(Review by Lance).
The blurb says that Mark Winkler and Cheryl Bentyne go together like champagne and caviar. I'm sure they do but, as we impoverished bloggers (we do it for love) don't get many opportunities to sip champers or nibble caviar, I'll just have to take their word for it.
I haven't heard the duo's previous album, West Coast Cool, but I have heard them both individually and, of course, Cheryl's contribution to Man Tran so I knew the pair of them together would be something rather special and I wasn't wrong.
Seven duo tracks and four solos (2 each) make for an outstanding, varied album. Both singers have distinctive voices; Bentyne the cooler, jazzier, Winkler the hotter, more soulful yet together all of those qualities merge into one.
The familiar:
Devil May Care has the duo in Afro-Cuban mood with an arrangement by Eames whom I think did most, if not all, of the charts.
The Best is Yet to Come - The last song Sinatra performed in public and which, I'm told, is on his tombstone. Bentyne and Winkler keep the Cy Coleman song alive.
Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most is one of the absolute gems. Bentyne on the high wire with Pat Kelley her safety net. It's Kelley's only appearance and the guitarist provides the support such a song requires - Ella and Joe Pass live!
Things Are Swingin' - They were for Peggy Lee who composed the song and made the definitive version until now? Maybe. Our swingin' duo do it no harm.
The not so familiar:
Rhode Island is Famous for You. This may truly belong in the previous category as it's a song I know well from the Blossom Dearie version. It's a list song that dates back to a 1948 show by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz but apart from Blossom's recording, this solo vehicle by Winkler is the only other version I've heard hence its inclusion in this category.
The Gentleman is a Dope: A fairly obscure Rogers and Hart number about marital infidelity as seen by the mistress (or is it just wishful thinking?) Bentyne's second solo outing. The gentleman certainly is a dope if he can resist Cheryl's appealing vocal. Bob Sheppard is no dope on tenor.
Walk on the Wild Side can hardly be classed as 'not so familiar', Lou Reed having a massive hit in the '70s. However, it's relatively rare in jazz circles although some jazz folk might see it as being very relevant back in the day. Winkler's version covers all the bases in both genres.
Ballad of the Sad Young Men/The Lies of Handsome Men: A medley that seems to naturally gel. Fife's cello adds to the melancholy feel.
The totally unfamiliar (and none the worse for that!)
Like Jazz: Cool lyric by Winkler to music by Larry Steelman. Both singers show off their jazz chops but it is Bob Sheppard who tips the scale.
I Could Get Used to This: Winkler put words to Wes Montgomery's Bumpin' for this solo track.
You Smell so Good: First recorded by Jackie Cain and Roy Kral, it's a strange title but a cracking song and Mark and Cheryl don't drop the baton.
One of the classier discs you willl hear this year.
Lance.
Available August 13 on Café Pacific Records CPCD 4065.
The Gentleman is a Dope: A fairly obscure Rogers and Hart number about marital infidelity as seen by the mistress (or is it just wishful thinking?) Bentyne's second solo outing. The gentleman certainly is a dope if he can resist Cheryl's appealing vocal. Bob Sheppard is no dope on tenor.
Walk on the Wild Side can hardly be classed as 'not so familiar', Lou Reed having a massive hit in the '70s. However, it's relatively rare in jazz circles although some jazz folk might see it as being very relevant back in the day. Winkler's version covers all the bases in both genres.
Ballad of the Sad Young Men/The Lies of Handsome Men: A medley that seems to naturally gel. Fife's cello adds to the melancholy feel.
The totally unfamiliar (and none the worse for that!)
Like Jazz: Cool lyric by Winkler to music by Larry Steelman. Both singers show off their jazz chops but it is Bob Sheppard who tips the scale.
I Could Get Used to This: Winkler put words to Wes Montgomery's Bumpin' for this solo track.
You Smell so Good: First recorded by Jackie Cain and Roy Kral, it's a strange title but a cracking song and Mark and Cheryl don't drop the baton.
One of the classier discs you willl hear this year.
Lance.
Available August 13 on Café Pacific Records CPCD 4065.
1 comment :
Wonderful review and thanks for giving the personnel, I had to look far and wide until I finally found the players listed on your blog. Thanks again. I'm buying the record!
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