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"Swingin' After Dark"

Jim Altamore

Label: Splank Music
Released: 2024
Duration: 00:39:41
Views: 172

Tracks

1. Another Star (03:40) 2. Day In Day Out (02:15) 3. Stormy (03:44) 4. I'll Remember April (04:08) 5. That Old Black Magic (03:58) 6. It's Alright With Me (02:19) 7. The Late, Late Show (02:12) 8. Nice 'n' Easy / A Beautiful Friendship (05:09) 9. Watch What Happens (02:43) 10. Moonlight In Vermont (02:40) 11. I'm Beginning To See The Light (02:11) 12. You Stepped Out Of A Dream (02:46) 13. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (01:36)

Personnel

Jim Altamore

vocals

John Colianni

piano

Brennen Ernest

guitar

Kyle Andrews

drums

Doug Drewes

bass

Doug Hinrichs

percussion

Aaron M Johnson

saxophone, alto

Paula Atherton

saxophone

Album Description

Jim Altamore has an ability to sound fresh and retro simultaneously. Above everything, he is a natural swinger. For much of his career, he has emphasized the inescapable influence Frank Sinatra has had on most singers who devote much of their programming to songs of the Great American Songbook. Many of them find it difficult to get beyond the influence of Ol’ Blue Eyes, but on Swingin’ After Dark, Jim shows that he is now very much his own man. The Altamore approach is evident from the first track, “Another Star.” He has taken this Stevie Wonder song to a jazzy place where it feels comfortable. This selection shows that Altamore is willing to look outside of the Great American Songbook for his material. That approach is also evident with his inclusion of “Stormy” a song associated with the popular ‘60s group, Classics IV. For the balance of the album, Jim sticks with the world of standards. Most of the songs vary between the full out swing on “Day In Day Out,” “That Old Black Magic,” “I’m Beginning to See the Light,” “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” and “It’s Alright with Me,” with the last of these particularly flying; and an easier swing on “I’ll Remember April,” a terrific medley of “Nice ‘n Easy” and “A Beautiful Friendship,” “Watch What Happens” and “You Stepped Out of a Dream.” When he assays “The Late, Late Show,” you can picture him at the end of an evening of vocalizing in a saloon and capturing the mood of the occasion. The only tune where Jim takes a ballad approach, “Moonlight in Vermont,” still has an underlying swing that is inescapable when he is singing. Jim has often expressed his admiration for Count Basie. For a cat who swings like Jim Altamore, that seems like a natural affinity. He would be right at home in front of the most swinging aggregation of them all. The chart for “I’ll Remember April” has some elements of the Basie approach. Swingin’ After Dark is a perfect title for this collection. The days of venues like the Copacabana, the Empire Room, The Oak Room and Basin Street East are in the past, but if they were still on the scene, Jim Altamore would be right at home in any of them or one of the many others that once dotted Manhattan. At least you can put this disc on, close your eyes and imagine that you are out clubbing in New York City during its heyday as the place to be for the ultimate nightlife experience.

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