Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Paul Marinaro: Without A Song

9

Paul Marinaro: Without A Song

By

Sign in to view read count
Paul Marinaro: Without A Song
There are tribute albums and then, there are musical homages that have far more personal meaning for an artist then dedications to other musicians. Such is the case for Chicago-based singer Paul Marinaro whose debut album Without A Song is a heartfelt tip of the hat to his 85-year old father Joseph, whose unfulfilled dreams of becoming a professional singer, inspired the making of this recording. Growing up in Buffalo, NY, the young Marinaro was surrounded by music at home where dad could be heard singing the standards and playing Sinatra. Influenced by Joe's love for the classics and the Great American Songbook, Marinaro eventually decided to study music, moved to Chicago in 2003, formed The Paul Marinaro Trio and has been performing in the Chicago jazz scene ever since.

Blessed with a crisp baritone voice, Marinaro takes the standards to another level interpreting familiar jazz classics and songs from the American Songbook with graceful elegance and gusto. He reprises such favorites as "That Old Black Magic," "Devil May Care," "I get a Kick Out of You" and "Because of You" in a rousing swinging style. But all is not swing however, as the singer touches the lighter softer side of the music on beautiful songs like "Fools Rush In," "All My Tomorrows" the love song "When I Look Into Your Eyes," and "Everything Must Change" among others.

While this is certainly one impressive first effort for the singer, a breakout album for sure, let's not forget it's a tribute to an inspirational figure in this artist's life and how could he do such an album without documenting the voice that started all. That's exactly what Marinaro does bookending the recording featuring a short vignette of Joe on the brief "Intro 1947" to begin the album and includes the elderly Marinaro singing verses of the title song on the short "Outro 1947" introduction to Paul's version of the piece.

Through the magic of technology, father and son are finally heard here singing a touching duet on the gorgeous "You Will be My Music," with the younger Marinaro recording his portion of the song and adding a long ago audio cassette tape recording of the elderly Marinaro singing the same song. There's no doubt about this one, Without a Song is an excellent vocal jazz statement from the latest Italian stallion to test the music world. Vocalist Paul Marinaro may not yet be a household name, but this beautifully-done tribute to his father, may just be the beginning of an impressive singing career. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett look out, the competition has just arrived!

Track Listing

Intro 1947; That Old Black Magic; Fools Rush In; Devil May Care; All My Tomorrows; When I Look Into Your Eyes; I Have Dreamed; I Get A Kick Out Of You; Everything Must Change; You Will Be My Music; I’ve Got The World On A String; Because Of You; For All We Know; May The Music Never End; Outro 1947; Without A Song.

Personnel

Paul Marinaro: vocals (2-14); Joseph Marinaro (1, 10, 15); Chris Sargent: piano (2, 4, 7, 16); Chris White: piano (8, 12-14); Judy Roberts: piano (9); Tom Vaitsas: piano, string pad (10, 15); Andy Brown: guitar (3, 5, 6, 11); Joe Policastro: bass (2-5, 7, 8, 10-14) Jon Deitemyer: drums (2-5, 7, 8, 10-14); Greg Fishman: tenor saxophone (8, 12, 13); Marielle De Rocca-Serra: violin (14) .

Album information

Title: Without A Song | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.