LA-based crooner Dave Damiani delivers a two disc set here with his all star Orchestra through cleverly arranged standards and his own fresh material. His big band is the pick of LA’s litter including “Graham Dechter/g, Peter Erskine/dr, Rickey Woodard/ts, and Steve Hughes/tb, with bassist/conductor/arranger Alex Frank mixing modern moods with vintage charm.
Damiani’s voice is strong and optimistic, working well on the bold and brash LA version of “Come Fly With Me” as well as the sleeker and darker second take. With Landau Murphey, the band does the classic Thomas Dorsey voice and chorus take of “East of the Sun” and with Spencer Day we get a cozy “Please Be Kind.”
Damiani does some hip intros with Frank’s bass on “How Little It Matters” and a hep “I Just Found Out About Love” whereas dashes of Nelson Riddle pop up on the saxy “Come Home to West Virginia” and a “New York New York” intro leads us into a clever strut on “Manhattan.” Damiani’s own “It’s Pure AC” and “Live Life to Consider” are strong and peppy, while he is optimistic on the Chicago horns of “Taking A Chance on Love.” A nice mix of voices, solos and band; when’s his next LA gig?