The Swinger's Guide to Mary Poppins

THE TUPPER SAUSSY QUARTET WITH CHARLIE McCOY

Monument LP-8034 1964

Tupper Saussy "The Swinger's Guide To Mary Poppins" Monument LP-8034 1964 01. Spoonful Of Sugar (2:31) 02. Chim-Chim-Cheree (2:56) 03. Step In Time (2:53) 04. Jolly Holiday (4:04) 05. Stay Awake (1:02) 06. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (2:30) 07. Feed The Birds (4:53) 08. The Perfect Nanny (2:56) 09. Let's Go Fly A Kite (2:37)

with Charlie McCoy, Harmonica Doug Kirkham, Drums Bob Moore, Bass Produced by Fred Foster & Bob Moore Recorded Summer 1964 at Nashville Tenn, by Bill Porter All songs ©1963 Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman / Wonderland Music Co., BMI Total Time 25.00 Monaural

Here is Mary Poppins as you've never heard it before. Tupper Saussy's warm, amusing piano and Charlie McCoy's engaging harmonicas (he uses several, and often changes instruments in the midst of a melodic line) take the magical Poppins music through the realm of jazz, giving it fresh, new life.     Saussy admits that there was a temptation for the group to make the astonishingly simple chords of the original Sherman score more complex, which is the usual approach in jazz interpretation. "But rather than transform Mary Poppins to contemporary jazz harmonies," Saussy says, "we decided to apply a contemporary jazz feeling to the Mary Poppins aura, thus preserving the original intentions of the composers."     The music on this album, therefore, is quaint and swinging.     Of Tupper Saussy, CASHBOX Magazine said: "Once every few years a jazz 88'er emerges with such drive and vitality that he stands head and shoulders above his peers. Tupper Saussy is such a pianist." On Saussy's first album, DISCOVER TUPPER SAUSSY (Monument MLP 8004 SLP 18004), Dave Brubeck said: "A great talent has just begun to emerge ... his playing knocked me out."     Charlie McCoy's earthy harmonica is oft recorded and can be heard on dozens of hit pop records. Working with the Saussy group, this is his jazz debut.     Doug Kirkham, drums, and Bob Moore, bass, have worked with Saussy for years. Not long ago, Moore's orchestra enjoyed a huge success with its recording of MEXICO on Monument.     Within this album is a wide range of emotions, from the haunting CHIM-CHIM-CHEREE to the driving SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS; from the windswept LET'S GO FLY A KITE to the wistful STAY AWAKE; from the knock-down, drag-out STEP IN TIME to the plaintive FEED THE BIRDS.     Whether or not you're a jazz buff, you're sure to welcome this fresh look at one of the happiest motion pictures ever made.     Incidentally, Tupper saw the film (three weeks after it opened in Nashville) on a cold, rainy evening at the 9 o'clock showing. Inside the theatre were 23 adults and one child.     He could hear every word the actors spoke. Fred Foster President, Monument Records A FULL FREQUENCY HIGH FIDELITY RECORDING