The Sauce

Your letters are your legacy. Take it from my dad, Joe Ricardel. 

A celebrated musician and arranger, he was also an avid watercolor artist—as likely to be found at his desk surrounded by his paints as he was with his beloved violin in-hand. Mirroring the playfulness of his music, his artworks feature convergent lines, geometric shapes, and figures loosely inspired by images from magazines of the day,  

From the 1950s through the 1990s, my father sent hundreds of letters, complete with envelopes he would meticulously hand paint, to family and friends through the U.S. mail. Remarkably, many of those letters have come back to me in recent years after the recipients or their families came upon them—often in cluttered desk drawers—and sent them to me as mementos. 

These letters are my father’s lasting connection to his many friends and family. The artwork adorning these letters is a connection between my own art and my father’s. His songs—“notes” of the musical kind—are my father’s connection to the world.

I created this stationery collection to honor my father and to encourage others to put their own words—even paints!—to paper. The collection includes selections of my father’s watercolor envelopes (you’ll see the postmarks on many of them) along with photographs I have made as a professional photographer working in the Hamptons, New York City, Los Angeles/Santa Monica, Palm Beach, and Mount Vernon, VA. 

I call it Frim Fram after “Frim Fram Sauce,” a chart-topping jazz song co-written by my father. It was recorded by Nat King Cole in 1945, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in 1946, and Diana Krall in 1993 and 1996. I hope using this stationery brings a little “Frim Fram Sauce” into your correspondence. 

-- Vincent Ricardel

The Artists

Joseph Ricardel (1911-2002) was a composer, musician, and band leader. His song, “Frim Fram Sauce,” was made famous by the King Cole Trio in 1945 and later recorded by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McCrae, Diana Krall, and many other artists. During his career, Mr. Ricardel and his orchestra performed at hotels and resorts across the country and were featured on radio broadcasts, including the Arthur Godfrey Show. While in New York, he performed at the Waldorf Astoria and was musical conductor of the Cotillion Room at the Pierre Hotel and conducted musical comedy versions of current Broadway shows. He also introduced the Cotillion Strings of strolling violinists. A long-time member of the American Society of Composers and Publishers, he wrote many beloved songs, including the 1941 hit, “The Wise Old Owl,” (which received a Citation of Achievement from Broadcast Music Inc.) and the “Brooklyn Dodgers Jump,” (featured in Ken Burns baseball documentary television series). Celebrated for his versatility and musical genius, he also was known for his violin, piano, saxophone, trumpet, and clarinet work. 

Vincent Ricardel’s multi-faceted career has spanned the fields of editorial, commercial, and fine art photography. His work has appeared in numerous juried exhibitions, gallery exhibits, and publications including W magazine and the New York Times. His passion for music photography is reflected in a book he co-authored: Archtop Guitars: The Journey from Cremona to New York. Dedicated to his father, the book inspired Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York, a 2011 exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring a collection of his photographs. Mr. Ricardel’s most recent fine art photography work, including many of the images available via Frim Fram, documents people and places that amuse and enchant him.