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Reviewers: Tony Augarde [Editor], Steve Arloff, Nick Barnard, Pierre Giroux, Don Mather, James Poore, Glyn Pursglove, George Stacy, Bert Thompson, Sam Webster, Jonathan Woolf



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FRANK SINATRA

Songs for Swingin' Lovers!

Black Coffee 120004

 

 

1. You Make Me Feel So Young

2. It Happened in Monterey

3. You're Getting to be a Habit With Me

4. You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me

5. Too Marvellous for Words

6. Old Devil Moon

7. Pennies From Heaven

8. Love Is Here to Stay

9. I've Got You Under My Skin

10. I Thought About You

11. We'll Be Together Again

12. Makin' Whoopee

13. Swingin' Down the Lane

14. Anything Goes

15. How About You?

Featuring, among others:

Harry Klee – Alto sax

Harry “Sweets” Edison, Clarence “Shorty” Sherock, Conrad Gozzo, Manny Klein – Trumpet

Juan Tizol, Milt Bernhart – Trombone

George Roberts – Bass trombone

Bill Miller - Piano

George Van Eps – Guitar

Joe Comfort – Bass

Irv Cottler - Drums

16. Chicago

17. I’ve Got the World on a String

18. The Gal That Got Away

19. Learnin’ the Blues

20. (Love is) The Tender Trap

21. You’ll Get Yours

22. So Long, My Love

23. (How Little it Matters) How Little We Know)

24. Can I Steal a Littlle Love

25. River, Stay ‘way from My Door

26. I Love Paris

Featuring, among others:

Plas Johnson, Abe Most, Harry Klee, Ted Nash – Reeds

Harry “Sweets” Edison, Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Manny Klein – Trumpet

Juan Tizol, Milt Bernhart, Si Zentner – Trombone

George Roberts – Bass trombone

Bill Miller - Piano

Al Viola – Guitar

Joe Comfort – Bass

Alvin Stoller – Drums

I have already reviewed another Sinatra album under the “Nostalgia” heading because it seemed closer to easy listening than jazz. But Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! is not only a classic but deserves to find itself in the “Jazz” category. This 1956 LP launched a thousand imitators: from Michael Bublé to Kevin Fitzsimmons and the whole “Rat Pack” scenario.

Frank Sinatra had long been an iconic performer but this album widened his appeal considerably, thanks largely to Nelson Riddle’s swinging arrangements. Sinatra’s recordings had previously been pleasant to listen to, but Nelson Riddle added the ingredient of swing. The arrangements brought out a jazzy side to Sinatra, who loosened up and made his phrasing approach that of a real jazz singer. The arrangements used strings but not to excess. The main sound was a big band which added punch to each song. The arrangements were so good that you could enjoy them for themselves – for example, the surprising coda to You’re Getting to be a Habit With Me or the amazing crescendo in the middle of I’ve Got You Under My Skin.

The songs were well-chosen too: mostly taken from the Great American Songbook, composed by the likes of Cole Porter and the Gershwin brothers. Sinatra seems to relish the ingenuity of the tunes, which include such devices as rhyming “sweetheart” with “indiscreet heart” (in It Happened in Monterey ).

This album was a milestone in Sinatra’s career. Thereafter he seemed more relaxed in his interpretation of songs, notably in such albums as A Swingin’ Affair and Come Fly With Me. And his jazzy side was evident in the albums he made with the Count Basie Orchestra.

This CD is filled out with eleven tracks recorded between 1953 and 1960. They include such hits as Chicago and (Love is) The Tender Trap. The bonus tracks make for a disc lasting 73 excellent minutes.

Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk

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