The Chris Connor Bio-Discography
Post-Atlantic Period
by Iván Santiago

Return to the Chris Connor intro page

In 1963, Chris Connor moved from Atlantic to FM, a short-lived label created by her own manager. During the following year (1964), and despite 10 previous years of continued recording activity for a trio of labels (Bethlehem, Atlantic, FM), the vocalist was not able to release any records. But she was back in the studio in 1965. Starting that year, Connor's modus operandi involved short-term recording contracts with various domestic companies: ABC, Stanyan, Applause, Progressive, Stash, Contemporary and, at the turn of the twentieth century, HighNote. Her association with these American companies resulted in the release of one to two albums per label. Additional and substantial recording activity took place in Japan, where the singer enjoyed perennial popularity among fans of jazz vocals. Original Chris Connor albums were released by the Japanese labels JVC (1 album), LOBster (1 album), CBS/Sony (1 album), Alfa Jazz (4 albums), and King (1 album, licensed to HighNote in the United States).

Chris Connor (ldr), Alan Douglas (pdr), Michel Colombier Orchestra (acc), Chris Connor (v), Les Double Six (bkv)

Chris Connor At FM Records

Chris Connor left Atlantic Records for FM Records primarily because the newly formed label was co-owned by her own manager at the time, Monte Kay (in conjunction with Peter Kameron, and as part of a partnership named Village Planners). This momentous decision did not turn out for the best; the company quickly folded, and Connor was temporarily left without a recording contract.

In the liner notes for Roulette Jazz CD 094637134627, Chris Connor is quoted on the matter: "Monte said they weren't happy [at Atlantic] with what I was doing, I wasn't selling enough." Kay allegedly told Connor that Atlantic didn't want to renew her contract, and that "she'd do much better with his new enterprise." Yet Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler would later deny that Atlantic was unhappy with Connor -- or so asserts liner note writer James Gavin.

FM Records released two albums by Chris Connor. Only the second one, A Weekend In Paris, is listed on this page. The first, At The Village Gate, Early Show & Late Show, was culled from a concert date at the Village Gate, New York. (See page for Live, Radio & Television Dates, 1963.)


Issues

1. A Weekend In Paris
FM LP 312 received a very limited commercial release. The record company folded some time shortly after the album had been pressed. Extant copies are rare; stickers and stamps on them suggest that the album was originally sent out to disc jockeys, and also to cutout bins at department stores.


Personnel

Michel Legrand was originally slated to arrange and play on this date, but a movie score assignment forced him to cancel.

The identification of the backing group as Les Double Six (also known as The Double Six Of Paris) is tentative, and based on second-hand information. Another second-hand source mentions The Swingle Singers instead.

Chris Connor (ldr), Pat Williams (con), Ken Greenglass, At GLG Productions (pdr), Chris Connor (v)

Dating

My source for this recording date is Michel Ruppli, who supplies it in the latest version of his ABC discography. (Presumably, the twelve songs were recorded over three September sessions, the exact days unspecified in the files.)


Record Label And Personnel (Producer)

The back cover of the original ABC album bears the legend "produced by Ken Greenglass for GLG Productions, Inc." Connor's second album for ABC also bears a GLC production credit; see sessioons immediately below.

Chris Connor (ldr), Don Sebesky (con, pdr), De Angelis, Bob Thiele (pdr), Chris Connor (v)

Dating

My source for this recording date is Michel Ruppli, who supplies it in the latest version of his ABC discography.


Record Label And Personnel (Conductors, Producer)

The back cover of the original ABC album bears the legend "produced by Thiele/Sebesky/De Angelis for GLG Productions, Inc." I presume them (possibly Bob Thiele, Don Sebesky, ...) to be the album's conductors, each responsible for one of the sessions contained in the LP. I have yet to find corroboration of this possibility, however.


