In the summer of 1963, Joe Mooney had one last crack at the mass market. The singer, organist and accordionist was blind from the time he was 10. In the 1940s, his quartet was the rage at New York clubs, where they knocked out audiences and critics. Mooney on accordion was tasteful, deft and whimsical, and the quartet's arrangements were smart and catchy. (Their appearances have been documented on CDs released by Hep Records.) In the early 1950s, Mooney sang briefly with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, most notably on Nina Never Knew, which was a hit. Mooney's singing voice had a hip and relaxed confidential sound that put ears at ease. [Photo above of Joe Mooney and Andy Fitzgerald on clarinet in October 1946 by William P. Gottlieb]
But New York winters were too much for Mooney, and he moved to Florida in 1954, where he worked steadily on organ. In 1956, he recorded two studio albums for Atlantic before album opportunities dried up. Then in 1963, Mooney had another shot at national fame. Grammy-winning producer Mike Berniker convinced Columbia to let him record two albums with Mooney. They would become Mooney's last albums and his finest work. The two albums were The Greatness of Joe Mooney and The Happiness of Joe Mooney.
I never tire of hearing these albums from start to finish. They are spectacularly tasteful. For The Greatness of Joe Mooney, Berniker brought in Mundell Lowe to arrange. In turn, Mundy assembled a crack team of New York studio multi-instrumentalists, including Gene Allen (cl,b-cl-ts) Al Klink and Walt Levinsky (cl,fl,ts); Phil Bodner (cl,fl,oboe,ts); Andy Fitzgerald (cl,bass-fl,ts); Don Ashworth (cl,oboe,bassoon,ts); Leon Cohen (oboe,ts); Phil Kraus (vib); Barry Galbraith (g) or Mundell Lowe (g); George Duvivier (b) and Ed Shaughnessy (d); with Mundy conducting. Mooney sang and played accordion and organ.
Joe Mooney died in 1975.
I would urge you to grab both albums, which for a time were offered together on one CD (with superb liner notes by Terry Teachout, who wrote an essay for The New York Times in 1997 here). Every track is pure perfection. Here's Wait Till You See Her. Pay particular attention to Mundy's swinging arrangement, with reeds sliding in and out...
