Uploaded May 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
LETS TALK ABOUT (BIG BAND) MUSIC (3) - XAVIER CUGAT
" Work hard at bandleading, for it is gratifying work, indeed. Take what is in your heart, apply to it the knowledge in your mind, add the skill in your hands, and there you have the best formula for how to become a bandleader ."
- Xavier Cugat
HELMUT ZACHARIAS
Helmut Zacharias was a German violinist and composer who created over 400 works and sold 14 million records. He also appeared in number of films, usually playing musicians
He started having lessons from his father at the age of 2 and a half and at 6 he played at the Faun club, a cabaret venue on the Friedrichstraße in Berlin. At the age of 8, Zacharias became the youngest student in Gustav Havemann's masterclass at the Berlin Academy of Music. Aged 11, he played on radio for the first time with a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major and began touring in 1934 at the age of 14. At this time, in the 1930s, the records of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli's all-string jazz band were available in Germany and they heavily influenced Zacharias's musical style.
In 1940, Zacharias was discovered by Lindström-Electrola (then-name of the German branch of EMI) and in 1941 had his first mainstream success with Schönes Wetter Heute By the 1950s, he was considered to be one of the best jazz violinists of Europe and was dubbed "The Magic Violinist" and "Germany's Mr. Violin". In 1956 he achieved his greatest success in the United States with the release of "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" which, on 22 September, reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. On 21 November 1964 he reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart with Tokyo Melody, following its use as theme music for the BBC's coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics Zacharias moved to Switzerland in the late 1950s and continued playing with many other famous artists, including Yehudi Menuhin. From 1968 to 1973 he appeared in his own television show. In 1985, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
BROWN EYED WOMAN
Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, "Brown Eyed Woman" was a hit for Bill Medley in 1968. Medley scored many other hits, most of them together with his companion as "The Righteous Brothers".
MHO
Helmut Zacharias was an all round violin player who could make the instrument "talk and sing at the same time". Playing everything from pure classic music over easy listening, up to orchestral pop - Zacharias had a "musical instinct" as to which songs would "work" when played on the violin(s).
Here he tackles Bill Medley's "Brown Eyed Woman" and succeeds in adding a touch of delicate romance, while keeping an eye (or should one say "an ear" ?) on the sensuality of the music.
Personally, I find Zacharias' version to be better than the vocal releases, but then again .... I might be "biassed" a bit preferring instrumentals to vocals in general :-) .......
Enjoy this wonderful and sensitive ballad !
LETS TALK ABOUT (BIG BAND) MUSIC (3) - XAVIER CUGAT
" Work hard at bandleading, for it is gratifying work, indeed. Take what is in your heart, apply to it the knowledge in your mind, add the skill in your hands, and there you have the best formula for how to become a bandleader ."
- Xavier Cugat
HELMUT ZACHARIAS
Helmut Zacharias was a German violinist and composer who created over 400 works and sold 14 million records. He also appeared in number of films, usually playing musicians
He started having lessons from his father at the age of 2 and a half and at 6 he played at the Faun club, a cabaret venue on the Friedrichstraße in Berlin. At the age of 8, Zacharias became the youngest student in Gustav Havemann's masterclass at the Berlin Academy of Music. Aged 11, he played on radio for the first time with a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major and began touring in 1934 at the age of 14. At this time, in the 1930s, the records of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli's all-string jazz band were available in Germany and they heavily influenced Zacharias's musical style.
In 1940, Zacharias was discovered by Lindström-Electrola (then-name of the German branch of EMI) and in 1941 had his first mainstream success with Schönes Wetter Heute By the 1950s, he was considered to be one of the best jazz violinists of Europe and was dubbed "The Magic Violinist" and "Germany's Mr. Violin". In 1956 he achieved his greatest success in the United States with the release of "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" which, on 22 September, reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. On 21 November 1964 he reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart with Tokyo Melody, following its use as theme music for the BBC's coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics Zacharias moved to Switzerland in the late 1950s and continued playing with many other famous artists, including Yehudi Menuhin. From 1968 to 1973 he appeared in his own television show. In 1985, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
BROWN EYED WOMAN
Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, "Brown Eyed Woman" was a hit for Bill Medley in 1968. Medley scored many other hits, most of them together with his companion as "The Righteous Brothers".
MHO
Helmut Zacharias was an all round violin player who could make the instrument "talk and sing at the same time". Playing everything from pure classic music over easy listening, up to orchestral pop - Zacharias had a "musical instinct" as to which songs would "work" when played on the violin(s).
Here he tackles Bill Medley's "Brown Eyed Woman" and succeeds in adding a touch of delicate romance, while keeping an eye (or should one say "an ear" ?) on the sensuality of the music.
Personally, I find Zacharias' version to be better than the vocal releases, but then again .... I might be "biassed" a bit preferring instrumentals to vocals in general :-) .......
Enjoy this wonderful and sensitive ballad !
