Pipeorgan Presentations - The Wizard Of Organ

Billy Nalle
The Wizard Of Organ

Available on CD

CD $17

UK Customers Only (PPD): CD 12 GBP

1 Of Thee I Sing (George Gershwin)
2 You’re The Cream In My Coffee / If I Had A Talking Picture (DaSylva/Brown/Henderson)
3 Put On A Happy Face (Strouse/Adams)
4 Love And Marriage (Cohen/Van Heusen)
5 More (Newell/Ortolani)
6 A Bushel And A Peck (Frank Loesser)
7 I’ve Got The World On A String (Arlen/Koehler)
8 Tom, Tom, The Piper’s Son (Victor Herbert)
9 Shenandoah (Traditional)
10 Gonna Be AGreat Day (Youmans)
11 On Wings Of Song (Felix Mendelssohn)
12 Copenhagen (Loesser/Hart)
13 I’m Beginning To See The Light (George/Ellington/James)
14 Joy To The World (Watts/Handel)
15 Segue
16 O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Neil/Helmore)
17 Segue
18 Silent Night (Mohr/Gruber)
19 Segue
20 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Martin/Blane)
21 Segue
22 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (J. Fred Coots)
23 Segue
24 I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Walter Kent)

Billy Nalle left the musical world a great deal poorer by his passing on June 7, 2005. He was born in Fort Myers, Florida, on April 24, 1921.

His professional career began in 1933 and through 1939 he was pianist of the Al Linquist Jazz Orchestra of Fort Myers. Following his audition at the Julliard School of Music, New York, one of his principal teachers there was the organ and piano virtuoso Gaston Dethier. Nalle served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946, and during his last year of service was assigned to the U.S.N. Entertainment Unit. During 1947 and 1948 he did postgraduate studies at The Julliard School, and then began a 26 year career of music in New York City for more than 200 major network television shows. In 1975 Billy accepted the position of Artist-in-Residence at the Century II Center, Wichita, Kansas, where the world famous New York Paramount Theatre organ had been installed. For eleven years he played concerts in the Wichita Pops Series, made numerous recordings, and concertized nationally.

He received international acclaim in 1993 when the American Theatre Organ Society voted him into the Theatre Organists Hall of Fame. Billy was also a composer and his “Trio In A Style Of Bach,” a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of “All the Things You Are” has been recorded several times by other organists. In 1995, Nalle ended a full-time career and returned to Fort Myers, Florida, where he lived until his death.
Well-known organist Dan Bellomy wrote a remembrance in Theatre Organ, which we quote with his permission:
“To say that Billy was one of the finest musicians to ever sit on the bench of a theatre organ would probably be minimizing his contributions to our musical enjoyment and understanding. For those fortunate people who took the time to analyze, understand and appreciate Billy’s music, a wondrous cacophony of harmony, meaning and emotion would appear in some of the simplest compositions. His painting of a musical picture and creation of the most complex musical theme was unparalleled.

The attempt to chronicle Billy’s accomplishments and contributions to the world of music in such a small space would be futile. On full scholarship he attended the famous Julliard School of Music in New York City, where one of his teachers was the legendary jazz great Teddy Wilson. Billy’s years in military service had him on tour with Bob Fosse and the UN Navy Entertainment Unit. In 1947, he began post-graduate studies at the Julliard School and also began what would become a 26 year career in network television. Hi work as a composer and performer was heard on the air in radio and television efforts for NBC, ABC and CBS. Many concert appearances and recordings using theatre pipe organ exposed listeners to that very special Nalle approach to interpreting music. Although Billy was not as prolific in his recording career as some others, those treasured LPs will forever be a source of musical fulfillment for the listener.”
The Rochester Organ (Tracks 1 through 6).

The Rochester Theatre Organ Society’s 4/23 Wurlitzer is in its second home, a building dimensionally and acoustically similar to the Rochester RKO Palace Theater for which it was originally specified and built. It retains its original relay and combination system and most of the original specifications. It received ongoing maintenance and rebuilding and is beautifully maintained by the RTOS dedicated volunteer work crew. In the spring of 1995 a team of professional voicers was engaged to perform a thorough re-regulation and voicing restoration of the instrument. The bulk of this work was completed in March of 1995. More recently the console underwent a complete restoration and the missing saxophone rank was restored to the instrument.

The Allen Organ (Tracks 7 through 9)
The instrument used on three of the selections on this album was on stage in the Allen Organ Company’s recital hall in Pennsylvania. It was a MOS-I (first generation digital computer organ) vintage instrument.

The Detroit Organ (Tracks 10 through 13)
The superb 4/34 Wurlitzer on this recording is now in the Senate Theatre, Dearborn, a neighborhood of Detroit, but it was originally in the Fisher Theatre downtown. It is one of the very few organs on the concert circuit that is always in perfect condition and hence for organists it is a joy to play. It and the theatre are owned by the Detroit Theatre Organ Society and their dedicated workers maintain the instrument in tip top condition.

The Paramount Organ (Bonus tracks) The "Dowager Empress" is a four manual, 36-rank Wurlitzer, one of the five biggest instruments Wurlitzer ever built. The organ is also often considered to be the finest tonally. Legendary organist Jesse Crawford had a hand in designing the instrument, and the man who voiced, regulated, and tended it for 38 years at the Paramount, Dan Papp, is also credited with being responsible for its beautiful sound. Ben Hall, is his magnificent book “The Best Remaining Seats” said “the New York Paramount organ is acknowledged the finest theatre organ ever built.”

The Detroit, Allen and Rochester tracks, in-concert performances, appeared on the original Concert Recording LP “The Wizard of Organ” and are re-released with the kind permission and co-operation of Bill Johnson, the owner of that company.