Sixteen women swinging like crazy, picking up where Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Basie and Duke left off. Okay, maybe an exaggeration but only a very slight one and, upon listening a second time, I'm not sure it's an exaggeration at all! Certainly the trumpet and trombone plunger solos by Dauber and Krupa on In a Mellow Tone wouldn't have been out of place in any Ellington ensemble. Likewise, on I'm Gonna go Fishin', Leslie Havens on bass trombone, Noriko Ueda bass, Laura Dreyer tenor sax and leader Sherrie Maricle on drums all recapture the original concept whilst making it their own.
Every Day I Have the Blues by Basie and Joe Williams put down the benchmark for this number and rightly so - until now that is. With Sue Giles wailing on voice and those Divas blowing like they were Kansas City born and bred this is one helluva work out.
Giles is also featured on A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald where she segues such classics by the First Lady as, The Object of My Affection, the song that won Ella the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night at age seventeen, How High the Moon, Stompin’ at the Savoy/Undecided, A Tisket, A Tasket, and the finale Oh, Lady Be Good with Tommy Newsom orchestrating all five choruses of Ella’s famous scat solo for the entire band, with Sue leading the charge.
Another breathtaking moment is Three Sisters and a Cousin, inspired by Woody's Four Brothers it has all five saxes going for broke.
On I Feel Pretty leader Maricle says, 'we’ve added our distinct voice to the many ways one can feel pretty. Ours is to swing hard, groove like mad and let our soloists set the stage on fire'. Boy/girl, they certainly did just that!
There's more, so much more with ne'er a dull moment.
Is it possible to fall simultaneously in love with sixteen women? I just have but don't tell my wife! Lance
Available Friday August 25 - presumably via usual suspects.
Something's Coming; In a Mellow Tone; Here's to Love (v); I'm Gonna go Fishin'; Every Day I Have the Blues (v); I Feel Pretty; Three Sisters and a Cousin; A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald (v); Inka Dinka Doo; Airmail Special
Sherrie Maricle (drums, MD) Erica von Kleis, Scheila Gonzales (alto sax); Laura Dreyer, Jade Elliott (tenor sax); Leigh Pilzer (bari sax); Kellin Hanas, Jami Dauber, Barbara Laronga, Liesl Whitaker (trumpets); Jennifer Krupa, Sara Therrien, Leslie Havens (trombone); Tomoko Ohno (piano); Noriko Uedo (bass); Sue Giles (vocals)
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