As West Coast arrangers go, Johnny Richards was spectacular. Like Bill Holman and Shorty Rogers, he had an authentic feel for the Hollywood scene and how to blend glamour with art. To stir this mood, Richards made wonderful use of French horns and piccolos, and he always threw in a touch of Latin flavor. His arrangements for Stan Kenton stand out, but his leadership albums are truly special.
Born Juan Manuel Cascales in Mexico in 1911, Richards came to the U.S. in 1919. He attended Fullerton College and began working as a tenor saxophonist in Los Angeles in the mid-1930s, and by the mid-1940s he was arranging. [Photo above of arrangers, clockwise from top left, Johnny Richards, Eddie Sauter, Ralph Burns, Ed Finckel, George Handy and Neal Hefti at New York's Museum of Modern Art in March 1947]
His albums for Kenton include Cuban Fire! (1956), Back to Balboa (1958), West Side Story (1961) and Adventures in Time (1962). His albums as an orchestra leader and conductor include Something Else (1956), Wide Range (1957) and Aqui Se Habla Español (1967). They are among my favorite big band recordings.
I last featured Richards by posting a Backgrounder on Something Else (see list below). Today, I'm serving up Walk Softly, Run Wild!, another terrific Richards LP. Recorded in May 1959, the album featured Burt Collins, Jerry Kail, John Bello and Ray Copeland (tp); Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland and Jim Dahl (tb); Julius Watkins (fhr); Jay McAllister (tu); Gene Quill (as); Frank Socolow (ts); Bill Slapin (bar,fl,pic); Shelly Gold (bassax); Johnny Knapp (p); Chet Amsterdam (b); Ed Shaughnessy (d); Warren Smith (perc) and Johnny Richards (arr,dir).
Johnny Richards died in 1968.
Here's Walk Softly, Run Wild! without ad interruptions...
Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:
- Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
- Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
- Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
- Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
- Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
- Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
- Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
- Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
- Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
- Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
- Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
- Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
- Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
- Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
- Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
- Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
- Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
- Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
- Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
- Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
- Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
- Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
- Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
- Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
- Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
- Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
- Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
- Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
- Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
- Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
- Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
- Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
- Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
- Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
- Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
- Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
- Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
- Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
- Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
- Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
- Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
- Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
- Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
- Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
- Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
- Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
- Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
- Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
- Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
- Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
- Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
- Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
- Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
- Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
- Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
- Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
- Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
- Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
- Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
- Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
- The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
- Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
- The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
- Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.
- Moacir Santos: Coisas, go here.
- Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Lock, the Fox, go here.
- Tony Bennett: The Movie Song Album, go here.
- Thad Jones/Mel Lewis: Consummation, go here.
- James Moody: Return From Overbrook, go here.
- Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind, go here.
- Count Basie: With Quincy Jones and Neal Hefti, go here.
