Customer Reviews

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This band has produced a pleasing recording of their own arrangements of Raymond Scott pieces. Most of the material is his well-known novelty music, while a few are based on his relatively obscure electronic music. This is a nice recording but not a vital one, unless one is a major Scott fan.

The band has a nice French cafe sound, effected by the accordion and zither, and the arrangements are jazzy and touch on a variety of styles, from cakewalk to early rock and roll to a John Barry/James Bond quality, and are all well done without being particularly exciting or adventurous. The mixing is a little dense, and the band is let down by a rather lugubrious drummer. My personal feeling is that Scott's work is crying out for a treatment a la what John Zorn did on the incredible 'The Big Gundown' for Ennio Morricone's movie themes. And while perfectly respectable, this is sadly not that type of work.

Despite the confusing and misleading name of this new group, Scott himself is NOT present. Of course not - Raymond Scott was born in 1908 and died many years ago. And DON'T think this band is preserving the ORIGINAL Raymond Scott sound (like the Sun Ra or Glenn Miller bands that still tour). Instead, this "Orchestrette" (sic) performs modernized and altered arrangements that Raymond Scott probably would have hated. (Scott didn't like improvisation - especially when applied to HIS music.) But maybe some hard-core fans might dig these new takes on the old Scott classics? The players are impressive enough; they're not afraid to take chances, and I bet this group is fun to see in a live venue. But since there's plenty of original Raymond Scott recordings, I'd suggest a beginner start with the real thang, baby.

OH! I am EXHAUSTED! Let me just catch my breath and I'll play that again! Reminds me of the scene in "Roger Rabbit" where the toons get out of the box. Nothing holds still for an instant! Okay, so Raymond is rolling in his grave. He probably needed the excercise! If you want to hear the purest version- get Raymond himself: The biggest- get the Beau Hunks' Chesterfield Arrangements. This is not for musicological purists but, how to say...this music blew my skirts up! GREAT Fun!

If the movie The Sting had period-accurate music, they would be playing this stuff; kind of loony orchestrations before Swing took hold. This band would not have been approved of by Raymond Scott, who was a real drillmaster when it came to the playing of his compositions: once the performance was to his liking, he set in concrete with NO room for improvisation. That said, these interpretations are quite good, and expertly performed. They will likely lead the buyer to looking into other Raymond Scott works, a large number of which will be immediately familiar. Scott was a great American composer and should have a place in a good music collection.

I teach cartooning to fresh young minds (ages 12 and under) and they are always blown away when I update their inspiring music repetoire with this gem. Way ahead of its time and timeless all at once, Raymond Scott created a wild and weirdly fabulous off-kilter cartoon filter. His music doesn't age it gets more vivid with subsequent playings. Worth every penny.

The Raymond Scott Orchestrette is a new group who set out to prove that Scott's music, which is often associated with Bugs Bunny cartoons, is more than just animation soundtrack fodder. They prove this conclusively and creatively. The group, recorded in 2001 (Scott passed away in 1994 at age 85), explores some of the maestro's better known works, like "Powerhouse" and "The Penguin," as well as lesser-known tunes like the impressionistic "A Street Corner in Paris" and the noir-dramatic "Naked City." The RSO also recorded an acoustic version of one of Scott's 1963 electronic lullabies for infants, "Little Miss Echo." The expert players draw from modern jazz, progressive rock, musette, swing, chamber music, and lounge grooves to paint a colorful and exciting canvas. Their arrangements are clever, dynamic, and iconoclastic, as well as being laced with sophisticated humor. Don Byron and the Beau Hunks Sextet have recorded Scott's early "Quintette" compositions in renditions that are faithful to the originals. The RS Orchestrette clearly had more ambitious intentions, and they have succeeded. This album deserves the attention of any fan of Raymond Scott -- and that audience is growing. More info about Scott can be found at RaymondScott.com. The RSO claims to "bring Scott's controlled lunacy into the 21st century." I'm sure the late composer would be proud to know younger musicians are keeping his legacy alive.