Help Requested & Collectors' Corner

I have not been able to locate the track listing for the Japanese LP Singin' In N.Y. (Columbia / Roulette YS 8534 RO), although I have seen a picture of its cover. I suspect it to be a reissue of one of Connor's two albums for ABC-Paramount (Chris Connor Sings The Gentle Bossa Nova and Now!). If so, the Japanese reissue used an entirely different front cover: a b&w, full-length photo of Connor singing, microphone in hand, circa 1965. Help would be appreciated.

Chris Connor (ldr), Don Sebesky (con, pdr), De Angelis, Bob Thiele (pdr), Chris Connor (v)

Dating

My source for this recording date is Michel Ruppli, who supplies it in the latest version of his ABC discography.


Record Label And Personnel (Conductors, Producer)

The back cover of the original ABC album bears the legend "produced by Thiele/Sebesky/De Angelis for GLG Productions, Inc." I presume them (possibly Bob Thiele, Don Sebesky,...) to be the album's conductors, each responsible for one of the sessions contained in the LP. I have yet to find corroboration of this possibility, however.

Chris Connor (ldr), Don Sebesky (con, pdr), De Angelis, Bob Thiele (pdr), Chris Connor (v)

Dating

My source for this recording date is Michel Ruppli, who supplies it in the latest version of his ABC discography.


Record Label And Personnel (Conductors, Producer)

The back cover of the original ABC album bears the legend "produced by Thiele/Sebesky/De Angelis for GLG Productions, Inc." I presume them (possibly Bob Thiele, Don Sebesky,...) to be the album's conductors, each responsible for one of the sessions contained in the LP. I have yet to find corroboration of this possibility, however.

Chris Connor (ldr), George Otsuka Trio (acc), Shungo Sawada (g), Takashi Mizuhashi (b), Hideo Ichikawa (p), George Otsuka (d), Chris Connor (v)

Issues

1. Softly And Swingin'
This album was produced for, and released in the Japanese record market only.


Arrangements

Connor is said to have done "The Fool On The Hill" in an arrangement by Chick Correa. My source does not clarify if the arrangement in question was done during concert, or if it was the performance from this recording session.

Chris Connor (ldr), Wade Alexander, Rod McKuen (pdr), Alyn Ainesworth (s-a), George Barnes (g), Chris Connor (v)

Bio-Discographical Note: Chris Connor At Stanyan Records

Like other vocalists who recorded for Rod McKuen's Stanyan label, Chris Connor was scheduled to do an album of McKuen songs, too. In Connor's case, the project does not seem to have advanced beyond the song selection process, and the two McKuen songs included in Sketches.

Issues

1. Guest Star

The LP Guest Star: Chris Connor culls four shows made by Connor for the U.S. Savings Bond Division. The catalogue number (11-71) is probably also the date on which the show's "Star-of-the-Month" was heard over participating radio stations. The shows' host was Mike Douglas, and there was no studio orchestra.

Each show was five minutes long, and began with Douglas singing the line "this is the country land that I love." Only one Connor song was heard per show. (Exception: the frst show, which featured a few, additional bars of a second song, "We've Only Just Begun.") All Connor songs heard on these four shows were edited versions of the Stanyan album versions, none played in its entirety.

The patter called for Connor to promote savings bonds in every show, and allowed for one or two quick, personal comments from her. In the first show, she credits Rod McKuen for providing her with her most relaxed session to date. In another show, she voices her enthusiasm for the Laura Nyro song that she sings. In the final show, Connor announces that she will soon be on a long tour, and professes her intention to keep "working till money falls from trees."

Chris Connor (ldr), Teo Macero (pdr), Lee Konitz (as), Richard Davis (b), Bob Kaye (p), Grady Tate (d), Chris Connor (v)

Issues

1. Chris Moves
Though recorded in New York, this album was produced for, and released in Japan only.

2. Teo Macero Presents
I have not been able to locate a copy of this album. The scant data available to me suggests that it might be a special issue, possibly meant for radio airplay only.

Chris Connor (ldr), Teo Macero (pdr), George Opalinsky (f, ts), Richard Davis (b), Bob Kaye (p), Edward Soph (d), Chris Connor (v)

Dating & Masters

1. "A Baby Is Born"
The placement of "A Baby Is Born" in this session (rather than in any of the other Chris Moves dates) is tentative.

