Mundell Lowe and his Orchestra: New Music of Alec Wilder

File under “Pop”, because there’s no “Polymath” aisle at Amoeba. Alec Wilder was seldom appreciated in his lifetime, but the names of those who did, from Frank Sinatra to Spike Milligan to Peggy Lee, indicates something of the eccentric grace and wit in this American composer’s songbook. Wilder first hit the public consciousness in 1939 thanks to Mitch Miller’s productions of his Octets, which immediately established Wilder as the best namer of pop tunes since Raymond Scott with titles like “Neurotic Goldfish”, “Jack, This is My Husband” and “It’s Silk, Feel It!” New Music of Alec Wilder was commissioned by guitarist/arranger Wendell Lowe for his Tentet, and picked up for distribution by Riverside Records, the late-fifties home of Thelonius Monk and Bill Evans.

Suggestion for Bored Dancers
She Never Wore Makeup
What Happened Last Night?
Walk Softly
Let's Get Together and Cry
Mama Never Dug This Scene
Pop, What's a Passacaglia?
No Plans
The Endless Quest
Around the World in 2:34
An Unrelenting Memory
Tacet for Neurotics

Album audio & artwork

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