The Emil Richards and Joe Porcaro All Star Big Band – Odd Men In
Emil Richards and Joe Porcaro lead a big band in this collection of uptempo jazz originals.
Pete Christlieb, saxophone
Chuck Findley, trumpet
Lanny Morgan, saxophone
Barry Zweig, guitar
David Garfield, piano
I never thought AIX Records would record two big bands in a single year…but this opportunity was just too good to pass up. Emil Richards, Joe Porcaro, Mike Valerio and David Garfield, collectively known as Calamari, recorded a quartet record for AIX Records in the spring of 2003. Once Emil came to the studio to experience the playback mixed in high-definition, 5.1 channel surround sound he was absolutely blown away. In all of his years of recording, he had never experienced the sense of intimacy, the detail and rich tone that HD-Audio can deliver.
The very next day he called me and told me about his big band and asked if I would be interested in recording them. The incredible players he mentioned made the choice simple…if he could get the guys all together on the stage at Zipper Auditorium then I would show up with the equipment. We had Lanny Morgan, Pete Christlieb, Chuck Findley and of course, the band leaders Emil and Joe. The tracks are amazing examples of what an extremely talented group of players can do when they’re spot on. No headphones, no processing, no studio tricks…just the real deal played during one 4-hour session.
Have you ever wondered who played the bells on “Scarborough Fair?” Or the snaps on the Addams Family TV show, the bongos on the original Mission Impossible TV show, or the xylophone on the Simpsons theme song? Well, Emil Richards, who has close to 2000 films and TV shows to his credit.
His credits span from Frank Sinatra, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, The Beach Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Marvin Gaye, George Harrison to over 750 more. He has played on Movie Scores written by Alfred Newman, Bernard Hermann, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Bill Conti, and Quincy Jones, Danny Elfman and 100’s more.
Joe Porcaro is originally from Hartford, Connecticut, and now resides in Los Angeles where he is one of the most recorded percussionist/drummers on the music scene. His musical spectrum ranges from Jazz and Rock to Opera and Symphonic.
Joe has recorded with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Freddie Hubbard, and Don Ellis. He has also made albums with Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Natalie Cole, TOTO, and Madonna. ++++AIX Records’ premium DVD-Audio/Video have two sides. The first side in an interactive DVD-Video disc and the other side is a DVD-Audio disc [which requires a DVD-Audio capable machine to play it back].
The sound of this recording brings these incredible instrumentalists into your listening space. The HD-Audio surround mixes immerse you in the musical interplay with full range frequency response and dynamics. Check out Emil and Joe for some great big band jazz.
Emil Richards and Joe Porcaro
Audio Examples:
- Free Flight –
- This is the Moment –
- Blues for Royalty –
- Yo Go Jo Po –
- The Blues Machine –
- On Green Dolphin Street –
- Turn Up the Audio for Claudio –
- A Minor Affair –
- Hard Sock Dance –
- Walking Proud –