I've heard Ellington performed in every which way including loose but never quite like this! Some purists might class it as sacrilege - I almost did. However, the trick I found is to forget every bar of Ellingtonia you've ever heard and treat it like you're hearing it for the very first time. Judging by the applause I guess that's what the enthusiastic audience did.......and so did I!
In this 2016 recording with the powerhouse NDR Bigband, Jarreau got into the music and recrafted it to suit his unique individuality.
The sounds of Manhattan, the noise and the bustle, the voice shouting "taxi" as he hails a cab to take him uptown. It's all done over a fast shuffle with a trumpet blast from Burkhardt and that cool, but not restrained, vocal by Jarreau which tells me that Drop me Off in Harlem is going to be quite a ride and it was!
I Let a Song go Out of my Heart is another one that tears up the original chart. Felsch's alto solo sure wasn't inspired by Johnny Hodges - more likely Eric Dolphy.
Felsch also blows some tasty flute on Lush Life as Jarreau requests the bartender to set 'em up Joe. Lauer blows tenor without straying too far from the melody. Felsch returns and goes nowhere near the melody.
Come Sunday and it's time for a gentle bossa nova. The NDR Bigband riffs tastefully behind the vocal - nothing sacrilegious about this one.
In a Mellow Tone has the band unleashing its power with a crescendo that sets the scene for some flugelling from Burkhardt and some scatting from Jarreau. What a singer, what a band, what an appreciative audience.
Take the A Train. Gottshall gives his baritone sax a workout, singer scats, band blow like there's no tomorrow and drummer Haffner takes it out.
Jarreau does things with I'm Beginning to See the Light that makes me wonder why no one else hasn't done them before. How could they? They're not Al Jarreau. By comparison Delle's tenor solo seemed tame - which it wasn't.
Sophisticated Lady - sung with the respect it deserves - quite compelling.
Time for some blues. I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues delivers the whole twelve bars. The band wailing at fff with Tiehuis doing likewise on guitar and Jarreau in Kansas City mode.
I Got it Bad (and that ain't good). A gentle sadness full of pain, sorrow and regret enhanced by a poignant muted trumpet solo from Burkhardt. Tissues on standby.
A suggestion of reggae on Satin Doll. Gottshall, Bollmann and Lottermann exercise their slides and Vroomans has a short blast. I often wonder about the differences been the Sophisticated Lady and the Satin Doll. Both are enigmatic figures. The former has an aura of sadness about her (I know you miss the love you lost long ago, and when nobody is nigh, you cry) whilst the latter is the party girl (Out cattin' that Satin Doll) but, is she really or is it just a cover up? Are they really one and the same?
Just thinkin'. Whatever, it's well worth shelling out 18 euros for. Lance
Release date: Nov. 1 (CD/Double LP/Digital). ACT.
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