Photos from RMALA - Recording Musicians Association, Los Angeles Chapter's post This is a special note from James DiGiovanni, Michel Legrand's longtime manager. The photo on the right is Jim with Michel Legrand at his wedding in 2014. Please scroll down for the orchestra list from the Sarah Vaughan sessions...
"There were no musicians that Michel liked playing with more than LA musicians! He always said that they were the best in the world. He loved them and they loved him!
The first LA recording date that I had with Michel after becoming his manager in 1983 was the film MICKI + MAUDE. I'll never forget the first session, full orchestra with Israel Baker as concertmaster, a long table with among others the contractor Marion Klein, the control room with Dan Wallin the engineer, and Michel conducting. Michel gave the downbeat and the assembled musicians played music that they had never seen before as if they had spent weeks practicing it. I, a non-musician, gasped! How could they do this I wondered??? After the week of recording the score I was hooked on film/TV scoring in LA. I made recording in LA Michel's top priority, which was not easy as Michel lived in Paris.
Over the years we did many recording jobs in LA and I loved them all. I got to know many musicians and many are friends to this day. My only regret is that I was not around when Michel recorded his album with Sarah Vaughan in LA. The personnel were the best musicians in the world with Michel conducting his gorgeous charts. This recording was very special to Michel and talked about it often. He told me that after one take many musicians were weeping at the beauty of it all!"
Kind regards,
Jim DiGiovanni
Keyboard
David Grusin
Mike Wofford
Artie Kane
French Horns
Vince De Rosa
Bill Hinshaw
Art Maebe
George Price
Sinclair Lott
Ralph Pyle
Dick Perissi
Dick Macker
Guitar
Tom Tedesco
Bass
Ray Brown
Chuck Berghoffer
Bob Magnussan
Fender
Chuck Rainey
Drums
Shelly Manne
John Guerin
Percussion
Larry Bunker
Oboe
Arnold Koblenz
Woodwinds
Bud Shank
Peter Christlieb
Jerome Richardson
Bob Cooper
Bill Hood
Bernie Fleischer
Trumpet
Buddy Childers
Chuck Findlay
Conte Candoli
Gary Barone
Al Aarons
Trombones
Lloyd Ulyate
Charley Loper
Frank Rosolino
Grover Mitchell
Bob Knight
George Roberts
Tuba
Tommy Johnson
Violins
Israel Baker
Arnold Belnick
Marvin Limonick
George Berres
Shiley Cornell
Sam Freed
Alex Murray
Thelma Beach
Bernie Kundell
George Kast
Herman Clebanoff
Carl Lamaga
Joe Stepansky
Anatol Kaminsky
Irv Geller
Joe Chassman
Nate Kaproff
Dorothy Wade
Violins
Mort Herbert
Hal Dicterow
Glenn Dicterow
Erno Neufeld
Jake Krachmalnick
Gerry Vinci
Jim Getzoff
Viola
Ralph Schaeffer
Allan Harshman
Milt Thomas
Rollice Dale
Alex Neiman
Myer Bello
Bob Ostrowsky
Virginia Majewski
Mary Newkirk
Dave Schwartz
Myra Kestenbaum
Cello
Ed Lustgarten
Ray Kramer
Fred Sykora
Ron Cooper
Marie Fera
Emmett Sargent
Jesse Ehrlich
Basses (Arco)
Milt Kestenbaum
Abe Luboff
Mickey Nadel
Pete Mercurio
Ray Siegel
Harp
Dorothy Remsen
Verlye Mills
Voices
Evangeline Carmichael
Sally Stevens
Suzy McCune
Sara Jane Kane
Jackie Ward
Betty Jane Baker
Sue Allen
Peggy Clark
Ron Hickin
John Bahler
Stan Farber
Tom Bahler
Gene Merino
Mitch Gordon
Jan Smith
Gene Morford ... See more
