Anyone up for The Great Stratford-Upon-Avon Songbook?
You might be after giving a listen to this brilliant album by vocalist Deborah, as she takes lines from Shakespeare plays such as Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and teams them with either fresh material by pianist Jeff Colella, or with his arrangements of material from the likes of Duke Ellington, Arthur Young and John Dankworth. Teamed with a rotating cast of Larry Koonse/g, Abraham Laboriel-Chris Colangelo/b, Bob Sheppard/woodwinds, Bob McChesney/tb and Kendall Kay-Joe La Barbera/dr, Shulman brings The Bard into an intimate and gently swinging jazz club atmosphere. After all, all of the world’s a jazz stage!
Her rich voice warmly swings with the band with floating flutes on the sublime “Our Revels Now Are Ended” and “All The World’s A Stage/If Music Be The Food Of Love” and she sounds sly along with McChesney’s trombone on “Take All My Loves.” In smaller settings, she is hip with Laboriel in a nimble duet “Who Is Sylvia” and intimate with Colella on an upbeat “When To The Sessions Of Sweet Silent Thought.” Koonse’s guitar gives a rich samba feel to “Sigh No More Ladies” and the team is in a nice Basie mood for “Oh Mistress Mine.” All through the album, Shulman sounds confident, clear and comfortable with the 400+ year old lyrics.
Fresh approach, fresh material and a fresh idea. Is Christopher Marlowe next?