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Trilogy - Record 3
_______________________________________________
RECORD THREE
THE FUTURE
Los Angeles – December, 1979
White hair tousled, eyes and ears cocked, Gordon Jenkins is rehearsing 154 musicians on the vast stage of the Shrine Auditorium with the authority and glow of a man who has composed the music himself.
He takes the orchestra and chorus only to bar ten before rapping his baton on the podium. “You can’t take your own tempo, kids. There are too many of you. You’ll have to take mine, strange as it may seem to you.”
From the top.
Rap-rap-rap. The tempo is okay but a flute is half a tone off in bar 22.
From the top.
Rap-rap-rap. “Singers, the pitch in bar 15 sounds a little non-union from here.”
From the top.
Rap-rap-rap. “This time it’s my fault. Strings, I’m not fond of that pizzicato in bars 21 and 22. Let’s bow it instead.”
From the top.
Jenkins is taking his time for good reason. He wrote and orchestrated this music only recently, and it never has been performed or heard except on a demo tape made by a few musicians in the composer’s home. Now, he is presiding over that crucial moment when all major participants in the creative process – composer, conductor, orchestra, chorus, soloist, and the music itself – come together for the first time. Always exciting, such moments can be chaotic and ultimately disastrous, but this time, after a little fine-tuning, everything fits.
The soloist in question, for whom the music was written, stands ten feet to the conductor’s right – listening, singing along softly, and liking what he hears. It is a ballad that doesn’t yet have a title but eventually will be called “I’ve Been There” and portrays a wise man of a certain age counseling an anxious pair of young lovers to relax and enjoy. Distinctively chromatic, with an introduction that utilizes some lovely modalities, “I’ve Been There” engages the listener on first hearing and seems likely to take its place with other Sinatra-Jenkins ballad collaborations which are among the most familiar recordings made anywhere in the world in the past three decades. “Here’s That Rainy Day,” “It Was A Very Good Year,” “September Song,” “This Is All I Ask,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “The September Of My Years,” “Send In The Clowns,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Lonely Town,” “The Night We Called It A Day,” “Autumn Leaves,” “I’m A Fool To Want You,” “Just Friends,” “I Can’t Get Started,” and “A Cottage For Sale” are only a few.
Like “This Is All I Ask,” the other Jenkins composition on this list, “I’ve Been There” stands on its own as a song. Unlike the other, however, it forms part of a suite that Jenkins has written for Sinatra. “Reflections On The Future” marks the first time that Sinatra has recorded a Jenkins suite and the first time that Jenkins has composed a suite expressly for Sinatra.
It is difficult to conceive of a more daunting assignment for a composer than being asked to write a suite of music about the future. The possibilities are so vast that whatever approach the composer chooses inevitably will be criticized by other who would have chosen a different approach. “Reflections On The Future” is no exception to this dilemma and is certain to become one of Sinatra’s most controversial recordings. Some will say that it is his finest hour. Others will say that certain of its lyrics are too personal. There can be no question, however, that “Future” includes the most stirring and imaginative music and lyrics that Gordon Jenkins has ever written. The work sweeps across the attitudinal and emotional terrain from sage cynicism, to humor, to vulnerability, to childlike wonder. It explores not only dreams like world peace and space travel but also some of Sinatra’s most private musings about his own future and, implicitly, about his past, e.g. his lifelong yearning to conduct a great symphony orchestra (“I would stand there, big and brave, and say ‘Ladies and gentlemen, play for me, play for me.’”).
Sinatra’s moving performance is enhanced by an exceptional symphony orchestra and chorus from which Jenkins draws power and grandeur, delicacy and tenderness.
For all its scope, “Reflections On The Future” does not stand as Sinatra’s final and definitive musical statement on his life and career. We have reason to hope that this is not his last record. On the contrary, it is my belief that “Future” and the rest of “Trilogy” are the inaugural recordings of a new period of Sinatra’s musical life – a period that promises to be as rich as any that has preceded it. After several difficult years, Sinatra is recording seriously once again. It should be needless to say, but there are people who invariably need reminding, that the man isn’t 35 years old anymore and doesn’t sound like it. But the millions around the world who have listened closely to Sinatra in the past year or two know that he possesses something more important than a 35-year-old voice. He possesses a voice whose hues and resonance, particularly in its cello register, are more luxuriant than ever. His dramatic sensibilities have never been more acute. And his unmatched ability to infuse the rendering of a song with the pain and pleasure of life itself continues to grow.
