I Like to Riff
Encyclopedia
I Like to Riff was the first recording by the Minneapolis jazz vocal trio Rio Nido
. The original LP
was long out-of-print until re-released on CD in 2007 by the Japanese label, Bittersweet America.
Rio Nido
-Band history:Rio Nido was a jazz vocal trio that began as part of the Minneapolis West Bank music scene in the early 1970s. The first incarnation of the group consisted of Prudence Johnson on vocals, Tim Sparks on vocals and guitar, and Tom Lieberman on guitar and vocals...
. The original LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
was long out-of-print until re-released on CD in 2007 by the Japanese label, Bittersweet America.
Track listing
- "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day" (Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Ted KoehlerTed KoehlerTed L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
) (From a Cab CallowayCab CallowayCabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
Cotton ClubCotton ClubThe Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem, New York City that operated during Prohibition that included jazz music. While the club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers of the era, such as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, Count Basie, Bessie Smith,...
revue. Arrangement by Connie Boswell and The Boswell Sisters - 1932) - "The Trouble With Me is You" (Pinky Tomlin and Harold Tobias) (From a recording of the Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
Trio - 1941) - "In Walked BudIn Walked Bud"In Walked Bud" is a 1947 jazz composition by Thelonious Monk. It was based on the chord progression of an earlier standard, Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" . The song was a tribute to jazz pianist Bud Powell....
" (Thelonious MonkThelonious MonkThelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, lyrics by Jon Hendricks) - "Hannah in Savannah" (Grace Leroy Kahn) (From a recording of Al JolsonAl JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
's last USO tour) - "Wacky Dust" (Oscar LevantOscar LevantOscar Levant was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.-Life and career:...
and Stanley Adams) (Adapted from a recording of the Chick Webb Orchestra with Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- 1938. Additional lyrics by Sparks, Lieberman, and Tim Gadban.) - "Gone" (Austin Powell) (Recorded by The Cats and the Fiddle - 1941) Horn arrangement by Tim Sparks
- "I Like to Riff" (Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
) - "Shanghai Lil" (Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
and Al Dubin)) (Introduced by James Cagney in the Busby Berkely film '"Footlight Parade" - 1933) - "Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) (From the 1938 Broadway musical "Leave it to Me") - "The Man With the Jive" (Stuff SmithStuff SmithHezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith , better known as Stuff Smith, was a jazz violinist. He is known well for the song "If You're a Viper".-Biography:...
) (From a recording by Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Orchestra - 1938.) Horn arrangement by Tim Sparks - "Crazy People" ("Ragtime" Jimmy Monaco and Edgar Leslie) (Arrangement by Connee Boswell and The Boswell Sisters, featured in "The Big Broadcast of 1932")
Personnel
- Prudence JohnsonPrudence JohnsonPrudence Johnson is an American jazz and folk vocalist.-Biography:Prudence Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the early 1970s, Prudence was a co-founder with Tim Sparks of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido...
- vocals - Tim SparksTim SparksTim Sparks is an American acoustic guitar player, singer, arranger and composer.- Biography:Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of school for a year...
- vocals, guitar - Tom Lieberman - vocals, guitar
- Eddie Berger - alto sax, baritone sax, soprano sax, clarinet
- Butch ThompsonButch ThompsonButch Thompson is an American jazz pianist and clarinetist best known for his ragtime and stride performances....
- clarinet - Jim Price - fiddle
- Hearn Gadbois - conga
- Willie MurphyWillie Murphy (musician)Willie Murphy is an American pianist, singer, producer, and songwriter. He is best known as a singer and pianist for the blues band Willie and the Bees and his work with Bonnie Raitt and John Koerner.-Biography:...
- bass - Gary RaynorGary RaynorGary Raynor is a bassist best known for his appearances in the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band in the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." He has also played with Sammy Davis, Jr.'s backing band, and a host of other jazz artists, including Count Basie. Although he plays a jazz pizzicato double bass, he...
- bass - Steve Benson - bass sax
- Peter OstroushkoPeter OstroushkoPeter Ostroushko is an American violinist and mandolinist.-Background and career:Of Ukrainian ancestry, Ostroushko grew up in northeast Minneapolis...
- mandolin
Production notes
- Produced by Rio Nido
- Executive producer - Charlie Campbell
- Technical assistant - Tim Ackerman
- Engineered and mixed by Dave Ray, Chris Hinding and Michael McKern
- Artwork by John Hanson
- Photography by Matt Spector and Dennis Widstrand