OUT TODAY MAVIS RIVERS FROM THE DAWN OF RECORDED MUSIC IN AOTEAROA COME’S THIS SIGNIFICANT & HISTORCAL BODY OF LOCALLY RECORDED MUSIC. MAVIS RIVERS (The TANZA & Stebbing Years)IS NOW AVALIABLE ON CD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 63 YEARS AND HIGHLIGHTS OUR EARLIEST AND MOST PROLIFIC FEMALE SINGER BEFORE INTERNATIONAL FAME CAME CALLING. Once described by Frank Sinatra as having the purest voice in Jazz...this was not just Frank making a generic statement, he followed this up by making Mavis his second signing to his illustrious Reprise label behind Sammy Davis jnr, after Mavis’s contract with Capitol Records had expired in 1960. Mavis was reportedly signed by Capitol Records (then the worlds largest record label) after 20 secs of opening her mouth to sing. Mavis was born in Western Samoa. Her family settled in New Zealand in 1947. Mavis and her family were already consummate musicians upon their arrival after years of entertaining not just the local villages but half of the American Pacific fleet during WW 2. Mavis immediately endeared herself with the local musicians with her world class voice, professionalism and gentle nature and was soon recording programmes for radio stations 1YA and 1YD. New Zealand’s first record label TANZA was formed in Wellington during this period, with Pixie Williams and her timeless rendition of Blue Smoke becoming their first release. It was a few months before the Auckland operation started recording with Mavis at the fore front in mid 1949. Over the next two years, before she left for the USA, Mavis was voted New Zealand’s top female singer and became our first prolific recording artist with over 50 tracks recorded and released during the pre 45rpm and album period. As you will hear Mavis recorded with the cream of local musicians and covered all of the styles of the day with aplomb from pop, country, jazz, western swing, ballads and novelty. Eight of the twenty eight featured tracks on this collection are local compositions, which adds extra texture to this fascinating weaving together of our earliest recorded works and is a salute not only to our first songbird, but also to our earliest recording pioneers in Noel Peach of TANZA and Eldred Stebbing whose vision and legacy is still felt in the industry today.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 00:40:01 +0000
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