JSP Records to Release JUDY GARLAND SINGS HAROLD ARLEN

JSP Records is proud to announce it will release in early 2016 JUDY GARLAND SINGS HAROLD ARLEN, a 2-CD box set devoted to Harold Arlen (1905-1986) tunes Judy Garland (1922-1969) performed in the studio, on screen, on the radio, and on stage between 1938 and 1968. Four tracks are new to CD.

The Garland-Arlen association began with the 1939 The Wizard Of Oz in which Garland sang the classic "Over the Rainbow", and other Arlen songs were recorded for such films as her 1940 Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, 1948 In The Good Old Summertime, 1950 Summer Stock, 1954 A Star Is Born, 1962 Gay Purr-ee, and finally her last film, the 1963 I Could Go On Singing. She also recorded numerous Arlen tunes during her tenures at Decca Records (1936-1947) and Capitol Records (1955-1965). On these sides, Arlen the composer worked with some of the most distinguished lyricists of the era, namely Ted Koehler, "Yip" Harburg, Johnny Mercer, and Ira Gershwin.

Produced by John Stedman, the 45-track 2 ½ hour anthology has been compiled by the award-winning Garland historian, Lawrence Schulman, who has also penned the sleeve notes and provided the discography. Noted music journalist Joe Marchese, who heads the website The Second Disc and Second Disc Records, and Garland discographer and scholar Scott Brogan, who heads the websites The Judy Room and The Judy Garland Online Discography, which are the leading online sources of information concerning Garland, have also contributed essays. The release has been remastered by Peter Rynston, of Tall Order Mastering, with John H. Haley, of Harmony Restorations LLC, contributing restorations on several tracks. Andrew Aitken of Aitken Design has designed the set.

One of the highlights of the compendium is the world premiere release of a newly-discovered A Star Is Born prerecording from the collection of Rick Smith of the complete version of "Lose That Long Face," which was transferred from a lacquer playback disc and meticulously restored by John H. Haley. The disc contains a never-previously-heard chorus by Garland and a refrain by Monette Moore that were cut from the full sequence as originally filmed, for which footage survives, although without sound... until now. Also new to CD are an overture to A Star Is Born by the late audio restorer Robert Parker based on an amalgamation of two takes, and two radio appearances from 1939 and 1943. A 1968 Lincoln Center appearance based on collector Steve Gruber's original source closes the set.

JSP is honoured to be the label behind such other Schulman-curated collections in recent years as LOST TRACKS (2010), SMILIN' THROUGH (2011), THE CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT (2012), CREATIONS (2013), THE GARLAND VARIATIONS (2014), and THE BEST OF LOST TRACKS (2015).