Posts Tagged Standards
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April 16, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Pasquale Grasso: Solo Ballads
Pasquale Grasso Solo Ballads Sony Music Entertainment Pasquale Grasso has freakish talent – here on a set of solo guitar pieces he plays his sincere, respectful renditions of established classics. No funny business, this is not some Marc Ribot deconstruction, instead think of the tone and taste of Jim Hall, the technique of Pat Metheny, […]Archive
February 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Willie Nelson: That’s Life
Willie Nelson That’s Life SMG Just last year, Willie Nelson released one of his greatest records in some time. Just lovely. At 87 he didn’t sound a day over 85, the way he’s sounded since at least 1985. And in true love ‘em and leave ‘em style here is, just a few months later, with […]Archive
November 16, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Dave Brubeck: Lullabies
Dave Brubeck Lullabies Verve This is Dave Brubeck’s final album – released just now, but recorded a decade ago. It’s a set of charming-enough lullabies, the real weight of them can be measured by the wait I guess – and the timing now of release; early next month it is the jazz legend’s centenary so […]Archive
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