DAVID CARROLL & HIS ORCHESTRA - LET'S DANCE AGAIN!

Born October 15, 1913 – Died March 22, 2008 - Musical director for Mercury from 1951 to the early 1960s. As studio arranger and conductor, Carroll played on numerous Top 40 hits, backing the Crew Cuts on their #1 hit, "Sh-Boom" and Rusty Draper on his "Shifting, Whispering Sands". Under his own name, he recorded a string of LPs with the "dance" theme, mostly featuring his own compositions. He employed the cream of Chicago's session men on his albums, including percussionists Dick Schory and Bobby Christian, Earl Backus on guitar, and Mike Simpson, who also composed a number of innovative pieces for percussion on Carroll's albums, on reeds. Quincy Jones composed a couple of numbers for Carroll during his stint as a musical director for Mercury, and several cuts on Carroll's later LPs sound suspiciously like Jones arrangements. For some, the covers, featuring bold photos of sexy women in ecstatic poses, are more interesting than the music itself, but Carroll's Percussion Orientale and Percussion in Hi-Fi are worth seeking out. Among the acts Carroll worked with in his later years with Mercury were the Smothers Brothers, and he eventually left Mercury and toured with them, leading their road show band. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Formed in December of 2006, his Orchestra has been growing steadily in size adding orchestral friends along the way. Now playing with up to 7 members and based out of Los Angeles, the focus has been perfecting live shows and finishing their first record. Mixed by Dave Trumfio (Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Mates Of State) with a reprise track produced by Jimmy Tamborello (DNTL, Postal Service), sweeping string sections and walls of synths, the 7 month undertaking of the band's debut album has completely paid off. Having just finished a slew of shows in the latter months of '08 including a successful residency at Silverlake Lounge and a show at the Beatles Revolution Lounge in Vegas, as well as good blog love from Buzzbands (Kevin Bronson), Feed Your Head, and Plays Well With Others, his Orchestra is thrilled and ready to take on '09. Their girlfriend band: www.myspace.com/alaskansummermusic Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.