Dennis Farnon - Caution! Men Swinging

Dennis Farnon was born in 1923 in Toronto, Canada as John Denis Farnon to Robert and Elsie Farnon (née Menzies). He grew up in a musical family, and learned to play the trumpet at age 12. Through his older brother Robert, he enlisted into the Canadian Army Band, also travelling to Europe to entertain the Allied troops during the last years of the war. In his mid-20s, he moved to Chicago where he played in jazz clubs and pursued studies in conducting, arranging, and orchestration, strongly influenced by the works of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Béla Bartók and Sergey Prokofiev.

Several years later, he accepted an invitation to Hollywood as musical director for singer Johnny Holiday, and he stayed, continuing to compose, conduct and arrange. In 1956, he was tapped by RCA Records to head their West Coast A&R and signed on as producer, arranger and recording artist. During that time, the Dennis Farnon Orchestra recorded numerous albums, including Magoo in Hi-Fi, over 10 episodes of Mr Magoo cartoon shorts, Chet Atkins in Hollywood, Velvet Carpet with The George Shearing's Quintet, The Enchanted Woods, Songs From The Motion Picture Gigi, While My Lady Sleeps with Phineas Newborn Jr., and Caution! Men Swinging.

This roaring, vibrant album has all the drive, sparkle and vibrancy that characterized swing big bands in their heyday, plus imaginative new ideas. Not only is the swing youthful, but Dennis Farnon's own musical imagination has also brought it up to date and added new lustre and meaning to the idiom. Caution! Men Swinging stands out for its precision and powerhouse sound of the brass and sax sections in the overall set, arranged and conducted by Canadian Dennis Farnon. In addition, there is ample room for solo blowing by Don Fagerquist, who plays all the jazz trumpet; pianists Lou Levy and Jimmy Rowles, guitarist Howard Roberts, tenor Ted Nash, plus the superb lead trumpet work of Frank Beach and George Roberts' bass trombone very present at all times. This 1957 album was the only jazz LP Farnon recorded in his entire career and, possibly thinking he could hardly have surpassed it, he devoted his work primarily to writing arrangements and conducting for pop singers. Enjoy this fantastic swinging big band session! *Jordi Pujol*

Back in the 1950s, as the Big Band Era was slowly dying, the money for musicians was to be made in the studios, with alumni from Herman, Rogers and Kenton playing for TV shows and movies in order to pay off their mortgages in  the San Fernando Valley. Here are a couple swinging albums from Hollywood in the swinging Eisenhower Years.

Canadian conductor Dennis Farron leads a 1957 studio orchestra that includes Pete Condoli/tp, Ted Nash/ts, Bob Enevoldsen/vtb, Howard Roberts/g, Jimmy Rowles-Lou Levy/p and Alvin Stoller/dr for a mix of originals and standards. They sound like a background sound track for a film noir on the swaggering "Caution! Men Swinging" while the muted horns sway on "Lover Come Back To Me". West Coast Cool moods dominate "Why Don’t You Do Right" while big brass is bold on "Just You, Just Me" with the team sounding like Kenton on the hard hitting "Three Little Words". Bright primary colors. *George W. Harris*

Side 1

1 - Caution! Men Swinging

(Dennis Farnon)

2 - Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year

(Frank Loesser)

3 - Lover Come Back To Me

(Oscar Hammerstein, Sigmund Romberg)

4 - Shoo-Shoo Baby

(Phil Moore)

5 - Just You, Just Me

(Jessie Greer, Raymond Klages)

Side 2

06 - Isle Of Capri

(Wilhelm Grosz, James Kennedy)

07 - South Of The Border

(M. Beresford, J. B. Kennedy)

08 - It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

(Duke Ellington, Irving Mills)

09 - Why Don't You Do Right

(Joe McCoy)

10 - Three Little Words

(Harry Ruby)

11 - Resume Speed

(Dennis Farnon)

Pete Candoli, Frank Beach, Don Fagerquist, Paul Geil (trumpets); Tommy Pederson, Joe Howard (trombones); Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone); George Roberts (bass trombone); Jack Dumont, Brian Farnon (alto saxes); Ted Nash, Gene Cipriano (tenor saxes); Chuck Gentry (baritone sax); Howard Roberts (guitar); Jimmy Rowles [#1, #2, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9], Lou Levy [#3, #4, #10, #11] (pianos); Cliff Hills (bass); Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, May 30, 1957.