----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com>
>>A instrumental thread isn't worth its salt without a dab of Percy 
>>Faith and Bert Kaempfert. I won't, however, recommend anything by 
>>Ronnie Aldrich and his Two Pianos. Not my cup of ivories.
>
> I now own nearly 60 Percy Faith albums...had to dig those album 
> covers too...pre-dates the risque-ness of the Tijuana Brass 
> (mmmm....whipped cream).

For me, the guy to beat in this genre is Ray Conniff.  Conniff was a 
master of one of my favorite sounds, the wordless vocal chorus.  If, 
like me, your favorite part of a song like "Waterloo Sunset" is the 
la-la-las in the background, Conniff brought those front and center, 
on top of some gorgeously lush orchestral arrangements.  (There's a 
German guy named Botho Lucas who did this sort of thing even better --  
his version of "A Man and a Woman" is sublime -- but his records are 
really hard to find.)  I've got a ton of Conniff, and sometimes get 
into moods where I barely listen to anything else.

S