In sum, the man’s greatness remains true to its essence – unflinchingly dynamic, still exploring, still struggling, but most important, still a source of towering excellence and abounding joy.
__________________________________________________
THE FUTURE
Reflections on the Future in Three Tenses
A Musical Fantasy in three tenses for Frank Sinatra, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and Mixed Chorus composed, arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins
SIDE FIVE
What Time Does The Next Miracle Leave? 10:44
(Soprano solo by Diana Lee and narration by Jerry Whitman)
World War None! 4:27
The Future 4:05
(Alto solo by Beverly Jenkins)
SIDE SIX
The Future (continued) 3:33
“I’ve Been There!”
The Future (conclusion) 6:00
“Song Without Words”
(Soprano solo by Loulie Jean Norman. Alto solo by Beverly Jenkins)
Finale: Before The Music Ends 9:46
Words & Music Written by Gordon Jenkins
Published by Sergeant Music Co.-ASCAP
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
__________________________________________________
PRODUCED BY SONNY BURKE
Recorded at The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, on December 17 and 18, 1979
Engineered by Lee Herschberg
Remote Equipment: Wally Heider Recording
Editing, Re-mix and Mastering: Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood
Music Preparation: Vern Yocum
Conductor: GORDON JENKINS
Contractor: Carl L. Fortina
Choral Director: Jerry Whitman
Mixed Chorus
Soloist: Beverly Jenkins
Soloist: Loulie Jean Norman
Soloist: Diana Lee
Jacqueline Allen
Sue Allen
B.J. Baker
Billie J. Barnum
Dick Bolks
Kathy Brown
Clark Burroughs
Amick Byram
Al Capps
Vangie Carmichael
Peggy Clark
Bill Cole
Alan Davies
Jan Gassman
Mitch Gordon
Christine Grant
Jim Haas
Sandie Hall
Gordon Harkness
Walt Harrah
Erroll Horne
Nancy Adams Huddleston
Marilyn Jackson
Gary Jones
Jon Joyce
Thomas Kenny
Karen Kenton
Larry Kenton
Douglas Laurence
Lynn Dolin Mann
Gilda Maiken
Suzie McCune
Gene Merlino
Jay Meyer
G.G. Prosper
Thurl Ravenscroft
Michael Redman
Darice Richman
Julia Rinker
Terry Stillwell
Robert Stevens
Sally Stevens
Jacquie Sullivan
Bob Tebow
Linda Wheeler
Ann White
Concertmaster: Harry Bluestone
Violin
Harris Goldman
Alexander Murray
Joseph Livoti
Ross Shub
Robert S. Lezin
Spiro Stamos
John Sambuco
Reginald Hill
Diana Jean Brodick
Lya Stern
Thomas Buffum
David D. Turner
Arkady Shindelman (Delman)
John Santulis
Bobby Bruce
Robert Sushel
John Wittenberg
Sandra D. Seymour
Niki Magee
Hyung-Sun Paik
Davida Lou Johnson
Tibor Zelig
Anthony S. Doria
Sid Page
Rhonni J. Hallman
Carl LaMagna
Terence A. Glenny
Blanche Belnick
Gwenn R. Heller
Walter Edelstein
Robert C. Lipsett
Joseph Stepansky
Mary D. Lundquist
Janet Lakatos
Arnold E. Koblentz
Henry L. Roth
James V. Ross
Jerome R. Webster
William Hymanson
David L. Newman
Pamela Tompkins
Ron Clark
Franklin Foster
Ralph Silverman
Doris Carr
Viola
David Schwartz
Linn Subotnick
Archie Levin
Sven H. Reher
Leeana Sherman
Bryana Sherman
Barbara J. Porter
Barbara A. Simons
Renita Koven
Patricia M. Matthews
Barbara Thomason
Mark G. Kovacs
Cynthia W. Kovacs
Margot L. MacLaine
Meyer Bello
Cello
Nils Oliver
Peter A. Rejto
Ernest Ehrhardt
Igor Horoshewsky
Carolisa Lindberg
Edwin V. Beach
Todd Hemmenway
George Koutzen
Nancy M. Koutzen
Julianna Buffum
Hadassa Newman
Linda Sanfilippo
Paula J. Hochhalter
Victor Sazer
Alexander Reisman
Margaret Guilbeau
Bass
John A. Hornschuch
Jim D. Hackmann
David H. Young
Edward Mears
Ray Siegel
Robert K. Stone
Robert W. Daugherty
Stephens LaFever
Frank A. Granato
Eugene V. Cherico
Morty Corb
Trumpet
Boyde W. Hood
Walter I. Johnson
Nelson E. Hatt
David P. Searfoss
Robert H. Findley
Saxophone
Donald Ashworth
Gary Gray
Wilbur Schwartz
Wayne E. Songer
Merritt Buxbaum
Trombone
Richard L. Noel
William C. Booth
