|
|
Essential Jazz Duet Recordings: Basie, Evans, Shearing, Vaughan and MoreApr 11 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Music
The Bottom Line Some of my favorite jazz recordings are made by two or more amazing performers who team into duets. Look for unique pairings of favorites for your collection.
Anyone who really loves jazz vocals and instrumentals will have a difficult time choosing only 10 favorite albums. When I think of my favorites, I have an easier time when I break them down into categories. For this review, I'll share some of my all-time favorite duets or trios that I think you'll enjoy, too: Basie Swings, Sassy Sings. There are more than a dozen exquisite tunes in this collection, some swing numbers and some ballads. But my two favorites are Sarah Vaughn teamed with the velvet-voiced Joe Williams on "Teach Me Tonight" and "If I Were a Bell." The playful intimacy between the two noted jazz legends will draw you right in, and Basie's band is driving and lively. George Shearing Plays/Nat King Cole Sings. This 1961 vintage album was only recently re-released on CD, much to Shearing's delight (he says in the updated liner notes that he wore out all of his own copies and those of several friends, too). While Cole himself was a gifted jazz pianist, he yields to Shearing's sophisticated style with nuances of Cole's voice and Shearing's arrangements blending beautifully. "A Beautiful Friendship" is my favorite song from this album, but I'm also drawn to the sensuous Latin beat that continues through "Everything Happens to Me." In some songs, Shearing's piano seems to give way to his vibraphone player, but it was Shearing's own Quintet, paired with a string choir conducted by Ralph Charmichael. If Shearing's piano seems to get lost, that's how he planned it. And Nat never sounded better. The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album Recorded in 1975, just a few years before Bill Evans' untimely death, this collection is an intimate treasure with Bennett's singing and Evans' moody piano -- nothing else. All nine selections are equally fine, particularly "Young and Foolish," "Waltz for Debby" and "Days of Wine and Roses." A little bonus is a sketch of Evans done by Bennett in the liner notes -- a great likeness! Duke Ellington and His Great Vocalists This Columbia recording has duets galore with some of the best names in the business, including Ivie Anderson's 1932 "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" which to me is the definitive version of the song. Not to forget Bing Crosby's "St. Louis Blues" done that same year. More treats are The Mills Brothers, Rosemary Clooney, and Jimmy Rushing. The recordings span from the early 1930s to the late 1950s. And There's Always More to Hear! For true fans of jazz music, there are always more treasures from the past to find. I've been a collector since age 15 when I heard Bob Crosby's "March of the Bobcats" (a really swinging version of "Maryland My Maryland" or "O Christmas Tree"). Nearly 30 years later, I discover "new" jazz favorites from the past. Another of my recent favorite duets is Billie Holiday singing with Lester Young on his smooth saxaphone. I only have a couple of their tunes, but hope to find an entire CD of the two of them making beautiful music together.  |
| Read all comments (2)|Write your own comment |
- Top 200|
Ads by Google
|
by PacManY2J
by George_Chabot
![Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast Reviews](http://di2.shopping.com/images/pi/95/a4/8a/2006752046-100x100-0-0.jpg?p=p6.dcbca3712ddefa6115cc&a=2&c=1&l=8071320&t=120604003709&r=2)
