Back in the day when the Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths ran out of inspiration which equated with running out of the old doh-re-mi they would dip into the vast legacy of the great composers safe in the knowledge that who ever they plagiarised they weren't going to leap out of the grave saying "I'll see you in court." After adding words, changing the tempo and maybe adding or subtracting a few chords, a potential hit song was, if not born at least given a new name and a new life.
Jazz musicians, who have built careers mining the contents of the GASbook, weren't immune either. Art Tatum recorded Massenet's Élégie and Dvořák's Humoresque to great effect whilst Benny Goodman did a job on Paganini's Caprice XXIV.
Hamilton, who played in one of BG's later bands, has chosen nine pieces that began life in the concert halls and salons of past centuries including Dvořák's Humoresque.
It's all done very tastefully and I doubt if any of the composers are turning in their grave. Hamilton has a tone to die for somewhere in between Ben Webster and Zoot Sims which isn't a bad place to be. If I had to choose just one track (which would be nigh impossible) it would be Moon Love from Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. A great theme to begin with that was later given the vocal treatment by Sinatra on his Moonlight Sinatra album and here, sees Hamilton at his balladic best.
Accompanied by three of Scandinavia's finest the result is a recording to appeal to those who likc the less hackneyed standards played with feeling and originality.
Available on CD, LP and digital on June 24 on Stunt Records. Lance
I Think of You (Rachmaninoff); The Lamp is Low (Ravel); If You Are But a Dream (Rubinstein); Theme From Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky); My Reverie (Debussy); Yours is my Heart Alone (Lehár); Moon Love (Tchaikovsky); Humoresque (Dvořák); Skymning (Chopin)
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