The Don Scaletta Trio on Capitol

Don Scaletta was born on August 16, 1937 in Cumberland, Maryland, and died in Orlando, Florida on May 18, 2015.

Don earned a national reputation as a jazz pianist, arranger, and composer which resulted in numerous recording contracts. Two of his albums, were spotlighted in Billboard and Cashbox Magazines. Don toured with the Glen Miller and Charlie Spivak Orchestras and other famous entertainers. Don taught Jazz Improvisation at the University of Louisville and the University of North Florida. He performed at the Walt Disney World Village with many notable musicians. Don entertained on the inaugural cruises of Disney's Magic & Wonder. His latest work includes concerts with his 20-piece orchestra, "The Jazz Project", a tribute to the incomparable Stan Kenton.

Webster states that a trio is "three persons playing together". The Don Scaletta Trio is indeedd three persons playing together, but there ends the similarity to Mr. Webster's trio.

The Scaletta sound is much like a rainbow in which each color is dependent on the precise placemente of the adjacent color to establish its form, the result of four years of working toward the same goal — one total, distinct, individual sound. When the play, the music turns, pivots and floats as one sound, suddenly bursting into colors but always related and always recognizable whether up tempo bossa nova, a jazz waltz or a down home blues.

Don Scaletta: leader, writer and piano player, is the serious looking, intense, bearded pivot point of the trio. Don comes from Cumberland, Maryland. and came to his jazz playing while traveling through the Middle East, Asia Minor and North África as a member of the USAF band. Following discharge, he played in and out of New York while the Charlie Spivak and Ray McKinnley band. Leaving after a year, he formed the present trio.

The Trio's first LP, Any Time... Any Groove! appeared on Capitol in February of 1965 and was followed by their second LP reléase, All In Good Time!. The oustanding reception to their earlier recordings affored them the opportunity to tour the college concert circuit in company with many greats like Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart and June Christy.

We felt that the group's growth is now complete and his culm ination was recorded live at Sausalito's famous waterfront jazzroom, The Trident, and Will son be available on Verve. Watch  out! *Promotional flier about the Don Scaletta Trio from northwestern.edu*

The Don Scaletta Trio

Any Time... Any Groove!

A "really diferent" trio sound that ranges from the exciting to the romantic makes this album a delight for any listening mood.

The nine arrangements included in this album were conceived and honed to a fine edge over the past sixteen months in night clubs scattered throughout the southwest. And pianist Don Scaletta feels that the time has been well spent.

"Because we have to fight poor acoustics and clinking glasses on many of our dates", says Don, "we're constantly striving for a big, full sound. We've written and rewritten our arrangements so that the piano, bass and drums can work independently of each other, or as a solo unit, much on the same order as a big band. This technique allows us a wide range of creative freedom and helps assure that every arrangement doesn’t sound the same".

An indication of how effectively the trio works in parts and as a unit is readily apparent on "York's Sauna". Scaletta's economic, whiplash piano, moving authoritatively against rhythm, effortlessly sets the scene for a Segovia-inspired bass solo and a repetitive call-to-arms drum sequence. Bursting with tonal and rhythmic color, "York's Sauna" exemplifies how deeply the trio will probe for musical interest.

"Ted and I wrote this arrangement in 1948", says Scaletta, "while we were stationed in North Africa with the Air Force. All in all we wrote six versions before we felt we had captured the Spanish influences prevalent throughout Mediterranean Africa. Because of its length we’d use it to close the final set of the evening. When anyone asked what it was called we'd say 'North African Night'". 

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The trio's ability to handle both standard and original material with equal aplomb in a variety of styles and tempos most assuredly guarantees them a selective and important place in music. Together, they have produced an album of splendid taste and dignity, one which is as interpretive and romantic as anything you're likely to hear for a long time to come. *Noel Wedder (liner notes)*

A surprisingly nice little groover, with that tight kind of pop jazz feel that Capitol was so good at during the late 60s! Scaletta's trio is nothing fancy — piano, bass, drums — but they hit some pretty nice moments on this album, which happens to be one of their best. The nicest tracks have a kind of rolling soulful feel — similar to work by Les McCann and Ramsey Lewis. Titles include "York's Sauna", "Taste Of Honey", "Tomorrow Never Comes", and "Jani's Tune".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Side 1

1 - Yankee Doodle Boy

(Trad., Arr. Don Scaletta)

2 - Hello, Dolly!

(Jerry Herman)

3 - Tomorrow Never Comes

(Don Scaletta)

4 - Old Folks

(Williard Robison, Dedette Lee Hill)

5 - Jani's Tune

(Jewkes, Scaletta, Lamkin)

Side 2

6 - York's Sauna

(Don Scaletta)

7 - Over There

(George M. Cohan)

8 - With The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair

(Jack Lawrence, Clara Edwards)

9 - A Taste Of Honey

(Ric Marlow, Bobby Scott)

Don Scaletta (piano), Ted Blondell (bass), Nikki Lamkin (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, 1964

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The Don Scaletta Trio

All In Good Time!

Another superb album by the new instrumental group that creates fresh sounds in every mood and tempo. 

Late of an evening, significantly on the first day of spring, the Don Scaletta Trio began recording their second album for Capitol Records. One thing that distinguished this 

session from their first album date (Any Time... Any Groove!) was an attentive audience of Los Angeles disc jockeys and music critics, who had come to hear the trio record — the highest compliment that can be paid a musical artist. 

Less than two weeks after the release of their first album last January, executive producer Lee Gillette was swamped with requests for more music by this trio. "l knew that this would undoubtedly happen", he said. "Just as soon as I heard the imaginative way they treat such standards as "We Kiss In A Shadow", "Exodus", "Secret Love", and the new Academy Award winner "Chim Chim Cheree", and sensed the personal rapport they have with audiences, I knew that people would quickly realize that this trio has a new and exciting sound all its own. 

Don Scaletta is the first to admit that muchof his music is new, because it is taken from personal reminiscences. "Many of our ideas are initiated by everyday happenings", he says. "For instance, when Donna, my three-year-old, began to walk she'd move to and fro just like a little oriental doll. 'Walk With Buddha' comes as close to approximating her movements as anything I could have set time to". 

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The fact that the Scaletta Trio does relate to the audiences and intimately involves them in what it is doing musically has caused a score of recording executives and musicians to predict that this will be one of the most listened-to groups in music, and probably one of the most imitated. If they are right, the listening future promises to be filled with beauty and adventure. *Noel Wedder (liner notes)*

This 1965 album was by The Don Scaletta Trio, a piano trio consisting of Don Scaletta, Nikki Lamkin, and Ted Blondell, known as the white Ramsey Lewises. The album includes "We Kiss In A Shadow", which focuses on elegant piano playing and features bass and drum solos, the gradually building jazz bossa "Bitter Wine", and the captivating "Secret Love", with its beautiful buildup. A great jazz album with elegant cover art! A rare and wonderful experience. As viable now as it was when it was recorded. *vivrantdiscstore.com*

Side 1

1 - Exodus

(Ernest Gold)

2 - You're My Girl

(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)

3 - Walk With Buddha

(Don Scaletta)

4 - They Can't Make Her Cry

(Mack David, Jerrry Livingston)

5 - Secret Love

(Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster)

Side 2

6 - We Kiss In A Shadow

(Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)

7 - Chim Chim Cheree

(R. M. Sherman, R. B. Sherman)

8 - Here's That Rainy Day

(James Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)

9 - Bitter Wine

(Don Scaletta)

Don Scaletta (piano), Ted Blondell (bass), Nikki Lamkin (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, 1964