AMBER WEEKES - 'Round Midnight Re-Imagined
AMBER INN RECORDS (No number listed)
Amber Weekes (v) with various backing including Eddie Olivieri, Danny Grissett (p); Louis Van Taylor(ss, f, ts); Trevor Ware (b); Sherman Ferguson (d)
No location or dates listed.
I suppose if this were a pop record it would be called a concept album. Amber Weekes has recalled the stories her Dad used to tell her about the magic fairyland of Sugar Hill in Harlem. Her grandparents used to run a popular Luncheonette there where many famous names would drop in after a gig or late at night. Duke Ellington was a regular visitor and Sonny Rollins, Lena Horne and Sidney Poitier were all in the area. Amber has used her imagination and creative gifts as a jazz singer to present a programme of music that recalls the golden age of jazz. She begins with a catchy blues, Hazel’s Hips by Oscar Brown Junior, getting that rich twelve bar feeling in her voice right away and well supported by Louis Van Taylor’s alto. Danny Grissett’s piano is also prominent and everybody joins in on the hand claps. The other blues, is the cheeky Don’t You Feel My Leg where the lyric goes ‘Don’t you feel my leg cause if you feel my leg you’ll wanna feel my thigh and if you feel my thigh you’ll wanna go up high.’ She puts it over well with a true blue feel and the tasty guitar solo is by Phil Upchurch.
Summer Samba glides along neatly, laid back but bringing out the warmth of Amber’s voice. She combines Sting’s Sistermoon with Summertime by George and Ira Gershwin and manages to blend the two unlikely tunes together successfully. My Romance gets a polished reading aided by just Eddie Olivieri’s piano and a crisp string background.
Best of all though are the torch songs, inspired by her Dad’s love of Frank Sinatra. Amber begins with Something Cool, more June Christie than Frank but segues neatly straight into One For My Baby. The medley ends with The Man That Got Away and she hams this one up outrageously. I didn’t think ‘Round Midnight would sound really good with strings attached but Amber’s smoky, blues based voice carries it off. Louis Van Taylor plays tenor sax on this one. Nothing ever goes above a slow to medium tempo but it doesn’t need to. These are blues, torch and just straight jazz vocal readings that will sound good late at night. Or any other time for that matter.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
AMBER INN RECORDS (No number listed)
Amber Weekes (v) with various backing including Eddie Olivieri, Danny Grissett (p); Louis Van Taylor(ss, f, ts); Trevor Ware (b); Sherman Ferguson (d)
No location or dates listed.
I suppose if this were a pop record it would be called a concept album. Amber Weekes has recalled the stories her Dad used to tell her about the magic fairyland of Sugar Hill in Harlem. Her grandparents used to run a popular Luncheonette there where many famous names would drop in after a gig or late at night. Duke Ellington was a regular visitor and Sonny Rollins, Lena Horne and Sidney Poitier were all in the area. Amber has used her imagination and creative gifts as a jazz singer to present a programme of music that recalls the golden age of jazz. She begins with a catchy blues, Hazel’s Hips by Oscar Brown Junior, getting that rich twelve bar feeling in her voice right away and well supported by Louis Van Taylor’s alto. Danny Grissett’s piano is also prominent and everybody joins in on the hand claps. The other blues, is the cheeky Don’t You Feel My Leg where the lyric goes ‘Don’t you feel my leg cause if you feel my leg you’ll wanna feel my thigh and if you feel my thigh you’ll wanna go up high.’ She puts it over well with a true blue feel and the tasty guitar solo is by Phil Upchurch.
Summer Samba glides along neatly, laid back but bringing out the warmth of Amber’s voice. She combines Sting’s Sistermoon with Summertime by George and Ira Gershwin and manages to blend the two unlikely tunes together successfully. My Romance gets a polished reading aided by just Eddie Olivieri’s piano and a crisp string background.
Best of all though are the torch songs, inspired by her Dad’s love of Frank Sinatra. Amber begins with Something Cool, more June Christie than Frank but segues neatly straight into One For My Baby. The medley ends with The Man That Got Away and she hams this one up outrageously. I didn’t think ‘Round Midnight would sound really good with strings attached but Amber’s smoky, blues based voice carries it off. Louis Van Taylor plays tenor sax on this one. Nothing ever goes above a slow to medium tempo but it doesn’t need to. These are blues, torch and just straight jazz vocal readings that will sound good late at night. Or any other time for that matter.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
