Till the End of Time

Description

Product Description Larry Ching passed away on July 5, 2003, just two months short of his 83rd birthday. He had released his first CD just a month before, and had been celebrated at a party on June 28th at the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum in San Francisco. Mayor Willie Brown proclaimed it 'Larry Ching Day,' and he performed several songs to a packed house of family, fans and friends. They included several dancers who worked with Larry at Forbidden City in the 40s and 50s. In retrospect, it was a perfect sendoff to a wonderful man. Now, here's the fact sheet for his first--and last--recording. What: At age 82, Larry Ching, the 'Chinese Frank Sinatra,' as he was billed when he was a star performer at the legendary Forbidden City night club in San Francisco in the Forties and Fifties, has made his first album, Till the End of Time. When: Ching, backed by his regular pianist, George Yamasaki, and by veteran bassist Dean Reilly (Vince Guaraldi, The Kingston Trio, Carmen McRae) and drummer Jim Zimmerman (Cleo Laine, Dianne Schuur), recorded the album in February, 2003, in San Francisco, with music journalist and broadcaster Ben Fong-Torres serving as producer, and with long-time audio engineer John Barsotti at the controls. Besides the 12 newly-recorded songs - classic American pop standards and several popular Hawaiian tunes (Ching was born in Kauai), the album includes four tracks of unknown origin. Ching recorded the songs, including the title tune, 'sometime in the Forties,' he says. But he does not recall exactly when, where, or with whom he made the recordings. They were found on two 78 r.p.m. acetate disks, and excerpts were first heard on Forbidden City USA, Arthur Dong's highly acclaimed documentary about the club and it's performers. Why: Ben Fong-Torres, the music writer, broadcaster, and former Rolling Stone magazine editor, met and heard Ching sing when he co-MC'd the world premiere of Forbidden City USA at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco in 1989. The two met again when Ching and Yamasaki performed at a mutual friend's wedding in 1993. 'I loved his voice, and I was intrigued by his story, his becoming a nightclub singer in the Thirties, and the fact that he continues to sing whenever and wherever he can. I wanted to get him down on record, for his friends, his family, and whoever else might like to hear American standards the way they were sung before they became standards.' Various books, jobs and other projects kept Fong-Torres from pursuing his idea, but late in 2002, he was invited to MC an event marking the DVD release of Forbidden City USA. Once again, Ching and Yamasaki performed, and Fong-Torres was determined to get Larry Ching into a studio. When John Barsotti, a friend and veteran record producer who teaches audio engineering and production at S.F. State, offered his services, along with studio time, Till the End of Time was finally underway. And, now, here it is! . Review "(The CD's) strength lies in three things: timeless songs, Ching's smooth, authentic voice, and an accomplished backup trio..." -- SF Weekly, Kimberlye Gold, July 16-22, 2003"Ho, da smooth -- Uncle can still sing!" -- Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto, in their "Two Japanee Bruddahs" column. -- Nichi Bei Times, June 14, 2003"Larry Ching sings 'Stardust' with a voice still as smooth as velvet." -- Silke Tudor -- SF Weekly, November 2002"Pianist George Yamasaki fronts a terrific combo. If you dig nostalgia, you'll find treasures and pleasures a-plenty." -- Wayne Harada. -- Honolulu Advertiser, June 29, 2003"The CD...is a fabulous debut...Ching instinctively caresses the microphone with his quavering, emotion-drenched tenor." -- Gil Asakawa, Nikkei View, July 7, 2003Ho, da smooth -- Uncle can still sing! -- Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto, in their "Two Japanee Bruddahs" column. -- Nichi Bei Times, June 14, 2003 P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Artist While we mourn the passing of Larry Ching, we look with great affection and pride at his accomplishments, from his work in the Forties to his releasing his debut CD at 80-something. We found an old quote from the legendary columnist Herb Caen, who, having heard the "Chinese Sinatra" tag that was pinned on Larry, wrote: "Frank Sinatra is the Italian Larry Ching." In the month that Larry had to enjoy his CD, he got great reviews and lengthy feature stories on line and in newspapers, he was on 3 TV stations, and he was featured on NPR (Pacific Time) as well as KQED-FM, KFOG's "Fog Files," and Jim Lange's show on KABL. As his widow Jane Seid Ching said, "He went out with a bang. About the Artist On July 5, 2003, Larry Ching passed away. Just one week before, he had been celebrated at a CD party at the Chinese Historical Society of America's Museum in Chinatown, San Francisco. He performed several songs, one of them accompanied by several fellow alumni from Forbidden City. He received a mayoral proclamation declaring it "Larry Ching Day." He was surrounded by family, friends and fans. He was as delighted as he had ever been. Aloha, and mahalo, Larry Ching. Larry Ching was born in Hawaii and came to the U.S. in the late 1930s. He became the first "singing bartender" in San Francisco's Chinatown, at the Chinese Village. Soon, he was hired to be a featured vocalist at Forbidden City, a nightclub that flourished through the 40s and 50s. Larry also performed at other nightspots, and once sang on a radio show hosted by Hoagy Carmichael, composer of "Stardust." At 82, he continues to sing at various community events. On this CD, his backup includes veteran bassist Dean Reilly, whose credits include Carmen McRae, Cal Tjader, Vince Guaraldi, the Kingston Trio, and many others. The drummer, Jim Zimmerman, has backed up Cleo Laine, Dianne Schuur, and other greats. George Yamasaki, the pianist, has accompanied Larry since they met at a jazz festival in the early 90s, and served as conductor of the session. See more