Bruce A. Paulson
Thomas M. Shepard
Donald G. Waldrop
Dominick J. Gravine
Tuba
Edmond Walter
French Horn
Brian D.A. O’Connor
Aubrey J. Bouck
Robin L. Graham
Ronn B. Kaufmann
Bassoon
Jack Marsh
Patricia S. Kindel
Fowler Friedlander
Kenneth E. Munday
Clarinet
Joan Elardo
Robert Steen
Phillip W. Ayling
Hugo Raimondi
David Atkins
Lloyd W. Hildebrand
Ronald A. Janelli
Flute
Lisa Edelstein
Woodwinds
James R. Walker
Susan S. Fries
Geraldine Rotella
Harry G. Klee
Kathleen Robinson-Barker
David M. Sherr
Jon Kip
Horns
Gale H. Robinson
Alan Robinson
James Atkinson
Marilyn L. Robinson
Claude E. Sherry
Piano
Vincent J. Falcone, Jr.
Harp
Lou Anne Neill
Carl Vincent Rigoli
Eric S. Remsen
Alan C. Estes
Guitar
Alfred Viola
Percussion
Carl V. Rigol
Alexander L. Lepak
Peter Limonick
Irving Cottler
________________________________________________
Post Production, Mix-down and Mastering by Lee Herschberg
Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood
Album Cover Design by Saul Bass
Manufactured by Bristol Productions
Reprise Records, a division of Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Warner Communications Company. 3300 Warner Blvd., Burbank, Calif. 91510. 3 East 54th Street, New York, New York 10022. Made in U.S.A. (P) 1980 Warner Bros. Records Inc. © 1980 Warner Bros. Records Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
3FS 2300
RECORD THREE
THE FUTURE
Los Angeles – December, 1979
White hair tousled, eyes and ears cocked, Gordon Jenkins is rehearsing 154 musicians on the vast stage of the Shrine Auditorium with the authority and glow of a man who has composed the music himself.
He takes the orchestra and chorus only to bar ten before rapping his baton on the podium. “You can’t take your own tempo, kids. There are too many of you. You’ll have to take mine, strange as it may seem to you.”
From the top.
Rap-rap-rap. The tempo is okay but a flute is half a tone off in bar 22.
From the top.
Rap-rap-rap. “Singers, the pitch in bar 15 sounds a little non-union from here.”
From the top.
Rap-rap-rap. “This time it’s my fault. Strings, I’m not fond of that pizzicato in bars 21 and 22. Let’s bow it instead.”
From the top.
Jenkins is taking his time for good reason. He wrote and orchestrated this music only recently, and it never has been performed or heard except on a demo tape made by a few musicians in the composer’s home. Now, he is presiding over that crucial moment when all major participants in the creative process – composer, conductor, orchestra, chorus, soloist, and the music itself – come together for the first time. Always exciting, such moments can be chaotic and ultimately disastrous, but this time, after a little fine-tuning, everything fits.
The soloist in question, for whom the music was written, stands ten feet to the conductor’s right – listening, singing along softly, and liking what he hears. It is a ballad that doesn’t yet have a title but eventually will be called “I’ve Been There” and portrays a wise man of a certain age counseling an anxious pair of young lovers to relax and enjoy. Distinctively chromatic, with an introduction that utilizes some lovely modalities, “I’ve Been There” engages the listener on first hearing and seems likely to take its place with other Sinatra-Jenkins ballad collaborations which are among the most familiar recordings made anywhere in the world in the past three decades. “Here’s That Rainy Day,” “It Was A Very Good Year,” “September Song,” “This Is All I Ask,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “The September Of My Years,” “Send In The Clowns,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Lonely Town,” “The Night We Called It A Day,” “Autumn Leaves,” “I’m A Fool To Want You,” “Just Friends,” “I Can’t Get Started,” and “A Cottage For Sale” are only a few.