Chris Connor (ldr), Teo Macero (pdr), Michael Moore (b), Mike Abene (p), Jimmy Madison (d), Chris Connor (v)

Dating & Masters

1 & 2. "Lilac Wine" & "That's What Friends Are For"
The placement of the songs "Lilac Wine" and "That's What Friends Are For" on this date (rather than on any of the other sessions for the album Chris Moves) is tentative.

Chris Connor (ldr), Teo Macero (pdr), Mike Abene (p), Chris Connor (v)

Chris Connor (ldr), Gus P. Statiras (pdr), Jerry Dodgion (f, as), Michael Moore (b), Mike Abene (p), Ronnie Bedford (d), Chris Connor (v)

Issues

1. Sweet and Swinging
Progressive recorded and released ths album in the US record market. Progressive also released it in Japan, where the title was changed to Chris' Corner.


Personnel

Jerry Dodgion's flute on "Things Are Swinging," "Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home," and "Just In Time" only.

Chris Connor (ldr), Gus P. Statiras (pdr), Jerry Dodgion (f, as), Michael Moore (b), Mike Abene (p), Ronnie Bedford (d), Chris Connor (v)

Dating & Masters

"Out of This World," "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "I Wish You Love" were overdubbed on February 28, 1978.


Personnel

Jerry Dodgion's flute on "Out Of This World" and "I Wish You Love" only.

Ran Blake (ldr), Jerome Harris (g), Rufus Reid (b), Ran Blake (p), Chris Connor (v), Richard Rodney Bennett (oth)

Personnel

Richard Rodney Bennett was a guest -- rather than a scheduled performer -- at this session. His contribution to the song's composition was, therefore, impromptu. (With the session ready to start, but the song still unfinished, the session's participants asked for Bennett's help.)

Chris Connor (ldr), Ronne McClure (b), Harold Danko (p), Edward Soph (d), Chris Connor (v)

Master And Issues

1. Alone Together [LP]
2. The Direct-To-Disc Recording Process
The label LOBster recorded this session's tracks using the then-fashionable direct-to-disc process. The process entailed the continued, uninterruped recording of all the songs from side A of the LP, as if they were one long take (lasting a maximum of 16 minutes or so), and ditto for the contents of side B. The purpose of this audiophile process was to offer listeners an aural experience presumably closer to the actual session. Directly recording onto the disc master meant that a few steps of the regular recording process had been bypassed (i.e., there was no recording on magnetic tape, and therefore no transference from magnetic tape to the master disc or stamper). Also part of the allure was the promise of limited LP quantities. (Quantities were limited by necessity: the sound quality of a repeatedly used master lacquer degenerates far more noticeably than that of a magnetic tape. Hence the sound quality of the master disc suffers with each successive use.)

2. Alone Together [CD]
TDK CD 5046E also includes 5 solo performances by Anita O'Day: "You Go To My Head," "A Sleepin' Bee," "Bluesette," "I'm Old Fashioned," and "Speak Low."

Takao Ishizuka, Hiroaki Itoh (pdr), George Mraz (b), Norman Simmons (p), Tim Horner (d), Ernestine Anderson, Chris Connor, Carol Sloane (v)

Issues

1. Three Pearls
This album was produced for and released in the Japanese market only.


Personnel

The Three Pearls dates featured the following vocalists: Ernestine Anderson, Chris Connor, and Carol Sloane. The trio sings together only in one song, "A Foggy Day." All other songs are solos. Not entered in this discography are the numbers recorded by Anderson and by Sloane, without Connor's participation. (Anderson's: "What's New" and "Someday My Prince Will Come." Sloane's: "All Of Me," "Love Walked In," "Early Autumn" and "Willow Weep For Me.")

