Posts Tagged Standards
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November 15, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Fred Hersch: Songs From Home
Fred Hersch Songs From Home Palmetto Records Covid records. There’ll be many more to come. What to do when you can’t play a show – when you can’t get together with the full band, when you can’t do your job but need to try to make some money; more than that need to connect – […]Archive
November 1, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Lauren Henderson: The Songbook Session
Lauren Henderson The Songbook Session Brontosaurus Records Lauren Henderson has been building her brand across a handful of albums and an EP – she’s a great singer of jazz, and she turns her ear to songs that sit just outside of the genre as well as honouring the ‘songbook’ classics; she’s as likely to reach […]Archive
October 4, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Diana Krall: This Dream of You
Diana Krall This Dream of You Verve I was never that big on Diana Krall albums – they were good, all of them, but I didn’t care which one I heard. I just heard them – in shops where I worked, in preparation for reviewing her shows (saw her twice, very good both times) and […]Archive
March 16, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Sam Gendel: Satin Doll
Sam Gendel Satin Doll Nonesuch Records Someone said Sam Gendel plays saxophone like he’s trying to erase his instrument. I like that. And can’t improve on it. For this album of jazz standards – tweaked, or even twerked, into new shapes and sounds – you might do well to think of the producer and bassist […]Archive
March 12, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Piano Duets
Ella Fitzgerald The Complete Piano Duets Verve Where do you start with Ella Fitzgerald? There are hundreds of albums – including dozens of very good compilations. You could start with her duets with Louis Armstrong – sure. Many people do. And fair enough. There are her songbook albums – where she showcases the work of […]Archive
March 1, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
James Taylor: American Standard
James Taylor American Standard Fantasy Though James Taylor is no stranger to offering covers, and has even offered themed albums of interpretations before (two Christmas albums) he’s never sounded quite as joyless and muted as he does here on his half-strength run through some musical-theatre showstoppers and other canonical American standards.Archive
February 13, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 174
Sir Yehudi Menuhin & Stephane Grappelli, Top Hat (1981) I often talk about – and think about – the Stephane Grappelli concert I was lucky to see back in the late 1990s. One of the very best gigs of my lifetime. And it all started when my mum introduced me to Stephane Grappelli and Yehudin […]Archive
January 10, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 189
Bob Dylan, Fallen Angels (2016) Bob Dylan long ago earned the right to do whatever he likes and then in the last few years he tested the shit out of that by released three albums of covers in a row; the third a triple album. I was surprised a little at how much I love […]Archive
December 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Los Lobos: Llego Navidad
Los Lobos Llego Navidad Rhino Records From collections of Disney songs to old rock’n’roll covers if you need a band to deliver the goods – and reflect their own unique skill and flavour all the while then Los Lobos is a safe bet. So it’s no real surprise they’ve released my favourite new Christmas album […]Archive
September 9, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Chrissie Hynde & The Valve Bone Woe Ensemble: Valve Bone Woe
Chrissie Hynde & The Valve Bone Woe Ensemble Valve Bone Woe BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. Well this is a lovely surprise. And for many reasons. Five years ago Hynde released her debut solo album and I thought it was a stinker – so this one gets a tick just for not being that. But […]Archive
February 27, 2019 by Simon Sweetman