Like “This Is All I Ask,” the other Jenkins composition on this list, “I’ve Been There” stands on its own as a song. Unlike the other, however, it forms part of a suite that Jenkins has written for Sinatra. “Reflections On The Future” marks the first time that Sinatra has recorded a Jenkins suite and the first time that Jenkins has composed a suite expressly for Sinatra.
It is difficult to conceive of a more daunting assignment for a composer than being asked to write a suite of music about the future. The possibilities are so vast that whatever approach the composer chooses inevitably will be criticized by other who would have chosen a different approach. “Reflections On The Future” is no exception to this dilemma and is certain to become one of Sinatra’s most controversial recordings. Some will say that it is his finest hour. Others will say that certain of its lyrics are too personal. There can be no question, however, that “Future” includes the most stirring and imaginative music and lyrics that Gordon Jenkins has ever written. The work sweeps across the attitudinal and emotional terrain from sage cynicism, to humor, to vulnerability, to childlike wonder. It explores not only dreams like world peace and space travel but also some of Sinatra’s most private musings about his own future and, implicitly, about his past, e.g. his lifelong yearning to conduct a great symphony orchestra (“I would stand there, big and brave, and say ‘Ladies and gentlemen, play for me, play for me.’”).
Sinatra’s moving performance is enhanced by an exceptional symphony orchestra and chorus from which Jenkins draws power and grandeur, delicacy and tenderness.
For all its scope, “Reflections On The Future” does not stand as Sinatra’s final and definitive musical statement on his life and career. We have reason to hope that this is not his last record. On the contrary, it is my belief that “Future” and the rest of “Trilogy” are the inaugural recordings of a new period of Sinatra’s musical life – a period that promises to be as rich as any that has preceded it. After several difficult years, Sinatra is recording seriously once again. It should be needless to say, but there are people who invariably need reminding, that the man isn’t 35 years old anymore and doesn’t sound like it. But the millions around the world who have listened closely to Sinatra in the past year or two know that he possesses something more important than a 35-year-old voice. He possesses a voice whose hues and resonance, particularly in its cello register, are more luxuriant than ever. His dramatic sensibilities have never been more acute. And his unmatched ability to infuse the rendering of a song with the pain and pleasure of life itself continues to grow.
In sum, the man’s greatness remains true to its essence – unflinchingly dynamic, still exploring, still struggling, but most important, still a source of towering excellence and abounding joy.
__________________________________________________
THE FUTURE
Reflections on the Future in Three Tenses
A Musical Fantasy in three tenses for Frank Sinatra, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and Mixed Chorus composed, arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins
SIDE FIVE
What Time Does The Next Miracle Leave? 10:44
(Soprano solo by Diana Lee and narration by Jerry Whitman)
World War None! 4:27
The Future 4:05
(Alto solo by Beverly Jenkins)
SIDE SIX
The Future (continued) 3:33
“I’ve Been There!”
The Future (conclusion) 6:00
“Song Without Words”
(Soprano solo by Loulie Jean Norman. Alto solo by Beverly Jenkins)
Finale: Before The Music Ends 9:46
Words & Music Written by Gordon Jenkins
Published by Sergeant Music Co.-ASCAP
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
__________________________________________________
PRODUCED BY SONNY BURKE
Recorded at The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, on December 17 and 18, 1979
Engineered by Lee Herschberg
