, “It’s A New World” was Arlen’s first collaboration with Ira Gershwin since their work twenty years prior on the musical Life Begins at 8:40. Arlen wrote this composition for A Star Is Born with Judy Garland in mind. To demonstrate her vocal abilities, they also composed the film’s most recognized song, “The Man That Got Away.”
It’s no wonder that Garland always referred to Arlen as her favorite songwriter. Her repertoire was practically all Arlen compositions. The sentiments have been repeated by Streisand throughout her career, as well. Every legendary singer has covered many Harold Arlen classics, including Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. To this day, his compositions continue to be covered by the most contemporary popular artists.
Since you’re more familiar with the songs than the man himsel f, here is a brief overview of this fascinating artist. Harold Arlen was born Hyman Arluck on February 15, 1905 and died April 23, 1986. He wrote some of the greatest hits from the 30's and 40's, including the entire score to the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. Songs such as the aforementioned “Over the Rainbow,” “Get Happy,” “Stormy Weather,” “It's Only a Paper Moon,” “I've Got the World on a String,” and “Last Night When We Were Young” are just some of the standards that live on today and have distinguished Harold Arlen as one of the Great American Composers of the 20th Century. With over 400 songs to his credit, it is impossible to mention every song and show ever written by Harold Arlen in this column.
Incidentally, “Over the Rainbow” was named the Number One Song of the 20th Century by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), and also claimed the Number One spot for the American Film Institute’s One Hundred Years - One Hundred Songs which aired on CBS last June. Five Harold Arlen songs altogether made that list, more than any other composer.
Whether you’re a fan of big band, jazz, and Harold Arlen’s compositions, this is one show you shouldn’t miss. If you can’t make it to one of the celebrations, I urge you to pick up the CD, Arlen Plays Arlen - it’s gorgeous. If you can do both, even better! I am a huge fan of pop music, so when I listen to big band and jazz instrumentals, they have to be top-notch. I assure you this CD is a classic, and one that is sure to send you “where happy little bluebirds fly.”
Last, but not least, thank you Harold Arlen for the joy you have brought this world through your amazing music. It will live on forever in our hearts and in our minds.
A special thanks to Steven Housman for this article
© 2005 Steven Housman 29 January 2005 Craig Hall - BarbraNews.com
The big band is solid, the brass sections are particularly crisp... simply beautiful, recalling a more generous musical time when sweet sentiment had more value than noisy violence in pop culture.
With the Harold Arlen tribute tour having just passed through town, you can hang onto the composer's spirit a little longer with this CD of Arlen songs played by the songwriter's own tenor sax-playing son Sam. The big band is solid, the brass sections are particularly crisp. Tony Tedesco mans the drum kit that keeps the whole thing moving smartly along. There is lots more to Harold Arlen's music than all those beloved hits he wrote for "The Wizard of Oz." In this collection of 13 titles, about half are the biggies. The rest are simply beautiful, recalling a more generous musical time when sweet sentiment had more value than noisy violence in pop culture. My personal favorite, "Last Night When We Were Young," doesn't include the rueful lyrics by Yip Harburg, but does contain a couple of heartfelt solos from Sam Arlen. Harburg's lyrics are printed in the liner notes, so you can put it all together yourself. Incidentally, it was the teenager Judy Garland who first had a hit with this song. More familiar perhaps are "Stormy Weather," the Arlen tune with the Johnny Mercer lyrics, "Come Rain or Come Shine" and a very swinging "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea." Others on the list are: "Over the Rainbow," "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" blended with "If I Only Had A Brain," "Let's Fall In Love" and "Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is Home" (with another Johnny Mercer lyric). The CD package also includes some interesting liner note history of the Arlen family and reprints of snapshots that offer a natural and unpoised camera's look at the Arlens themselves.
