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Anything Goes - The New Broadway Cast Recording
: :One of the leaders in the trend of big splashy revivals in the late 1980s and early '90s, Lincoln Center's 1987 production of Anything Goes was the perfect evocation of the 1930s, from the period pit band to James McMullan's striking poster art to the large photograph of Cole Porter that smiled over the stage like an approving spirit. While the score earns its share of authenticity by resurrecting numerous songs from the original score, it also tosses in a few ringers such as 'Friendship' and 'It's De-Lovely.' (Porter himself did ...
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The Very Best of the Manhattan Transfer
: :This is an excellent collection of many of the high points of the Manhattan Transfer's first decade, demonstrating both their reach and their grasp as they draw material from swing, modern jazz, and doo-wop into their own distinctive style. There's a tongue-in-cheek cool that connects the swing of Erskine Hawkins's 'Tuxedo Junction' to the elemental girl-group harmonies of 'Boy from New York City' and the TV themes like 'Route 66' and the variations on the 'Twilight Zone.' More traditional jazz skills, though, are apparent in their renditions of some Jon Hendricks ...
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Surrender
: :Jane Monheit has a lovely voice, one that in its purest, most lilting form reminds you of the young Barbra Streisand, with the show-stopping qualities that suggests. Her haunting rendition of Sergio Mendes''So Many Stars,' the runaway highlight of Surrender, is also one of the best things she's ever done. (Mendes arranged and produced the track and plays keyboard on it.) Since she stopped trying so hard to be a jazz singer and found her mark as a popular vocalist specializing in Brazilian music (there are also guest turns by singer ...
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The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits
: :Dionne Warwick's vocals were never more strong, more vulnerable than when she sang the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David--and, oh, yeah, 'Who Can I Turn To' and the theme from 'Valley of the Dolls,' the two non-Bacharach/David songs included among the 24 singles collected here. Both technically and emotionally, this was an unstoppable team: from the drama of 'Don't Make Me Over' to the tongue-in-cheek backing singers on 'Are You There (With Another Girl),' the barely veiled civil-rights message of 'Reach Out for Me' to the deceptively bouncy 'Do ...
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Peter Pan: Original Broadway Cast Recording (1954 New York Cast)
: :Dionne Warwick's vocals were never more strong, more vulnerable than when she sang the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David--and, oh, yeah, 'Who Can I Turn To' and the theme from 'Valley of the Dolls,' the two non-Bacharach/David songs included among the 24 singles collected here. Both technically and emotionally, this was an unstoppable team: from the drama of 'Don't Make Me Over' to the tongue-in-cheek backing singers on 'Are You There (With Another Girl),' the barely veiled civil-rights message of 'Reach Out for Me' to the deceptively bouncy 'Do ...
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To Love Again
: : Somewhere, Kenny G is hiding behind his cascading ringlets in shame. Chris Botti, a jazz world super-talent whose trumpeting earns frequent comparisons to Miles Davis and Chet Baker, has found the formula for classing up the pop charts, and within it there's not a single soaring sax or tired attempt at career revivalism to be found. What we're treated to instead is an all-star lineup (Sting, Gladys Knight, Michael Buble and others) vocally saluting a musician whose resume reads like a page torn out of the Rock Snob's Dictionary: in ...
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Songs of Sinatra
: : As its title indicate, this CD sees popular vocalist Steve Tyrell pay tribute to the Sinatra songbook, and pretty much every track is a famous nugget closely identified with the Chairman of the Board. That Tyrell is no Sinatra is a given, but the combination of his slightly hammy delivery and old-school arrangements makes this perfect bourbon and leather-armchair music--familiar and comfortable. Three of the songs ('Fly Me to the Moon,' 'The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else' and 'Something Stupid') reproduce the original orchestrations--and really, how can you ...
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His All Time Greatest Hits: 30th Anniversary Collection
: : As its title indicate, this CD sees popular vocalist Steve Tyrell pay tribute to the Sinatra songbook, and pretty much every track is a famous nugget closely identified with the Chairman of the Board. That Tyrell is no Sinatra is a given, but the combination of his slightly hammy delivery and old-school arrangements makes this perfect bourbon and leather-armchair music--familiar and comfortable. Three of the songs ('Fly Me to the Moon,' 'The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else' and 'Something Stupid') reproduce the original orchestrations--and really, how can you ...
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John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
: :This is one of the three all-ballad albums that John Coltrane recorded in late 1962 and early 1963. Johnny Hartman was apparently Coltrane's suggestion, and his deep, dark voice meshes perfectly here with Coltrane's tenor. The material is well-chosen, including definitive readings of 'My One and Only Love' and 'Lush Life.' McCoy Tyner fills out the chords, augmenting the harmonies and keeping the tone of these ballads respectful but not overly sentimental. All the players get to the deep structure of the songs and are not afraid to play in the ...
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Christmas with Mario Lanza
from: RCA
: :This is one of the three all-ballad albums that John Coltrane recorded in late 1962 and early 1963. Johnny Hartman was apparently Coltrane's suggestion, and his deep, dark voice meshes perfectly here with Coltrane's tenor. The material is well-chosen, including definitive readings of 'My One and Only Love' and 'Lush Life.' McCoy Tyner fills out the chords, augmenting the harmonies and keeping the tone of these ballads respectful but not overly sentimental. All the players get to the deep structure of the songs and are not afraid to play in the ...
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