Chris Connor (ldr), Bernie Brightman (pdr), Bucky Pizzarelli (g), Dick Sarpolo (b), Russ Kassoff (p), Tony Tedesco (d), Chris Connor (v)

Chris Connor (ldr), Helen Keane (pdr), Paquito D'Rivera (as), Claudio Roditi (t, fh), Rufus Reid (b), Mike Abene, Richard Rodney Bennett (p, DX7), Akira Tana (d), Chris Connor (v)

Songs

1. "Love Medley"
Performed as a three-song "Love Medley" (4:57) are "What Is This Thing Called Love," "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "Love."


Personnel

Acoustic piano played by Mike Abene on "Let's Face The Music And Dance," "Sweet Happy Life," "In Love In Vain," the "Love Medley" and "Brazil."

Acoustic piano played by Richard Rodney Bennett on "Laura," "Ten Cents A Dance," "Blame It On My Youth," "We'll Be Together Again," "Let's Take The Long Way Home" and "The Nearness Of You."

Bennett plays DX-7 on "Sweet Happy Life," the "Love Medley" and "Brazil."

Mike Abene plays DX-7 on "Laura" only.

Chris Connor (ldr), Helen Keane, Lori Muscarelle (pdr), Bill Kirchner (f, cl, ss, as, ts), Dave Valentin (f), Claudio Roditi (t, fh), Michael Moore (b), Mike Abene, Richard Rodney Bennett (key), Buddy Williams (d), Sammy Figueroa (per), Chris Connor (v)

Songs

1. "Astaire Medley"
Performed as a 4-song "Astaire Medley" (5:40) are "Cheek To Cheek," "That Face," "Dancing In The Dark" and "It Only Happens When I Dance With You."

2. "Jukebox Medley"
Performed as a 5-song "Jukebox Medley" (6:03) are "Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week)," "Little White Lies," "I Wish I Didn't Love You So," "I've Heard That Song Before" and "Everything Old Is New Again."


Personnel

Produced by Helen Keane. Executive producer: Lori Muscarelle.

Dave Valentin's flute on "Antonio's Song" and "Down In Brazil" only. Flute in other songs by Bill Kirchner.

Mike Abene played acoustic piano on some songs ("Dearly Beloved," the "Astaire Medley" and "Mad About The Boy"), and DX-7 on others ("I Wish I'd Met You" and the following selections from the "Jukebox Medley:" "Little White Lies," "I've Heard That Song Before," "Everything Old Is New Again"). He played both instruments on still other songs ("Down In Brazil," "I Never Meant To Hurt You," "Antonio's Song," "My Foolish Heart").

Richard Rodney Bennett also played DX-7 on some songs ("Down In Brazil," "Mad About The Boy," "Antonio's Song") and acoustic piano on others ("Love Locked Out," and "I Wish I'd Met You;" as well as the following selections from the "Jukebox Medley:" "Saturday Night," "I Wish I Didn't Love You So," and "Everything Old Is New Again").

Chris Connor (ldr), Todd Barkan, Makoto Kimata (pdr), George Mraz (b), Hank Jones (p), Keith Copeland (d), Chris Connor (v), Richard Rodney Bennett (oth)

Issues

1. As Time Goes By [CDs]
Originally recorded and released for the Japanese record market.


Arrangements

Head arrangements; Richard Rodney Bennet supplied some intros and chord sequences.

Chris Connor (ldr), Todd Barkan, Makoto Kimata (pdr), George Mraz (b), Hank Jones (p), Keith Copeland (d), Chris Connor (v), Richard Rodney Bennett (oth)

Songs

1. "Berlin Medley"
Performed as a two-song Irving Berlin medley are "All Alone" and "What'll I Do."


Issues

1. Angel Eyes [CD]
Originally recorded and released for the Japanese record market.


Arrangements

Head arrangements; Richard Rodney Bennet supplied some intros and chord sequences.

