ALAN KAPLAN: Lonely Town

Alan Kaplan

Lonely Town

© 2001 Alan Kaplan (634479259128)

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An album of beautiful standard songs played by trombone with 30 piece orchestra accompaniment.

tracks

1 Ebb Tide
2 Angel Eyes
3 Their Hearts Were Full of Spring
4 I Think of You
5 Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
6 Only the Lonely
7 Nancy
8 I Fall in Love too Easily
9 You'll Never Know
10 Emily
11 The Night We Called it a Day
12 My One and Only Love
13 Lonely Town
14 Try to Remember
15 Don't Like Goodbyes

notes

In a world filled with cacophonous cries of rage masquerading as singing and interminable electronic thumping passed off as rhythm, it does the music lover's heart good to hear a living artist who still appreciates those rapidly vanishing attributes known as melody and sentiment.

Sure, we have our Frank Sinatra memories and our Ella Fitzgerald reveries, our favorite Benny Goodman recordings and cherished Billie Holiday performances.

But so many of today's musicians - if such a term can be applied to rappers and shouters and distortion merchants - seem oblivious to the beauty, the very real possibility of joy and pleasure, that heartfelt music can bring into our lives.

How many times have you put an old Tommy Dorsey disc on the stereo and, letting the waves of music wash over you like a warm sonic sea, thought, "they just don't make 'em like they used to"? Well, Alan Kaplan still does.

Welcome to Lonely Town, a place where love and regret, pining and rejoicing, and everything else that makes us human can be heard emanating from the bell of a trombone.

This collection of timeless songs, arranged and performed by some of the Los Angeles area's best musicians, makes you realize all over again that beautiful music never completely goes away.

It just waits to be rediscovered.

Kaplan's Lonely Town is the realization of a life-long dream.

One of the entertainment industry's elite studio players - he can be hard on everything from Star Trek to The Simpsons, Barbra Streisand in Concert to Sleepless in Seattle - Alan Kaplan is accustomed to performing every kind of music imaginable.

(The license plate on his car reads MANOWA, in tribute to the thousands of cartoons he's accompanied throughout his recording career.) But playing ballads is his first love.

While most kids in the 60s were stamping their feet to the Rolling Stones, Kaplan was tapping his to bittersweet torch songs.

Even as a lad in high school, the fledgling trombonist listened to every ballad record he could find, envisioning himself someday recording classic arrangements of classic songs with a classic orchestra.

A musician since age eight, Kaplan tried to prepare for a "real" job, majoring in engineering at LA Valley College, but by 19 he was on the road with Buddy Rich, the youngest trombonist ever to play lead with that band.

The next decade found him working with big band legends such as Harry James, Louis Bellson, Don Ellis and Lionel Hampton.

By the late 70's, Kaplan was being compared to trombone greats Carl Fontana and Frank Rosolino.

And all the time he kept listening to those ballads.

Dreaming.

Never mind that T. Dorsey has been replaced by the likes of Snoop Dogg.

In a place called Lonely Town, one man's dreams still come true.

In turn, so do countless other fantasies harbored deep in the hearts of every music lover who adores a good tune played well.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, beautiful music still aches to be heard.

Rare artists like Alan Kaplan and his orchestra keep our hopes alive.

THE TRACKS

1. Ebb Tide.
Arranged by the legendary Russ Garcia.
The signature Kaplan style: legato, relaxed, effortless.
Feel the waves wash you away.

2. Angel Eyes.
Arranged by pianist and composer Bill Cunliffe.
A testament to the superb musicianship on this recording: This multi-layered melange of strings and winds and one plaintive horn, along with the other 12 orchestral tracks on Lonely Town, were all recorded in just seven hours.

3. Their Hearts Were Full of Spring.
Arranged by Joe Curiale.
On this Bobby Troup tune Kaplan overdubs five trombone parts to emulate the vocal qualities of the original Four Freshmen recording.

4. I Think of You.
Arranged by Russ Garcia.
This is the melody from Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto famously transformed into a pop song and immortalized in 1941 by Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. Here Kaplan expertly emulates their timeless style.

5. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry.
Arranged by Joe Curiale.
Even if you didn't know the words, your soul hears a broken heart.

6. Only The Lonely.
Arranged by Bob Alcivar.
On this 3 AM and a bottle of whiskey tune, Kaplan produces the kind of long and languorous phrases that would make Mr. Sinatra proud.

7. Nancy.
Arranged by Joe Curiale.
See above!

8. I Fall in Love too Easily.
Arranged by Tom Ranier.
This is a song Kaplan has always adored. In Tom Ranier's beautiful arrangement you might hear the influence of the great Urbie Green, whose recording of this song is a classic.

9. You'll Never Know.
Arranged by Bob Alcivar.
Dedicated to Alan Kaplan's mother and his late father. This was their wedding song, and he always dreamed of recording it for them.

10. Emily.
Arranged by Joe Curiale.
With apologies to Tony Bennett, this could become the definitive recording of this pretty tune. Kaplan plays his horn as though he were a singer.

11. The Night We Called it a Day.
Arranged by Steve Bernstein.
Here Kaplan introduces the seldom-heard verse to this wonderful Matt Dennis song, dear to anyone whose ever had a broken heart.

12. My One and Only Love.
Arranged by Russ Garcia.
An homage to two special people: Dick Nash, who played the definitive version of this (and so many other songs) on trombone; and Kaplan's beautiful wife, the singer Tierney Sutton. In fact, this was their wedding song, which they performed together post-nuptials!

13. Lonely Town.
Arranged by Joe Curiale.
This wonderful song by Leonard Bernstein closes the orchestral portion of the album, bidding us adieu to a solitary place we'd like to re-visit again and again.

BONUS TRACKS:
14. Try to Remember.
A Hoyt Bohannon transcription of a Gene Puerling arrangement.
Both these bonus tracks were recorded at Kaplan's home studio on a Tascam 788 Porta-Studio. They're arranged for a variety of tenor trombones and bass trombones, eight in all, including a King 2102L, a Conn 8H, a Conn88H and a Conn 62H

15. Don't Like Goodbyes.
Arranged by Bob Alcivar.
No one does - not unless they lead to many more helloes, with the sounds of a lush orchestra and an assured trombone welcoming us to a world of aural pleasure.

reviews

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  • Excellent Trombone Playing.
    author: John Feechan

    Well thought out choice of music. Reminded me of bygone days sitting in qualitity big bands in England.

  • Excellent Trombone Playing.
    author: John Feechan

    Well thought out choice of music. Reminded me of bygone days sitting in qualitity big bands in England.

  • WOW!
    author: Thomas Zsivkovits

    outstanding musicanship! sweet mellow tone and marvellous arrangements! one of my new favourite bone cd´s!

  • Alan Kaplan, awesome player, great CD, great person!
    author: Rene Laanen

    Alan Kaplan, awesome player, great CD, great person!

  • Beatiful, lush, and calming, and so romantic!
    author: Wendy Scott

    Besides Alan's beautiful playing, the arrangements are gorgeous. This CD makes me feel happy. I didn't even realize anyone was still making such luscious music these days. I bought an extra for my mom for her birthday. I'm sure she'll love it!

  • my mom played music like this when I was a kid ..GREAT
    author: Trudy

    I had no idea the memories this smooth sound would bring back. This CD reflects great talent and is enjoyed by various age groups.

  • Alan Kaplan's album "Lonely Town" is wonderful listening!
    author: Michael Breskin

    Alan Kaplan captured the feeling of the era with his album "Lonely Town". His music is truly a joy to listen to. A musical masterpiece! Sincerely, Michael Breskin Digital Artist & Photographer

  • author: CD Baby

    An album of beautiful standard songs played by trombone with a gorgeous 30 piece orchestra accompaniment. Like velvet, it is soft; like ice cream, it is cool. This is a throw back to the days when jazz bands had all kinds of instruments, and knew how to play them. Put it all together into one tantalizing mixture of sultry and mellow and you've got an all around fabulous easy listening jazz.