CHUCK GRAHAM, March 3 2005
I wanted to make sure that one album released this year does not fall through the cracks: Sam Arlen's Arlen Plays Arlen: A Timeless Tribute to Harold Arlen (an album that would have made my Best of 2004 list, had it been released a few days earlier)....
As this is my last Sound Advice column, I wanted to make sure that one album released this year does not fall through the cracks: Sam Arlen's Arlen Plays Arlen: A Timeless Tribute to Harold Arlen (an album that would have made my Best of 2004 list, had it been released a few days earlier). Sam, who is Harold Arlen's son, has inaugurated this year's Harold Arlen Centennial with a CD that features him playing tenor saxophone on a baker's dozen of Harold Arlen's classic tunes. While most of the album features a robust big-band sound (such as the rousing opening track, "That's A Fine Kind O' Freedom," from the 1965 album Harold Arlen Sings Arlen (With Friend): the friend being Barbra Streisand, and a delightfully over-the-auditory-top version of "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead"), there are also moments of quieter introspection sprinkled throughout (the most touching being "It's A New World" from A Star Is Born as it features Harold Arlen himself providing the only vocals of the album). In an album filled with them, other highlights are a jazzy "Let's Fall in Love" (recalling Mancini's Pink Panther in verve and vigor) and the wailing trumpet-filled rarity, "So Long, Big Time!"
© 2005 TalkinBroadway.com, a project of www.TalkinBroadway.Org, Inc.
Among some of the standouts on this retro, yet contemporary disc, the younger Arlen’s emotional saxophone solo in "Come Rain or Come Shine" and a technologically savvy "duet" for the two Arlens – "It’s a New World" from "A Star is Born."
From JoSam Records comes Arlen Plays Arlen. Here saxophonist, and son, Sam Arlen pays tribute to his father’s legacy with thirteen big-band renditions of songs ranging from the "Oz" tunes to "Ill Wind" and "Let’s Fall in Love." Among some of the standouts on this retro, yet contemporary disc, the younger Arlen’s emotional saxophone solo in "Come Rain or Come Shine" and a technologically savvy "duet" for the two Arlens – "It’s a New World" from "A Star is Born." The elder Arlen’s voice is not perfect, but there’s nothing like a composer singing his own material.
Accompanying this disc is a handsome booklet that contains not only the lyrics for the songs, but also anecdotes from Arlen and terrific period photographs that make this familial-inspired disc feel even more personal.
© 2005 AmericanTheaterWeb.com. All Rights Reserved.
Sam Arlen, a decent saxophone player, fronts a tastefully arranged, mostly big-band styled tribute
HAPPY 100TH: Harold Arlen, one of the 20th century's greatest composers, is duly honored on what would have been his 100th birthday today, February 15. His son Sam Arlen, a decent saxophone player, fronts a tastefully arranged, mostly big-band styled tribute "Arlen Plays Arlen (JoSam Records), serving up some rarities as well as expected greats like "Stormy Weather," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Last Night When We Were Young" and several of dad's "Wizard of Oz" gems, including "Over The Rainbow." B
Buffalo news review two News click here
Clive Davis
Last updated at 12:01PM, January 7 2016
Every time you watch Wizard of Ozevery time you hear Sinatra sing One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)you know that Harold Arlen’s legacy lives on. Yet considering how many classic melodies he composed — from Over the Rainbow to Stormy Weather — it’s curious that his name isn’t better known.
This show by his son Sam and the singer-pianist George Bugatti goes a long way to putting that right. Responsible for an off-Broadway revue called The Wonderful Wizard of Song, they have put together a scaled-down version in which the occasional rough edge is all part of the charm.
A reserved figure, Arlen takes charge of most of the narration, adding saxophone solos, while Bugatti, a much more ebullient personality, supplies the showmanship. They make an unusual but surprisingly effective team as they sketch Arlen Sr’s journey from a Jewish upbringing in Buffalo to his collaborations with lyricists including Johnny Mercer, Ted Koehler and Yip Harburg.