Chris Connor (ldr), Todd Barkan, Satosh Hirano (pdr), Theodore Nash aka Theodore Nash (f, ts), Jim Powell (t, fh), Chip Jackson (b), Bob Kaye (p), Richard Rodney Bennett (key), Vinnie Johnson (d), Chris Connor (v)

Issues

1. My Funny Valentine [CD]
Originally recorded and released for the Japanese record market.

Chris Connor (ldr), Todd Barkan, Satosh Hirano (pdr), Frank Vicari (ss, ts), Lew Soloff (t), Chip Jackson (b), Mike Abene (p), Dom Chicchetti (snt), Danny Gottlieb (d), Chris Connor (v)

Issues

1. Blue Moon [CD]
Originally recorded and released for the Japanese record market.


Personnel

Synthetizers by Dom Chicchetti on "All The Way," "The Crying Game," "Wild Is The Wind," "Blue Moon," and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" only.

Chris Connor (ldr), Mike Abene (pdr, p), Bill Easley (f, ts), Ingrid Jensen (t, fh), Chip Jackson, Steve LaSpina (b), Dennis Mackrel (d), Chris Connor (v)

Personnel

Flute or tenor saxophone, played by Bill Easley, on "By Myself," "Snowfall," "But Not For Me," "Stairway To The Stars" and "Day In, Day Out."

Trumpet or flugelhorn, played by Ingrid Jensen, on "By Myself," "Haunted Heart," "But Not For Me," "Key Largo" and "Day In, Day Out."

Bass played by Chip Jackson's on "By Myself," "Haunted Heart," "Only The Lonely" and "Day In, Day Out."

Bass played by Steve Laspina on "Snowfall," "But Not For Me," "Stairway To The Stars," "Key Largo" and "I Wished On the Moon."

Dennis Mackrel's drums on all songs, except "Drinking Again."

Chris Connor (ldr), Naoki Fujimoto, Shigeyuki Kawashima (pdr), Andy Snitzer (sax), Joe Magnarelli (t), Roger Blanc (g), Chip Jackson (b), Dave Matthews (p), Terry Silverlight (d), Chris Connor (v)

Issues / Collectors' Corner

1. Lullaby Of Birdland (King CD, KICJ-456, Japan, 2003)

While still under contract with HighNote Records, Chris Connor recorded the songs in Lullaby Of Birdland for the Japanese label King Records Ltd.
In addition to releasing it in Japan, King licensed the date to HighNote, which released the album under a different title (Everything I Love) in the United States.

The photo used for the respective covers are also different. Whereas HighNote picked a photo of the singer (a rather unflattering one), King used a drawing of a dark city avenue, with cars in sight, and a sunset as background.

Chris Connor (ldr), Mike Abene (pdr, p), Arthur Sussman (s-a), Bill Easley (r), Jack Wilkins (g), Chip Jackson (b), Dennis Mackrel (d), Memo Acevedo (per), Chris Connor (v)

Personnel

Reeds, played by Bill Easley, on "Route 66," "That Old Black Magic," "Serenade In Blue," "Shall We Dance" and "On The Road Again" only.

Jack Wilkins' guitar on all tracks, except "How High the Moon" and "This Heart Of Mine."

Percussion, played by Memo Acevedo, on "Route 66," "Quiet Nights," "That Old Black Magic" and "On The Road Again" only."

Bio-Discographical Notes: Miscellanea


A Note About "Live" Albums
Readers looking for live albums done by Chris Connor (be it during this period or during any other) should consult the page for Concert, Radio & Television Dates. Legitimate record labels that have released live dates by Connor include Atlantic (September 13, 1959), FM (1963), Applause & Evidence (both: September-October, 1981), and Audiophile (September 20-22, 1990).

Help Requested:
Albums That I Have Yet To Track Down

Singin' In N.Y.
I have not been able to locate the track listing for the Japanese LP Singin' In N.Y. (Columbia / Roulette YS 8534 RO). I suspect it to be a reissue of one of Connor's two albums for ABC-Paramount (Chris Connor Sings The Gentle Bossa Nova and Now!). Help would be appreciated.

Teo Macero Presents
I have not been able to locate a copy of this album. The scant data available to me suggests that it might be a special issue, possibly meant for radio airplay only.

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