  • Just beautiful relaxing CD in every way, gorgeous intonation!
    author: Tom Cable

    Perfect for relaxed listening on a Friday night! Clear bright intonation and lyrical quality. Hope to hear more from Alan because he is superb!

  • Wonderful playing by a wonderful player!
    author: Murray Cuthbert

    Congratulations, Alan! I first heard you with the Buddy Rich Band and, what great jazz playing for such a young man!!!! Your jazz playing is second to none, and you show your true soul on this album. Beautiful tunes and a beautiful sound. How about some more! All the best to you and your family.

  • Incredible!!!
    author: Sean Nelson

    This is such a great cd!!! The arrangements are great, the orchestra has a wonderfully mellow sound and Alan Kaplan has the most beautiful sound. His musicality is truly inspiring.

  • Simply Fantastic
    author: Paul Kemp

    I have come to appreciate the work of Alan Kaplan very much. He is a trombone player and a musician of the highest order. I certainly hope that this will be the first of many CD's to come from him. I will be sure to use it in the teaching of the ballad style to my students. Paul Kemp Chattanooga Symphony www.trbnplyr.com

  • Marvellous Trombone playing by a great artist-beautiful arrangements.
    author: John McIlroy

    I first saw and heard Alan Kaplan 30 yrs. ago.He was a great player then. This CD shows an astonishing maturity that really amazes me. Mr. Kaplan is in my opinion, as a former professional trombonist one of the finest ballad players I have ever heard,gorgeous tone and phenominal control of the horn in all registers. Joe Howard would be very proud.This is a wonderful CD addition to my collection .

  • Very enjoyable well balanced trombone playing.
    author: Roger Grenfell NewZealand Jazz Trombonist

    I found the CD to be very relaxing easy to listen to and really enjoyed the arrangements and feel of the orchestra well done.Cheers from ROGER GRENFELL

  • Perfect
    author: Jeroen

    Great CD, perfect arrangements. I'm glad I found Alan through www.wholewheatradio.org and bought this CD.

  • About Kaplan
    author: stan

    This CD is great. Kaplan is great

  • Lovely Arrangement
    author: Linda Mackie

    I chose this CD just by listening to one of the samples; had never heard of Alan Kaplan. It turned out to be a relaxing, romantic mix.

  • Excellent CD, Gorgeous Playing...
    author: Waring Abbott

    Excellent CD, gorgeous performance. Even my wife (not a big fan of any kind of brass) commented on how wondeful it was. If you can reach my wife, Alan, you have done a fine job! But you do need a better photo for the cover...

  • Excellent orchestral, jazz music w/ trombone
    author: Clint Herschel

    The music is top quality orchestral work with Alan Kaplan on the trombone. The soft and lonely melodies make this a delightful album that invokes a feeling of nostalgia. The melodies are very leisurely played, never rushed, never hurried. This album takes its time to express the mood of Lonely Town. What a wonderful work!

  • A sumptuous string-filled instrumental album of ballads
    author: Don Heckman La Times

    Trombonist Kaplan has probably performed on thousands of recordings and soundtracks, from "The Simpsons" to Barbra Streisand. For his own debut recording, he gathered a collection of equally gifted studio associates, brought in such fine arrangers as Russ Garcia, Bill Cunliffe and Tom Ranier, and assembled a kind of sumptuous, string-filled, instrumental version of Frank Sinatra's atmospheric late-night recordings. Kaplan's lush sound and moody way with a melody are front and center in a collection of tunes overflowing with the enigmatic qualities of love lost and found--tunes such as "Angel Eyes," "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry," "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Only the Lonely." Best experienced with a bottle of Cabernet and a roaring fireplace.

  • a mellow DREAM of a CD!
    author: Marilyn Harris

    Having seen Alan perform live, taking burning solos on uptempo jazz charts, I never suspected he was such a fan of the ballad - but this collection of tracks leaves no question! The liner notes on this site are entirely accurate - this is very romantic music, masterfully arranged, performed and recorded.

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