Paul Morris will be well known to many of us as the owner and restorer
of Aeolian Pipe Organ opus 1458, which he has rebuilt in his home in
the UK to great effect.  He has released several recordings of Duo-Art
and other performances made on this organ and other instruments in his
collection, and he is also a connoisseur of early and rare audio
recordings in general.

All these interests pull together with his CD release on his own
Retrovox label: "Angela Mia; A tribute to the Art of Emil Velazco."
Velazco was, of course, a popular theatre organist of the 1920s and
this CD is a compilation of 19 tracks of recordings made by him circa
1925 to 1930, principally recorded on the Kimball organ in the Velazco
Studio in New York, with one track having been recorded at the Welte
organ of the Mignon Studio.

Although the performances on this CD are live, and are not recordings
of mechanical performances, they will be of interest to anyone with an
interest in the Aeolian Duo-Art Pipe Organ as Velazco was one of only
two theatre organists (Lew White being the other) to record for
Aeolian.  I have always admired his Aeolian performances and wished
that there were more of them and I am personally very pleased to have
the opportunity to hear his gramophone performances as well.

It is not a great surprise to me to discover that they are all excellent;
Wonderfully bouncy up-tempo numbers alternate with beautifully arranged
ballads, all performances demonstrating a tremendous musicianship allied
with an excellent technique and unfailing good taste.  Velazco evidently
possessed a very fine understanding of harmony, and frequently achieved
very rich effects by very simple means.

Vocalists are featured on some of the tracks, and are always beautifully
accompanied.  The up-tempo version with dance band of Ketelbey's 'In a
Monastery garden' is a stand-out, both witty and exciting.

Of particular interest to Aeolian buffs will be the recording of
'Souvenir' by Drdla, as this piece was also recorded as a Duo-Art roll
performance.  I have always considered this roll to be one of my
favourites, as Velazco's performance is simply exquisite; it is very
interesting to hear what is essentially the same arrangement being
played on the gramophone recording, and it is fascinating to be able to
compare the two versions.

My thanks to Paul Morris for introducing me to these wonderful
recordings.  The CD is available via Paul's web site:

  http://www.paulmorrismusic.co.uk/ 

Rowland Lee
Lincolnshire, UK