Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535953
Summer 2025 – LOCAL695.COM 7 Ric Rambles by Ric Teller I'll take the soup. My grandpa Dave liked Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and matzo ball soup. He wasn't educated in music; in fact, he left school after the sixth grade to go to work, eventually running a men's clothing store. For decades, many businessmen in Lincoln, Nebraska, dressed in suits from Clark's Clothing. I have a vivid memory of him sitting on an ornate wooden chair in his living room, conducting the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, or another esteemed orchestra while listening to them on television or an L.P. For those who have forgotten, L.P. is an analog sound storage and playback medium, a phonograph record with a speed of 331⁄3 rpm. The initials L.P. stand, of course, for Louie Prima. In television, we don't get too many opportunities to work with an orchestra. The ensemble at the Tony Awards in New York features Broadway show music, and at the Memorial Day and 4th of July holiday shows in D.C., the National Symphony performs familiar often patriotic tunes. My two regulars are the Oscars Orchestra, made up of an amazing group of studio musicians playing film music past and present. And the ensemble from the Kennedy Center Honors under the direction of Patrick Vaccariello. It is an accomplished group of players and many, including concertmaster Oleg Rylatko, come from the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, the rest are "hired guns," assembled by the talented music contractor Kimberlee Wertz. Each year, they perform a diverse and interesting variety of content based on the honorees. Ms. Wertz is the contractor for the Tonys, Oscars, and other shows as well. The Honors Orchestra sounds terrific, a combination of the hard work and professionalism of Patrick and the excellent musicians, combined with the skill of music mixer Paul Sandweiss. In addition to the orchestra, the Honors features an excellent house band, and often an additional ensemble or two. One small group in particular comes to mind. I can't tell you the name of the honoree. Not because I'm sworn to silence and you don't know the secret handshake, I just can't remember. The mixer, Ed Greene, told us that one of the honors would include a piano quintet. Traditionally, the most common form of the piano quintet includes the piano (duh) and a standard string quartet, two violins, a viola, and there's always room for a cello. I learned this and much more from Emanuel Wishnow at the University of Nebraska School of Music. Ed challenged me to make the mics as invisible as possible. The piano would be at full stick, and the string players made it clear that they did not want mics on their instruments. Inside the piano, I mounted two AKG414's near the downstage wall of the case, hidden from the camera shot, one near the high strings near the hammers and the other about halfway down, near the lower strings. For the quartet, I taped two Countryman Isomax Hyper Cardioid mics with the heads at a 90-degree angle at the top of a plain black mic stand that hid well with the music stands used by the string players. Ed made it sound great. I loved when he would present a challenge like that. He is truly missed. I've been very fortunate to work with a wide variety of extraordinary musicians over the years. One of the first big music shows that came my way starred Steve Allen, a very talented pianist, songwriter, humorist, and host. About forty years ago, we did six episodes of his program, Steve Allen's Music Room at KTLA. I was tasked with mixing FOH and monitors on two linked 16-input Yamaha PM 1000's. In addition to Steve hosting and playing, the show had a fantastic house band led by vibes player Terry Gibbs. The rest of the band was an all-star ensemble. The stellar guest list included Jayne Meadows, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Melba Moore, Joe Williams, Paul Williams, Henry Mancini, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn, Patti Page, Doc Severinsen, Ann Jillian, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Anthony Newley, Rosemary Clooney, Lou Rawls, and Red 95 years of television experience in three square feet