Moonlight in Vermont (album)

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Moonlight in Vermont
Moonlight in Vermont.jpg
Studio album by Johnny Smith
Released September 1956[1]
Recorded March 1952 � August 1953
Genre Cool jazz
Label Roost
Producer Teddy Reig
Johnny Smith chronology
A Three Dimension Sound Recording at NBC with the J. S. Quartet
(1952) Moonlight in Vermont
(1952) Johnny Smith Quintet
(1953)
Stan Getz chronology
Stan Getz at Storyville
(1951) Moonlight in Vermont
(1952) Stan Getz Plays
(1952)
Moonlight in Vermont is a 1956 compilation album by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith,
featuring tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. The material on the album was recorded
between 1952 and 1953, and was drawn from two 10-inch Lps, both titled "Jazz at
NBC", which were previously issued by the Royal Roost label. Titled for Smith's
breakthrough hit song, it was the No.1 Jazz Album for 1956. It was popularly and
critically well received and has come to be regarded as an important album in
Smith's discography, in the cool jazz genre and in the evolution of jazz guitar.
Notable songs on the album, which reveal the influence of Smith's experiences with
the NBC Studio Orchestra, and as a multi-instrument musician, include the title
track and the original composition "Jaguar". The title track, singled out for its
virtuosity, was a highly influential rendition of a jazz standard that secured
Smith's position in the public eye.

Originally released on Roost Records, the album was reissued in significantly

expanded form by Roulette Records in 1994, with more material including a
previously unreleased version of "Jaguar".

Contents [hide]
1 Reception
2 Songs
3 History
4 Track listing
5 Personnel
6 References
Reception[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic (CD Reissue) 5/5 stars[2]
Well-received, the album became the #1 Jazz Album for 1956,[3] a position it
attained, according to the retrospective book Gibson Electrics, as an "overnight
best-seller capturing the essence of the cool jazz era".[4] Critically regarded as
one of the defining albums of cool jazz,[5] it is listed in A Concise History of
Electric Guitar among those few recordings which "firmly established" the electric
guitar's "sound in popular culture, elevating it from the dark dissonance of bebop
jazz to the more consonant textures of a rapidly developing style called western
swing".[6] Guitar World characterizes it as Smith's "classic album".[7]

Songs[edit]
Most notable among the album's songs is the title track, "Moonlight in Vermont", a
rendition of a John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf standard. According to Getz
biographer Dave Gelly, the song became an "unexpected hit",[8] an unusual
occurrence in jazz music,[9] remaining on the charts for months.[10] It was for
this rendition that Smith earned the title "King of Cool Jazz Guitar".[3]
"Moonlight in Vermont" was Smith's breakthrough song, launching him into public
awareness.[11] It also increased the profile of Getz and resulted in his receiving
a contract from renowned jazz producer Norman Granz.[8] Contrary to popular belief,
it was the 1952 release of the single, rather than the 1956 release of the
compilation album, which was Down Beat magazine's number two record of the year[12]

The song is noted for its guitar virtuosity. The New York Times noted that Smith's
arpeggio on the song "went from the lowest to the highest reaches of the guitar,
all in one fluid movement".[13] Echo and Twang characterized it as "complete with
Smith's clear, reverb-tinged sound, his fleet-fingered but relaxed three-octave
runs, and above all his lush, close-voiced, chord melody style".[11] Guitar World
described it as "a perfect illustration of [Smith's] mastery of the guitar's subtle
inner-string voicings".[7]

According to Guitar World, the rendition was influential, becoming "the template
for every guitarist to come".[7] Smith's performance of the song was a favorite of
guitarist Eddie Cochran and first turned Herbie Hancock on to jazz.[14][15] James
Sallis indicates that "[t]he mood of this ballad has never been more subtly
captured".[16]

Also of note on the track list is the song "Jaguar", described by Guitar World as
Smith's "signature song".[7] The book Masters of Guitar singles out the "up-tempo
Smith original" as among the album's "many gems".[9] Several other tracks were
singled out in The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon, by A. J.
Millard, who theorized that Smith's playing style was influenced by his history as
a trumpeter and his experiences in the NBC Studio Orchestra, which required
extensive sight reading.[17] According to Millard, in "Moonlight in Vermont" and
"Tenderly", Smith's chord melodies resemble piano, while in "Sometimes I'm Happy"
and "Tab�" the guitar becomes hornlike at midrange, with the electric guitar
resembling a saxophone overall.[17]

History[edit]
Originally released on the Roost Records label, catalog RST-2211, the album has
been subsequently reissued in an expanded CD form in 1994 by Roulette Records, who
had acquired the Roost Collection in 1958. The expanded CD includes all of the
tracks from the original album and incorporates most of the artist's recordings
from that and the subsequent year, with the exception of three songs.[18] One of
the tracks, an alternative take on the Smith-penned "Jaguar", was previously
unreleased.[18] The tracks were also included on The Complete Roost Recordings box
set.

Track listing[edit]
No. Title Length
1. "Where or When" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 2:24
2. "Tab�" (Margarita Lecuona, Bob Russell, Al Stillman) 2:40
3. "Moonlight in Vermont" (John Blackburn, Karl Suessdorf) 3:12
4. "Jaguar" (Smith) 2:28
5. "Jaguar (alternate take)" (Smith) 2:28
6. "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (Bing Crosby, Ned Washington,
Victor Young) 3:08
7. "Vilia" (Franz Leh�r) 2:40
8. "My Funny Valentine" (Rodgers, Hart) 2:37
9. "Sometimes I'm Happy (Sometimes I'm Blue)" (Irving Caesar, Clifford Grey,
Vincent Youmans) 2:18
10. "Stars Fell on Alabama" (Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins) 3:03
11. "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 2:24
12. "Tenderly" (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence) 3:24
13. "Cavu" (Smith) 2:12
14. "I'll Be Around" (Alec Wilder) 2:44
15. "Yesterdays" (Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern) 2:50
16. "Cherokee" (Ray Noble) 2:46
17. "What's New?" (Johnny Burke, Bob Haggart) 3:04
18. "I'll Remember April" (Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye) 2:46
19. "Lullaby of Birdland" (George Shearing, George David Weiss)3:03
Tracks 5, 8, 9, 11, 17, 18 and 19 were added on the CD reissue.
Personnel[edit]
Johnny Smith � guitar
Stan Getz � tenor saxophone
Sanford Gold � piano
Bob Carter � double bass
Arnold Fishkind � bass
Eddie Safranski � bass
Morey Feld � drums
Don Lamond � drums
Production

Malcolm Addey � mastering

Michael Cuscuna � reissue producer
Bob Parent � design, photography
Teddy Reig � producer
Patrick Roques � reissue design
Pete Welding � liner notes