It’s the fact that Arlen had so many partners that perhaps explains why his public profile is lower than it deserves to be. Musicians, on the other hand, have always admired his sophisticated writing, steeped in a love of jazz: Ethel Waters once called him “the Negro-est white man I know”.
The flow of memorable songs is quite breathtaking and Judy Garland fans will enjoy the home-movie footage from the set of The Wizard of Oz. While the second half is a shade overextended, the duo still more than make the case for putting their subject back in the spotlight.
January 5, 2016- London
“With his stories, sax and videos,
Sam paints a multi-colored portrait
of his father, a musical genius of
our time.”
Jerry Rosenberg, Broadway producer
The best cure for January blues
One strange day in New York City in 1986, there were rainbows in the sky, everywhere you looked
Susie Boyt
It was January 6 and I was in search of an epiphany. Is that too much to ask? I swing violently just now between wanting to feel everything and wanting to feel nothing at all ever again. I was clearly having a feel everything day. To be perfectly frank, I was missing the Christmas tree — a bit of Broadway in the corner of the room. The glamour of it. The lights. I missed that very' un-English declaration the tree seemed to make to me each morning, each evening, that “Something's coming, something good...”
In this sort of mood, the best cure is actual New York but, as that isn’t possible. I went to Piccadilly, for I had heard that the son of Harold Arlen, composer of “Over the Rainbow”, “Stormy Weather”, “One for my Baby (and One More for the Road)”, “Get Happy”, and many other songs I love was doing a cabaret show. I suggested it to a couple of friends who were a bit “I’d love to come but we have a new hamster,” so I went.
I could sit in a chair at a little table on my own, with a whisky sour for company, bending the ear of the barman like a character in a Harold Arlen song. As long as I looked cheerful and not at all like the Lady of Shalott, it would be fine. I was excited.
At the moment I like jumping out of a hot bath and going out into the cool night in a dress and red legs and no coat. Where’s the harm? (Pneumonia aside.) All my senses were heightened.
The slap of cold (and it isn't that cold, so it was less a slap and more the cold rolling its eyes at me) felt so good. Piccadilly looked soft and fair of face. I spied a couple kissing in a doorway near the Ritz. Romance was in the air. I was being quite courtly with myself, practically saving, “If I may make so bold’’ as each thought floated through my mind; or “No no no, after you” as I walked through the heavy glass door and went down the steps to the Crazy Coqs. I took my seat, nodded “hello” to some familiar faces, ordered a drink and got out a pen and notebook to give myself a professional air.
Sam Arlen on saxophone and his singing pianist who had a look of the Cowardly Lion took us through Harold Arlen’s songbook, a body of work of great variety and wit and pathos, showing its roots in Blues and in the religious music of his father’s childhood. There were charming stills of Mr and Mrs Arlen, projected on to a screen, him suave yet modest in well-cut tweeds and her brimming with truth and beauty, in platinum curls, at home or at an opening or premiere or in a New York Street scene.
There were home movies that Arlen senior had taken on the set of The Wizard ofOz, the most touching of which was Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West, laughing and smiling, soft and kind, leaving her evil devilry to one side for a moment, during a break. I once heard her tell a story against herself on television about the day her agent telephoned her to say she was wanted for the film of The Wizard of Oz and she was delighted, for it was her favourite book as a child. Breathlessly she asked him which part it was and when he said, “The Witch”, she exclaimed with disappointment, “The Witch?!” and he replied, “What else?”
I hate it when that happens.
My favourite part of the show came near the end when Sam Arlen described one strange day in New York City in April 1986, where all day long there were rainbows in the sky, everywhere you looked. People rang the New York Times asking “what’s with all the rainbows suddenly”; they called the weather channels and the radio stations asking the same question.
It was the day his father, the composer of “Over the Rainbow”, had died, Sam Arlen said with love and pride.
I closed my eyes for a moment.