Interpreti americké populární písně: Matt Monro

Matt Monro neboli „Muž se zlatým hlasem“ (The Man With The Golden Voice) je dodnes považován za jednoho z nejpopulárnějších zpěváků v mezinárodním hudební branži během především 60.-70. let minulého století. Jeho nahrávky, světová koncertní turné a především jeho hlas patří ke klenotům nejen britské hudební historie. Letos si připomínáme 30. výročí jeho úmrtí...

Vlasním jménem Terence Edward Parsons se narodil 1. prosince 1930 v londýnském čtvrti Shoreditch. Profesionálně začal poprvé zpívat v armádě v Hongkongu a Korei. Byl tak úspěšný, že měl dokonce svůj vlastní rozhlasový pořad, koncertoval a dokonce vyhrál i několik pěveckých soutěží. Po návratu z armády mu ale začala tvrdá realita; jeho úspěchy v Asii neměly pro nikoho žádný význam. Našel si tedy místo řidiče autobusu a jezdil na dlouhé tratě například mezi Londýnem a Glasgow. Mezitím také občas vystupoval v menších hudebních klubech.

A tak se stalo, že při jedné cestě Londýn - Glasgow dostal příležitost natočit jednu skladbu s místním rozhlasovým skotským orchestrem Harryho Liedera. Tou skladbou byla písen Polka Dots and Moonbeams, která se v roce 1953 stala jeho první oficiální nahrávkou. Tu shodou okolností uslyšela Winifred Atwell, které se nahrávka natolik zalíbila, že zařídila mladému zpěvákovi předzpívání u gramofonové firmy Decca, se kterou krátce na to podepsal smlouvu a změnil si své původní jméno na Matt Monro.

 You Keep Me Swingin (1960)

V roce 1957 natočil Matt album Blue And Sentimenal – kolekci známých evergreenů. Byl v té době jedním z vokalistů jako například Cliff Richard, kteří se snažili přezpívávat slavné americké standardy. Hudební svět se ale začal díky nastupující vlně rock´n´rollu měnit. Tak trochu nepříznivé období pro zpěváka jako byl Monro znamenala nové a možná i podružnější práce jako například natáčení rozhlasových reklam a spotů.

Dalším důležitým člověkem v životě mladého umělce byl hudební producent George Martin (to ještě několik let předtím, než začal spolupracovat se skupinou The Beatles). Ten v roce 1960 připravoval nové album herce a komika Petera Sellerse s názvem Songs for Swingin' Sellers a potřeboval zpěváka stylu Franka Sinatry, který by zazpíval titulní skladbu alba, kterou si měl satiricky přezpívat Sellers na album již sám. Když ale Sellers slyšel Mattovu verzi skladby, rozhodl se ji na desce raději ponechat a upřednostnil ji před svou vlastní verzi. Zajímavostí je, že Matt byl podepsán pod skladbou ne jako Matt Monro ale jako Fred Flange. Celý tento humorný a v zásadě šťastný omyl byl začátkem dlouholetého přátelství mezi Mattem a Georgem Martinem, který se stal jeho hudebním poradcem a producentem. Martin a Monro společně natočili několik nahrávek pro EMI značku Parlophone. Mezi největší hity z té doby patří skladby Portrait of My Love.

 Born Free (1966)

A další hity následovaly záhy: My Kind of Girl (1961), Softly as I Leave You (1962), titulní skladba Jamese Bonda From Russia with Love (1963), Walk Away (1964), Yesterday (1965)...

V následujícím roce 1966 natočil Matt oscarovou skladbu Born Free, která se stala jeho životní písní. Byla to druhá spolupráce se skladatelem Johnem Barrym (poprvé píseň From Russia With Love), další však následovaly – Wednesday's Child z filmu The Quiller Memorandum a This Is Mary ze snímku Mary, Queen of Scots).

 This Is The Life (1966) 
  

 

Po smrti Nat King Cola a poté, co Sinatra v polovině 60. let odešel od nahrávací společnosti Capitol Records, aby si založil svou vlastní firmu Reprise, byl Matt osloven právě americkou nahrávací společností Capitol ke spolupráci. S rodinou se přestěhoval do Los Angeles a začal pro něj nový život. V tomto období koncertoval po celé Americe a natočil několik fantastických alb včetně This Is the Life (1966), Here's to My Lady (1967) nebo These Years (1967).

Na sklonku 60. let se Matt s rodinou vrátil zpět do Velké Británie. Jeho poslední řadové album s názvem Close To You vyšlo v roce 1970 u firmy EMI. Na své fanoušky nezapomínal a stále koncertoval nejen ve Velké Británii. Na jeho legendární asijské turné či koncerty ve španělsky mluvících zemích dodnes vzpomíná mnoho jeho fanoušků. 

If I Never Sing Another Song

Matt Monro zemřel 7. února 1985 v londýnské nemocnici v Kensingtonu na rakovinu jater. Odešel předčasně ve věku pouhých 54 let...

