Nelson Riddle was one of great arranger/conductors of the post-war era, who also excelled as a musician and composer. He was legendarily associated with Frank Sinatra during his golden period when he created his ‘concept’ albums of the late ‘50s, but his extensive encompassed an extraordinary roll call of top flight male and female vocalists of the era, his classic arrangements contributing to their creative and commercial success – witness his landmark arrangement for Peggy Lee’s “The Folks Who Live On The Hill”, including here. This great-value 106-track 4-CD set brings together examples of Nelson Riddle’s work from recordings as a trombonist in Charlie Spivak’s Orchestra in 1941 through two decades of memorable recordings with major artists and with his own orchestra, with contributions from Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Billy Eckstine, Mel Torme, Dinah Shore, Al Martino, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Keely Smith, Louis Jordan and many more. Following on from our highly successful collections devoted to Billy May, Percy Faith and Hugo Winterhalter and with compilation and notes once again provided by former top journalist and showbiz photographer Geoff Wilding, this will undoubtedly strike a chord with collectors and enthusiasts.
