Elsie Bianchi - Fly Me To The Moon (1960-1962/2011)

Newly found treasures from the Swiss DRS Radio Archives: 12 previously unreleased tracks by the venerated piano player and singer Elsie Bianchi, produced with different musical formations between 1960-1962 for Radio Zurich and Radio Basel. „Unreleased LP“ following her great „Sweetest Sound“ and „Atlantis Blues“ albums, with fine arrangements for trio (with Siro Bianchi, Fritz Stähli or Kenny Schmidt) and even jazz orchestra on some recordings, including such greats as “I Remember Clifford”, „But Not For Me“, „Fly Me To The Moon“, „Secret Love“ and „Misty“. Remastered from the original radio tapes at 24 bit/ 48 khz, comes in unique „old photo“ cover with unreleased pictures from the vaults of Elsa and Siro Bianchi plus new liner notes.

The musical journeys of Elsa Bianchi-Brunner:
Awarded as a pianist on the first "Amateur Jazz Festival” Zurich in 1953, Elsie Brunner also impressed the audience there on accordion. Her brothers played trumpet, saxophone and other instruments in the musical family, but above all, collected all American jazz records they could find. As early as 1946 Elsie and her siblings were invited to an international accordion competition in Paris, where they won first prizes. In those early days there were also jam sessions in Zurich, from which Elsie should constitute her first own formation.
On bass and Clarinet was Siro Bianchi, whom she later married and with whom she moved to the United States in 1958 - first as music professionals, then as farm owners. Today Elsie and Siro Bianchi-Brunner live in Royston, Georgia. For the first time in 1958 the two traveled to the U.S. and had engagements in Palm Springs and Sun Valley from spring to autumn, along with an American drummer. They were also working together with other American jazz musicians now: Elsa and Siro played with Bob Cooper and his Allstar Ensemble at a session in Hermosa Beach and were good friends of Hampton Hawes, Pete Jolly and Curtis Counce.
From August 1959 to March 1962 they returned to Switzerland and played in Basel (mostly at the Atlantis) as well as in a hotel in Les Diablerets. The present radio recordings in Zurich and Basel were made at that time and should disappear in the archives of the Swiss radio for the next 50 years. Thanks to Bruno Spoerri, who requested these tracks for documentation and forwarded them recently to Sonorama Records for licensing and release. Even the owner of the Atlantis club was thrilled by the musical quality of the trio and organized their own recording sessions, released as 10inch LP and 7inch EP on an in-house private label and in a very small edition. The vinyl records were solely intended as a personal gift for friends or for radio stations. Today, these items belong to the rarest and most sought after European jazz records, and were summarized in 2004 by Sonorama Records for a release on LP and CD.
In April 1962 Elsa and Siro went back to the States. From now on the Elsie Bianchi Trio belonged to the booking roster of the legendary Joe Glaser (Associated Booking Corporation in Chicago). Until 1968 the band toured the U.S. and also played some concerts in Canada. In between, they were always active in Switzerland, especially at the Atlantis/ Basel or in the well-known Swiss winter resorts. During her time in the U.S. Elsa and Siro played with American drummers, while back home they were accompanied by Swiss drummers. In those days Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer of the Saba/ MPS label from Villingen heard the band at the Atlantis Club in Basel and provided them with a spontaneous music production, this time accompanied by drummer Charlie Antolini. The album entitled “The Sweetest Sound” was recorded and released in 1965. It is now world famous as one of the best and especially rare slices of the legendary German jazz label from the Black Forest.
Until 1968 the trio played in Houston, Fort Worth and Fort Walton. For two years they were accompanied by the drummer Kenny Schmidt from Basel. Sometimes Siro also played flute or tenor saxophone. In winter 1968, they received an engagement at the Grand Hotel in Gstaad. Then they decided to stop the travelling. Already in the summer of 1967 Elsa and Siro bought a house in Atlanta, Georgia and settled there in spring 1968. From this year, Elsie`s nephew Peter Brunner was sitting at the drums. They played in Niagara Falls, Lake Tahoe, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Miami, Cocoa Beach and at the “Chateau Fleur de Lis” in Atlanta, where they finally decided to finish their touring. In 1968 they received a permanent commitment there and played this club for ten long years.
In 1977, Elsie and Siro participated in the “K-Swiss Sportshoe Factory” Atlanta, whose California headquarters were managed by Elsie`s two brothers. The trio worked at the Fleur De Lis until the tennis shoe factory was built. Then they withdrew from the music business. In 1987 K-Swiss was sold. They bought a first ranch in Marysville, Georgia. In 1995, they found their dream farm in Royston, with a large music room, which is unfortunately too little used! (Ekkehart Fleischhammer, Sonorama 2010)

