onsdag 3 Dec 2008, 5:16
Out Of The Blue
Great review on Girlsingers.org !
Highest recommendation by – Doug Boynton –
Out Of (Up In) The Blue: Ray Guntrip, Tina May
December 1st, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews |
On the road again - with about eight hours of flying time to spend up in the blue - on the way to an overnight and first stop (plane-change) at Frankfurt. I’ve brought along several new discs worth of stuff on the ‘pod, and this one was the first I listened to. Wow. Let me tell you about it.
Over the electronic transom it came to my last.fm address - an invitation to download an album by Ray Guntrip, a self-described “prolific but, until now, little-known British jazz composer,” and Tina May, a lyricist/vocalist who put lyrics to nine of the eleven tracks on this disc.
Good stuff, this - the razzle-dazzle opening track, “Exotic Stranger” has that sound of a classic you’re sure you’ve heard before. The tricky “Be Bop - I Gotta Get Away From You” combines deft lyrics with a fine trombone solo from Mark Nightingale, whose credits include Steely Dan. In fact, the entire disc is a tribute to what can happen when you put great charts, lyrics, and a girl singer into a room with a bunch of old pros. Gary Barnacle and Julian Siegel on sax, Dick Pearce on trumpet (”Santa Maria Dance”), and bassist Alec Dankworth headline a great group of musicians.
It’s a good education (for me) in how much fine lyrics can add to great music. Each of these tracks offer enough, by way of solos, and extended stretches with no vocals - to get a real feel for how finely crafted this music is. But with the addition of Ms. May’s vocals, tuned so precisely to the music - well, it pushes the whole effort over the top.
Laura Knight is the vocalist on the track for which she wrote lyrics - “Move The Mambo Way,” and the disc doesn’t miss a beat in intensity. The instrumental, “Simple Simon” wraps the disc - a fine showcase for Mr. Guntrip and the band.
Available from all the usual vendors, both electronic and brick-and-mortar, on both sides of the Atlantic - this is a welcome addition to not only my collection, but to my library of musical experiences.
Highest recommendation.
by – Doug Boynton –