Electrodynamics
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Album Summary
Dick Hyman, one of the most versatile and technically gifted keyboard men to ever sit down at an instrument, brought his singular vision to 'Electrodynamics' in 1963, released on MGM Records. Hyman led his orchestra through a program that showcased his love affair with the Wurlitzer organ and electronic keyboard textures at a time when the whole music world was starting to feel the electricity of new sonic possibilities. The album caught Hyman in a restless, exploratory mood — blending the lush orchestral pop sensibility of the early sixties with a cool, modernist touch that set him apart from the straight-ahead bandleaders of his era. Producer oversight at MGM gave Hyman enough room to stretch, and the result was a record that felt simultaneously like a sophisticated supper club date and a quiet peek into the future of popular instrumental music.
Reception
- The album was received warmly by audiences who appreciated polished, orchestral instrumental pop, fitting comfortably into the easy listening market that was thriving on the American charts in the early 1960s.
- Critics of the era noted Hyman's sophisticated arranging touch and his ability to bring fresh interpretive life to familiar standards like 'Stompin' At The Savoy' and 'Satin Doll,' even within a commercial pop framework.
- The record did not generate major crossover chart breakthroughs, but it reinforced Hyman's reputation as a first-call studio musician and bandleader capable of delivering refined, high-quality orchestral product.
Significance
- The album stands as a document of the early 1960s instrumental pop moment, when sophisticated arrangers like Hyman were threading the needle between jazz tradition and the burgeoning easy listening mainstream, giving standards and show tunes a lush, modern orchestral voice.
- Tracks like 'Big Ben Bossa' reflect the widespread bossa nova craze that swept American popular music in the wake of Stan Getz and João Gilberto's landmark recordings, showing how deeply that Brazilian rhythm had permeated even the orchestral pop world by 1963.
- Dick Hyman's willingness to incorporate electronic keyboard textures into a full orchestra setting on this album places it in a small but important lineage of records that quietly pushed the boundaries of what an orchestra date could sound like in the pre-rock era.
Tracklist
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A1 Stompin' At The Savoy —
2:47
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A2 The Sweetest Sounds (From "No Strings") —
2:55
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A3 I Left My Heart In San Francisco —
3:07
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A4 Fly Me To The Moon —
2:54
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A5 Paradise —
3:02
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A6 Side By Side —
2:57
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B1 Mack The Knife (From "Three Penny Opera") —
2:31
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B2 Satin Doll —
2:00
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B3 Shadowland —
2:39
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B4 Big Ben Bossa —
2:29
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B5 This Is All I Ask —
2:09
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B6 Till We Meet Again —
2:16
Artist Details
Dick Hyman And His Orchestra was led by the remarkably versatile New York pianist and arranger Dick Hyman, who built his career through the 1950s and beyond as one of the most in-demand session musicians and bandleaders in the business, blending big band jazz, easy listening, and lounge stylings into a sound that was as smooth as a late-night summer breeze. This cat could do it all — from swinging orchestral jazz to novelty pop — and his work graced countless record labels, TV shows, and film scores, making him a quiet but essential backbone of American popular music for decades. Hyman's cultural significance lies in his extraordinary range and his role as a living bridge between the classic jazz age and modern pop orchestration, keeping sophisticated musicianship alive and cool even as the music world kept on changing around him.
