Album review: Sam Furlonger and his Quintet - Get Out and Get Under the Moon (self released)

Sam Furlonger (vocals); Fraser Urquhart (piano, arrangements, sleeve notes); Fraser Smith (saxes); Darren McCarthy (bass); Harry Sankey (guitar); Joe Dessauer (drums)

There was a time when it seemed as though female jazz singers were being delivered on an assembly line conveyor belt. Now it seems as though the pendulum has swung the other way and the guys are in the ascendancy.

Sam Furlonger, in this his debut album, is a welcome addition to these ever-growing ranks. Unlike so many of the 'comers', although he acknowledges Sinatra as an inspiration, his sound is more the rich bass/baritone of Johnny Hartman or Billy Eckstine. It's a great sound enhanced by the supporting musicians (Fraser Smith's solos are very effective) as well as Urquhart's arrangements.

In Urquhart's sleeve notes he refers to Furlonger's obsession with the American Songbook and it shows in the eight songs selected for this well recorded, mixed and mastered vinyl album. Actually there are a couple of numbers which don't quite meet the criteria - whatever that is!

However, The Right Kind of Love, a 1992 hit for American singer/actor Jeremy Jordan, and Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew's I'm in Love Again to my ears are both worthy of inclusion in that mythical bible. The recording is of the highest quality with four tracks per side. Unfortunately the label lists all eight tracks on one side and none on the other. Needless to say I opted for the wrong side and started on track five! Still that's just a hill of beans compared to the quality of the music. Then again, my copy could be a one-off and in years to come might be more valuable than the Beatles' White Album. Dream on Lance and just enjoy the music.

If like Furlonger (and myself) you love standards this is for you, If you've yet to discover 'the GASbook' then a wonderful world is out there and inviting you in and this is a good place to start so get out and get under the moon. Lance

Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams; The Right Kind of Love; Get Out and Get Under the Moon; I'm in Love Again; Half Way Down the Street (first recorded by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey in 1940); Keeping Out of Mischief Now; She's Funny That Way; This is Always.