Vyběr z kompletní diskografie:

Blue and Sentimental (London) 1957

My Kind of Girl (Collectables) 1961

Love Is The Same Anywhere (Parlophone) 1961

Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael (Hifi Hits) 1962

From Hollywood with Love (Liberty) 1964

All My Loving (Liberty) 1965

Yesterday (Liberty) 1965

Walk Away (Liberty) 1965

I Have Dreamed (Parlophone) 1965
This Is the Life 1966
Here's To My Lady 1967

Invitation to the Movies (Capitol) 1967

Born Free (Capitol) 1967

These Years (Capitol) 1967

Matt Sings, Nelson Swings (EMI) 1967

The Impossible Dream (Music For Pleasure) 1967

The Late, Late Show (Capitol) 1968

Walk Softly Into Love (Capitol) 1968

Alguien Cantó (Capitol) 1969

The Southern Star (Colgems) 1969

Close To You (Capitol) 1970

We're Gonna Change The World (Capitol) 1970

For The Present (EMI) 1973

The Long And Winding Road (EMI) 1975

If I Never Sing Another Song (Columbia) 1979

Lucas Debard: "Something I will always remember from the Songbook Academy is that the text will always come first".

The 18-year-old Lucas Debard is the winner of 2015 Great American Songbook Competition! Last week we talked a little about 2015 competition and all talented students that were part of it. Lucas was kind to answer a couple of questions for our website...

Can you please us more about your singing begginings? Who was your musical inspiration while you were growing up and when was the fist time you were introduced to Great American Songbook?

I started music as a drum set player. I started playing when I was in kindergarten so music has been apart of my life ever since I can remember. I began to sing in middle school when I picked up guitar. I started by learning pop and rock music and singing to myself in my room. When I began high school, I found my favorite singer and inspiration, Mel Tormé through a simple YouTube video. When I started seriously singing my freshman year of high school, I started listening to his recordings daily. I developed a love of the Great American Songbook through his music. After listening to him and a lot of the songbook greats like Tony Bennett, Ella, Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Rosemary Clooney and Nat King Cole, I started listening to modern singers like Michael Feinstein, Gregory Porter and Kurt Elling. I took inspiration from these singers and they made me want to pursue a career in performance and education of the Songbook.
 

The Songbook Academy is a wonderful program that brings together many talented young artists to celebrate good old American popular music. How did you enjoy working with your fellow artists and mentors Michael Feinstein, Laura Osnes and Sylvia McNair? I had an amazing and unique experience with them. I loved that these people that I listen to so much were talking to me and helping me be a better singer and performer. Each one of them brought something different to the table and they all have so much to offer. It’s a once in a lifetime experience to be critiqued by someone you were inspired by through their performances and recordings.

 2015 Songbook Youth Ambassador, Lucas DeBard

What is the most important lesson you have learned from The Songbook Academy?
Something I will always remember from the Songbook Academy is that the text will always come first. These songs were meant to tell a story through music. Throughout the week, I started connecting more with the text in the songs that I worked on and heard from my peers. After learning what I did at the Songbook Academy, I will always think about the text before I sing. My goal now is to make people feel something when I sing. I want them to hear the story though the music and see it through my performance.

Who are your favorite vocalists / songs / movie musicals and why? Anyone you’d love to sing a duet with?

Lately one song I can’t stop listening to is Gregory Porter’s “When Love Was King”. Gregory Porter is someone I have always loved and have learned so much from. I’ve always enjoyed songs that speak to me and tell a story. That song in particular is one of my favorite songs because of how beautiful the text flows as a melody. The message of peace that he gives is something the world has always needed. There isn’t anything more beautiful than that. Although Gregory Porter’s and my voice are so different, I have been inspired by his way of phrasing and how each song is sung with so much care. I could definitely give you a large list of people I would love to sing with! Gregory Porter would be on that list. Our styles and voices are so different, but I am a huge fan of his music.

Being a fan of musical theatre myself, I was wondering if you go regulary to the theatre to see musicals or even dramas and comedies? If so, which event did you enjoy the most and what did you learn from it?

I haven’t attended as many shows as I would like, but I remember a trip to New York with my choir when we saw the Broadway production of Newsies. The first thing my eye was drawn to in the show was all of the athletic dancers doing things I could never dream of. One of the things that I loved watching was Jack singing Santa Fe. I was new to modern Broadway music and hadn’t experienced the genre of music live or really in recordings until I saw this show. I remember studying his posture and mannerisms as he performed. Watching the character of Jack in the show made me think about the way I walk and carry myself on and off the stage. I heard the emotion in his voice but I also saw it in his body.

 

Do you have other hobbies apart from singing and performing?

Although it is another musical activity I absolutely couldn’t live without playing drum set and percussion. I have played with my family and friends since I was in kindergarten and It is almost like a first love I will never stop doing. Other than music, I love being outside. Fishing is something I’ve always loved and will continue to do. I love being on the water in boats or riding wave runners with my friends. Shooting, fishing, and being out on the water are what an Ideal vacation or relaxation time looks like for me.

What are your goals for the future?

My goal is to be a performer and a teacher. I love both equally. My ideal career would be performing and teaching music from my favorite era. The Songbook is something that means so much to me that I want to make a career out of it. The majority of the most influential people in my life have been either teachers or performers. I would like to share my experiences that I have had and will have in the future with people who love music from the Songbook as much as I do. The Songbook Foundation has changed my life and I am honored and proud to be apart of it.