A follow up to Spooky Jazz Vol. 2 reviewed HERE last October. It was frighteningly good then and this third volume is equally scary (in the nicest spine-tingling way).
Gill has a great blues tinged voice perfectly attuned to the idiom which, in theory, is 1920s/'30s however there's too much going on to pigeonhole it into any timescale. The mood is somewhere between House of the Black Gardenia and Postmodern Jukebox. Hannah actually did three years treading the boards with PMG including a stint at Sage Gateshead (the Glasshouse).
A top notch band of musicians all of whom are given space to shine. Danny Jonokuchi's arrangements along with his trumpet solos give an indication of what we missed when Covid caused the cancellation of his Newcastle concert with the Strictly Smokin' Big Band at the start of the pandemic.
Ricky Alexander excels on tenor and is no slouch on clarinet either - a modern day swing man - say Georgie Auld, Jerry Jerome and, of course, Ricky Alexander all moulded into one mighty fine player.
Gabe Terracciano is well-featured and swings that fiddle with Venuti-like aplomb. On guitar, Justin Poindexter is quite unique coaxing some weird - and yet wonderful - solos and sounds from guitars both steel and otherwise.
Piano is in the more than capable hands of Gordon Webster aided and abetted by Ambuel and the effervescent Zweig and, for authenticity, Sasha Papernik squeezes the accordion on Boulevard of Broken Dreams. If you're planning a Halloween party in your coven next month this is the album for you and, even if you're not, it's still worth a punt.
"Hey bartender, gimme another shot of Eye of Newt with a Frog's Toe chaser... " Lance
Intro: Music to be Murdered by; Spider in the Web; Old Devil Moon; The Richest Guy in the Graveyard; I'm Gonna Haunt Ya; Moon Ray; As Long as You Live (You'll be Dead When You Die); My Friend the Ghost; He's a Demon, He's a Devil, He's a Doll; Boulevard of Broken Dreams; Wolves in the Tree Line.
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