The Singers Unlimited
were a logical extension of
the Hi-Lo's
.
Gene Puerling
and
Don Shelton
were both members of
and, after the group broke up,
Puerling
became a greatly in-demand arranger. In 1967
,
Shelton
Len Dresslar
, and
Bonnie Herman
came together to form
the Singers Unlimited
. They were a very unusual vocal group because
wrote complex arrangements for the singers that utilized extensive multi-track recording. Rather than sounding like four voices, they often sounded like 16 or more, forming a dense choir. The group never performed live in clubs and concerts and was purely a studio group, recording 14 albums during 1971-1981.
Oscar Peterson
heard some of their work and recommended them to the
MPS
label. In 1971 his trio with bassist
George Mraz
(who at the time was known as
Jiri Mraz
) and drummer
Louis Hayes
recorded with
, or at least laid down tracks for the vocalists to overdub over. Most of the selections on
In Tune
are ballads with spots for
Peterson
to solo, although the voices naturally dominate. Among the more worthy performances are
"The Gentle Rain,"
"The Shadow of Your Smile,"
and the
"Sesame Street"
theme. While
is a minor entry in the extensive discography of
, it is considered an early milestone for
. ~ Scott Yanow