Cleveland, 1967-8
In the free swinging days of the late 1960s, record companies were open to creative projects that defied the norms of popular music. The National Gallery was an ambitious attempt to combine the visual art of Paul Klee, the poetry of Cleveland based producer Roger Karshner, and music composed by Chuck Mangione.
Roger Karshner was friends with legendary Cleveland DJ Bill Randle, and often exchanged books and records. One of the books Roger obtained included paintings by Paul Klee, to which Roger wrote poems that described his feelings and interpretations of some of the works. He sent copies of the words and the paintings to Chuck Mangione who worked out musical passages. Roger and Chuck went to Cleveland Recording and recorded the basic tracks, with Richie "Dick Whittington" Greenbaum playing the guitar parts and Karshner playing drums. The organ parts were recorded using the Cleveland Symphony's cathedral organ, and the vocals were provided by some Kent State students.
Karshner arranged a 45 release of the track "Long Hair Soulful" on Philips records, using the name Bhagavad-Gita, reflecting Roger's interest in the spritual text. This 45 was issued with a sleeve picturing the Klee painting that inspired the contents. The 45 was successful enough for Philips to release a whole LP, changing the name of the 'band' to a more recognizable National Gallery. The LP included the 45 track.
Outside of some interest in the underground music community, the LP disappeared without much sales, but over time has attracked interest by collectors for the unique compositions and arrangements. The LP track "Diana In the Autumn Wind" has been sampled by Hip-Hop artist Kalib Kweli.
After the LP release, Roger Karshner went on the produce the Little Big Horns, Spontaneous Corruption, and Eli Radish before moving out to Los Angeles where he was re-hired by Capitol. Chuck Magione also worked on the Little Big Horns before he hit it big with the jazz community.
Thanks to Roger Karshner