At the Crescendo [Remastered]

2 LPs on 1 CD, recorded late 1950s.
Personnel: Mel Torme (vocals); Don Fagerquist (trumpet); Larry Bunker (vibraphone); Marty Paich (piano); Max Bennett (bass); Mel Lewis (drums).
Reissue producer: Jaclyn Levine.
Recorded live at The Crescendo, Hollywood, California in February 1957. Includes original liner notes by Dick Hadlock and reissue liner notes by Jaclyn Levine.
Digitally remastered by Tom Moulton & Greg Vaughn.
Personnel: Max Bennett (alto saxophone); Don Fagerquist (trumpet); Marty Paich (piano); Larry Bunker (vibraphone); Mel Lewis (drums).
Audio Remasterer: John Sigmon.
Liner Note Author: Dick Hadlock.
Recording information: Hollywood (02/1957).
More than two years after recording his first-ever concert LP, Live at the Crescendo for Coral, Mel Tormé returned to the Los Angeles nightclub for the Bethlehem release At the Crescendo, cut February 22, 1957. Backed by a small combo comprised of pianist/arranger Marty Paich, trumpeter Don Fagerquist, vibraphonist Larry Bunker, bassist Max Bennett, and drummer Mel Lewis, Tormé approaches familiar material like "One for My Baby," "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "I'm Beginning to See the Light" with a matchless combination of sensitivity and sass -- as always, Paich's nimble arrangements inspire Tormé's most adventurous vocals, and the sheer imagination and soulfulness on display throughout the set laid to rest any lingering question of whether he was a jazz artist or merely an easy listening balladeer. ~ Jason Ankeny