Remote Equipment: Wally Heider Recording
Editing, Re-mix and Mastering: Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood
Music Preparation: Vern Yocum
Conductor: GORDON JENKINS
Contractor: Carl L. Fortina
Choral Director: Jerry Whitman
Mixed Chorus
Soloist: Beverly Jenkins
Soloist: Loulie Jean Norman
Soloist: Diana Lee
Jacqueline Allen
Sue Allen
B.J. Baker
Billie J. Barnum
Dick Bolks
Kathy Brown
Clark Burroughs
Amick Byram
Al Capps
Vangie Carmichael
Peggy Clark
Bill Cole
Alan Davies
Jan Gassman
Mitch Gordon
Christine Grant
Jim Haas
Sandie Hall
Gordon Harkness
Walt Harrah
Erroll Horne
Nancy Adams Huddleston
Marilyn Jackson
Gary Jones
Jon Joyce
Thomas Kenny
Karen Kenton
Larry Kenton
Douglas Laurence
Lynn Dolin Mann
Gilda Maiken
Suzie McCune
Gene Merlino
Jay Meyer
G.G. Prosper
Thurl Ravenscroft
Michael Redman
Darice Richman
Julia Rinker
Terry Stillwell
Robert Stevens
Sally Stevens
Jacquie Sullivan
Bob Tebow
Linda Wheeler
Ann White
Concertmaster: Harry Bluestone
Violin
Harris Goldman
Alexander Murray
Joseph Livoti
Ross Shub
Robert S. Lezin
Spiro Stamos
John Sambuco
Reginald Hill
Diana Jean Brodick
Lya Stern
Thomas Buffum
David D. Turner
Arkady Shindelman (Delman)
John Santulis
Bobby Bruce
Robert Sushel
John Wittenberg
Sandra D. Seymour
Niki Magee
Hyung-Sun Paik
Davida Lou Johnson
Tibor Zelig
Anthony S. Doria
Sid Page
Rhonni J. Hallman
Carl LaMagna
Terence A. Glenny
Blanche Belnick
Gwenn R. Heller
Walter Edelstein
Robert C. Lipsett
Joseph Stepansky
Mary D. Lundquist
Janet Lakatos
Arnold E. Koblentz
Henry L. Roth
James V. Ross
Jerome R. Webster
William Hymanson
David L. Newman
Pamela Tompkins
Ron Clark
Franklin Foster
Ralph Silverman
Doris Carr
Viola
David Schwartz
Linn Subotnick
Archie Levin
Sven H. Reher
Leeana Sherman
Bryana Sherman
Barbara J. Porter
Barbara A. Simons
Renita Koven
Patricia M. Matthews
Barbara Thomason
Mark G. Kovacs
Cynthia W. Kovacs
Margot L. MacLaine
Meyer Bello
Cello
Nils Oliver
Peter A. Rejto
Ernest Ehrhardt
Igor Horoshewsky
Carolisa Lindberg
Edwin V. Beach
Todd Hemmenway
George Koutzen
Nancy M. Koutzen
Julianna Buffum
Hadassa Newman
Linda Sanfilippo
Paula J. Hochhalter
Victor Sazer
Alexander Reisman
Margaret Guilbeau
Bass
John A. Hornschuch
Jim D. Hackmann
David H. Young
Edward Mears
Ray Siegel
Robert K. Stone
Robert W. Daugherty
Stephens LaFever
Frank A. Granato
Eugene V. Cherico
Morty Corb
Trumpet
Boyde W. Hood
Walter I. Johnson
Nelson E. Hatt
David P. Searfoss
Robert H. Findley
Saxophone
Donald Ashworth
Gary Gray
Wilbur Schwartz
Wayne E. Songer
Merritt Buxbaum
Trombone
Richard L. Noel
William C. Booth
Bruce A. Paulson
Thomas M. Shepard
Donald G. Waldrop
Dominick J. Gravine
Tuba
Edmond Walter
French Horn
Brian D.A. O’Connor
Aubrey J. Bouck
Robin L. Graham
Ronn B. Kaufmann
Bassoon
Jack Marsh
Patricia S. Kindel
Fowler Friedlander
Kenneth E. Munday
Clarinet
Joan Elardo
Robert Steen
Phillip W. Ayling
Hugo Raimondi
David Atkins
Lloyd W. Hildebrand
Ronald A. Janelli
Flute
Lisa Edelstein
Woodwinds
James R. Walker
Susan S. Fries
Geraldine Rotella
Harry G. Klee
Kathleen Robinson-Barker
David M. Sherr
Jon Kip
Horns
Gale H. Robinson
Alan Robinson
James Atkinson
Marilyn L. Robinson
Claude E. Sherry
Piano
Vincent J. Falcone, Jr.
Harp
Lou Anne Neill
Carl Vincent Rigoli
Eric S. Remsen
Alan C. Estes
Guitar
Alfred Viola
Percussion
Carl V. Rigol
Alexander L. Lepak
Peter Limonick
Irving Cottler
________________________________________________
Post Production, Mix-down and Mastering by Lee Herschberg
Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood
Album Cover Design by Saul Bass
Manufactured by Bristol Productions
Reprise Records, a division of Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Warner Communications Company. 3300 Warner Blvd., Burbank, Calif. 91510. 3 East 54th Street, New York, New York 10022. Made in U.S.A. (P) 1980 Warner Bros. Records Inc. © 1980 Warner Bros. Records Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
3FS 2300
