John Pizzarelli Sinatra & Jobim at 50 Concord Jazz
John Pizzarelli cites Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim as major influences on his vocals and his latest release commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Grammy Winning collaboration between the two legends. He pays tribute to those recordings on this set with eight tracks being songs that Sinatra and Jobim recorded at a 1969 session along with two originals, and Michael Frank’s ode to Jobim. Among those with Pizzarelli on this recording are Jobim's grandson Daniel, and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, bassist Mike Karn and piano player Helio Alves.
On this recording, both Pizzarelli and Jobim channel the elder Jobim more than Sinatra, who admittedly was understated compared to his usual style on the celebrated recordings. The musical tone on most of these selections is more like Getz-Gilberto than the Claus Ogerman or Eumir Deodato orchestrated sessions. The result is delightful performances in their own lightly swinging fashion including then marvelous "Agua De Beber," as well as the lovely medley of "Meditation / Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars," with Daniel singing the latter number in Portuguese before Pizzarelli sings softly in English along with his soft guitar chording, and the pretty "Dindi." There is also the delightful lightly swaying bossa nova medley of "I Concentrate On You / Wave," with Alves exquisite in his accompaniment and Pizzarelli taking a brief acoustic chordal break. Pizzarelli's father recorded "Two Kites" with the elder Jobim, with Daniel taking the vocal on this remake with a vocal chorus with its celebration of the kites flying in the sky. There is also a wonderful tenor saxophonist on a few selections including Michael Frank's "Antonio's Song."
As indicated this is a delightful recording, full of charm and elegance that might not quite reach the level of the legendary Sinatra-Jobim collaboration, but is enjoyable and laudable with its own considerable merits.
I received my review copy from Concord. Here is a video of "Baubles, Bangles & Beads," from this recording.
Grammy nominated a cappella vocal arranger and producer Richard Bob Greene has put together a unique recording of two voices, those of Angie Doctor and Dan Schumacher on He Said, She Said: Duets For Two Voices (Vocoloco Records). The two voices share and split the lyrics, wordless scatting, and provide a musical counterpoint to the other. They deliver twelve delightful and original performances of some standards and even some surprising pop and rock choices.
The things get off to a delightful start on Honeysuckle Rose, followed by Jobim’s One Note Samba, while producer Greene supplied the lyrics for Dave Brubeck Brandenburg’s Gate, and one can chuckle to Schumacher singing about the crossing guard being in the KGB as Doctor sings the more descriptive lyrics about meeting a date in a trench coat. Tanguedia, from the Astor Piazzolla songbook, is a terrific wordless duet with one scatting and the other scats a riff for the performance’s foundation.
The Kern/ Hammerstein In the Heart of the Dark, allows Doctor to sing beautifully vocal while Schumacher hums the accompaniment, while followed by an unexpectedly amusing take of Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust, as they clap to provide a steady groove as bullets fly out of the doorway to the groove of the beat. The playfulness of much of this is evident on Let’s Go Wild, where they sing about throw out the dishes, go out the front door and not look back as they release their inner child. Wordless echoes of Charlie Parker’s Birds of Paradise, introduce the fetching rendition of “All the Things Your Are.” One performance is a trio as producer Greene provides the bass for a trio wordless rendition of Astor Piazzolla’s tango, Milonga del Angel.
A cappella vocal performances similar to this recording are not new, but they have generally employed larger groups that the duets heard here. While the twelve performances only last a half hour, He Said, She Said is a splendid half hour.
I received a review copy from a publicist for the release.
European-raised New York-based Gabriele Tranchina brings love of our multi-cultural and interconnected world, a distinct musical sensibility and a multilingual talent to center stage on her new release, “A Song Of Love’s Color” (Jazzheads). At a relatively early age she was introduced to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chick Corea’s “Return to Forever” with singer Flora Purim, as well as Ella Fitzgerald, music which left a deep imprint on her and reflected in her music today. On “A Song Of Love’s Color,” she performs 11 songs in six languages and vocalise, which her publicity materials describe as a mix of lead and harmonized vocals, RAP, recitation, chant and descant, and backed by a band that includes her husband, Joe Vincent Tranchina, on piano and backing vocals; Santi Debriano on bass; Renato Thoms on percussion and backing vocals; Bobby Sanabria on drums, percussion and backing vocals; and Roberta Sanabria on backing vocals.
She has such a delightful voice as evident from the opening “Chante Comme Si Tu Devais Mourir Demain,” matched to the lively Brazilian rhythms which explode towards the performances finish. Her husband contributed the lovely latin-spiced title song about rainbows. “Samba De Uma Nota So,” (“One Note Samba”) is one of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s most famous songs which she delivers with seeming effortless delivery but her pitch and her sense of timing is flawless including an interlude with a spoken rap-like delivery over smoldering percussion. The ballad “Today,” opens languidly to match the opening lyrics about sad reminiscences before the tempo livens up as someone catches her eye. “Sing a Song Of Children,” is a thoughtful celebration about the songs, laughter and joy of childhood, that stands out even in this strong release. Another Jobim song, “Inutil Paisagem,” has a lovely, languid vocal with a solid bass interlude from Debriano.
An indication of the varied material her is her Husband’s adaptation of a Hindu prayer and chant, “Asato Maa (Sat Chit Ananda),” with a light latin rhythm as she sings about being led from untruth to truth and ignorance to wisdom.” “Duérmete Niño Bonito,” is an enchanting performance of a Spanish folk lullaby (that will sound familiar to some) to which Joe Vincent Tranchina has added English lyrics and music. “Voz,” is a mesmerizing, salsa-flavored wordless vocal with the percussion of Thomas and Sanabria standing out along with Jon Vincent’s firm, yet understated piano. Thomas, Sanabria and Joe Vincent collaborated on “Solamente Pasión,” with a crisp salsa flavor as she delivers a chorus of “El amor solamente pasión” (“Love is only passion”), against the rap of the band members before the closing “Siehst Du Mich,” a German poem set to music by Jon Vincent with a lovely arco bass solo.
“A Song Of Love’s Color” is a wonderful release that is sure to charm listeners with not only Gabriele Tranchina’s lovely voice, but her wonderful expressiveness and the tight playing in support of her. This is a recording that easily lends itself to repeated listening. Her website is http://www.gabrieletranchina.com/, from which it can be purchased. An earlier cd of hers is available on cdbaby.com so one might expect it to be available there. It is available on itunes and from amazon.com.
This review originally appeared in the July 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 327) at page 8. A publicist provided the review copy.
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