“Atlanta Night Life” by Hal Buice (Atlanta newspaper article written in 1972):
I find it amazing and somewhat pathetic that a group as talented as the Elsa Bianchi Trio has performed nightly for the past four years in the same room and has virtually no recognition from the media. When I say this, I am merely echoing the words of an equally talented pianist who, one night several months ago, urged me to go listen to Elsa. Unfortunately, I had to leave Atlanta shortly after our discussion but I made a mental note of what he had said. The Elsa Bianchi Trio was first on the list upon my return to L.A. (Lovely Atlanta). After visiting the Chateau to lend an ear to Elsa and her cohorts, I can easily understand why her engagement here has been so lengthy. Finding the right entertainment for a particular room is a never-ending problem for agents and management, so I suppose around four years ago someone found the right combination and decided to stick with it. A wise decision to say at least.
Elsa is one of the most relaxed pianists I have ever heard. To the untrained ear I am certain that her playing comes across as very pleasant music. To the trained ear, it at first appears to be just that, but as one listens, it certainly becomes apparent that the “very pleasant music” is an unfolding panorama of musical improvisation. In other words, she is not a loud, flamboyant pianist, but a very sensitive player who apparently adheres to the belief that there is no substitute for good taste. Elsa is also endowed with a pleasing voice, and her singing is continental (she sings in several languages and rightly so since she is a native of Switzerland). As for the other members of the group, one might say that Elsa has kept it all in the family. Her husband Siro is a fine bassist who doubles on flute and their nephew, Peter Brunner, is at the drums. To state that this is an outstanding group would be an understatement.

Some words by Elsa Bianchi (November 2010):
“It`s almost 50 years since we did these tapings at the radio studios in Zurich and Basel, which means I really do not remember too much about it. One thing stands out: You played live – it was taped or recorded with no corrections and no extra take – so you were careful and tried not to play too many wrong notes. But as far as I remember, we always enjoyed these recordings and had a good time.

” Big thanks to Elsa Bianchi, Siro Bianchi, Bruno Spoerri and Schweizer Radio DRS.
Producer for compilation: Ekkehart Fleischhammer, original recordings remastered 2010 by Jury Lutz (24 bit/ 48 khz), unreleased photos from the collection of Elsa Bianchi, cover design by Patrick Haase (rab-bit.net).

#1,2,5,6,9,11:
Elsie Bianchi - piano, vocals
Siro Bianchi - bass
Kenny Schmidt - drums
Recorded by Radio Zurich on December 17, 1962.

#3,8,12:
Elsie Bianchi - vocals
UOB (Orchestra Beromunster), arranged by Hardy Schneiders
Recorded by Radio Basel on December 6, 1961.

#4,7,10:
Elsie Bianchi - piano, vocals
Siro Bianchi - bass
Fritz Stahli - drums
Recorded by Radio Zurich on June 14, 1960.

Track List:
01. I Remember Clifford (Golson-Hendricks) - 4:59
02. Hot Dig a Dee (Bianchi) - 4:37
03. No Moon at All (Mann-Evans) - 2:51
04. Paradise (Parker) - 3:10
05. Fly Me to the Moon (Howard) - 4:02
06. Baron Lazar (Bianchi) - 3:22
07. Secret Love (Fain) - 4:07
08. Canadian Sunset (Heywood-Gimbel) - 3:33
09. Happy Litlle Sunbeam (Freeman) - 4:17
10. But Not for Me (Gershwin-Gershwin) - 2:42
11. I Feel Pretty (Bernstein) - 3:54
12. Misty (Garner-Burke) - 4:41



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