... Serenade in the Night Monte Rey (Decca RFL 43) It is typical of pre-war show business that the most popular singer of Italian, Spanish and Latin American songs should be a Scotsman, James Mont gomery Fyfe, an opera-trained vocalist who was renamed Monte Rey when he joined Geraldo (whose real name was Gerald Bright) and his Gaucho Tango Orchestra for a radio series. His high, nasal tenor and ...

... SHOW ON DISC A Little Night Music original London cast RCA LRL 1 5090 Stephen Sondheim's superb musical is not, as has been obvious from the correspondence published in this paper, to everybody's taste, any more than not everybody likes Wagner. But it all depends upon what one expects from a musical. A Little Night Music has been ceived and executed entirely in operatic and theatrical ...

... DISC DATA Josef Locke Sings Favourite Irish Songs (One-Up OUM 2204) Beloved of impressionists a few years ago, the exaggerated style of Josef Locke is toned down in the direction of sincere interpretations of sentimental Irish songs on this album, the recordings, one would guess, being made way back in the fifties. The Whale John Tavener (Ring O'Records, 2320 104) An odd choice for a pop label ...

... Record reviews Solo Sue Glover (DJM DJLPS 469) It is right and proper that our talented session singers should be given the chance to make albums of their own, but the trouble is that they are so professional in a variety of styles they can seldom achieve a style to themselves. Sue Glover has written a high proportion of the songs on the LP but none is espe cially memorable. (Producer, John ...

... A pizza jazz Looking back through the years I cannot think of any single person who has been such a benefactor to British jazz as Peter Boizot. And not only jazz. To that enthusiasm you could add hockey, his native city Peterborough and the Liberal Democrat Party. Boizot will always be remembered as being the man who introduced the pizza to Britain, bringing the first authentic pizza oven ...

... Easy writer Bridget Metcalfe is unusual in the jazz singing field in that she writes a high proportion of her own material, in partner ship with saxophonist Mark Allaway, much of which can be heard on her new CD, In Your Eyes. Her style is easy and nat ural, her voice charming and unforced, her stage presence such that she has the potential to become as considerable an entertainer as she is a ...

... Devoted to the Duke The recent success of Pete Long's Echoes of Ellington orchestra is one of the more heart-warming stories in British jazz. So how has it come about? Meeting Long, it is clear that he is passionate about bllington s musical legacy and how it should be presented to today's audi ences in authentic style. To achieve this, he has had to locate capable aides to tran scribe ...

... Lee's girls can go all the way It must be hard enough trying to run any big band in today's musical climate but trying to run an all-girl big band must be an even harder task. But none of this has deterred bandleader Crissy Lee, who sees a bright future for her outfit. Recently, Lee's band was awarded a £63,000 Lottery grant for a tour bus and plans are already afoot for a busy period ahead ...

... Rockers' showcase Rockin' on Heaven's Door, a spectacular new fifties and sixties tribute show, presented by Top Billing Management, receives a showcase performance at Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green on October 4. With a storyline seen through the eyes of a sixties American DJ, it will feature Johnny Curtis as Roy Orbison, Tony Meyers as Eddie Cochran, Marc Robinson as Buddy Holly and ...

... Caravans and cabaret Mark Ritchie uncovers a rich source of seasonal work for entertainers as he tours the caravan parks of the north east A great source of work for the professional entertainer is provided by the annual migration to the East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire coast by caravan enthusiasts. Many of them are retired people, others are folk who love the idea of a home by the ...

... Detour Ahead--Gill Manly Parrot PARCD 505 Look through the London jazz list ings each week and there is a fair chance that the name of Gill Manly will crop up once or twice. She has been quietly building her reputation through live work for several years and makes an impressive CD debut, armed with the approval of that most accomplished and underrated of American singers Mark Murphy. Like him, ...

... Treature Island HILBRE ISLAND MIDSUMMER Actors' interpretation of the Robert Louis Stevenson yarn is a delight in so many respects. The location and set design are positively inspired. Naturalism is taken to its logical conclusion as the action is played on a real island in the Dee estuary, strong footware and a packed lunches recommended. Sharon Ackerboom is a ripping Jim Hawkins, all ...