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Blue Swing: Dan Barrett and Blue Swing
Rebecca Kilgore is in top form on "Can This Be Love?" She is silky sweet. She also does a good job with the corny lyrics of "Christopher Columbus." Her weakness for the slight and cute seems to have descended to new levels with Leiber & Stoller’s "Love Potion #9" and Laura Nyro’s "Wedding Bell Blues." At times, it seems this tremendously talented jazz singer is intent on singing high wire acts above the most dubious material. With an unerring sense of phrasing and rhythm, it is always a perverse thrill of sorts to hear her pull the rabbit out of the hat - she consistently does, high wire and all. The band accompanies Kilgore beautifully.
"Russian Rag" is a showpiece for some of the band’s strongest soloists. After the opening Brian Ogilvie clarinet statement, the music slides into low-key, classy Barrett trombone solo then into a fiery trumpet solo by Jon-Erik Kellso. Ogilvie returns as the music shifts into an extended New Orleans exchange at the end.
This is a band that plays with ease and assurance with a wide range of resources, from the opening swing track "Victory Stride" to the Bigard/Ellington "Saturday Night Function" to Django Reinhardt/Jacques Larue "Nuages." Their bluesy "Ray’s Waltz" is one of the highlights of a stylistically diverse recording. Without a doubt I’ll be looking forward to this band’s next recording: a talented bunch, this Blue Swing.
Track Listing
Victory Stride; Saturday Night Function; Christopher Columbus; Can This Be Love?;Russian Rag; Love Potion #9; Wedding Bell Blues; Ray's Waltz; Song of the Wanderer; Nuages; C'est Si Bon; Saratoga Shout; I Can't Face the Music; I Never Knew. (71:50)
Personnel
Dan Barrett, trombone; Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet; Brian Oglivie, clarinet & tenor sax; John Smith, soprano and alto sax; Eddie Erickson, guitar, banjo; Joel Forbes, string bass; Ray Sherman, piano; Jeff Hamilton, drums; Rebecca Kilgore, vocals.
Album information
Title: Dan Barrett and Blue Swing | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Arbors Records