Judy Wexler Discography of CDs

Judy Wexler music CDs Arranger: Alan Pasqua. Personnel: Judy Wexler (vocals); Larry Koonse (guitar); Bob Mintzer, Bob Sheppard (saxophone); Walt Fowler (trumpet, flugelhorn); Alan Pasqua (piano); Steve Hass (drums); ...

Judy Wexler discography Rare is the jazz vocal CD that makes one stand up and take notice on the first hearing. But Judy Wexler achieves that reaction with her brilliant Dreams & Shadows, in part due to her instinctive ability to bring out the best in each song, often taking it into unfamiliar territory. The inventive arrangements by pianists Alan Pasqua and Jeff Colella (who alternate at the keyboard) are also an important factor, along with their use of key soloists to add flavor to each chart. There are a number of familiar favorites: the driving post-bop setting of "Comes Love" utilizing Colella's altered harmonies; "If I Only Had a Brain" with Wexler's playful vocal accented by the bird-like chirps of Bob Shepherd's soprano sax; and Sonny Rollins' "Pent Up House," newly fitted with Jack Prather's lyrics and featuring Wexler's deft re-creation of Rollins' original solo. Several songs come from the world of pop. Wexler's sensitive handling of Pasqua's haunting arrangement of "One Less Bell to Answer" (a hit for the 5th Dimension) and the sassy bossa nova scoring of "Spooky" (popularized by the long forgotten Classics IV) accented by Gilbert Castellanos' sinewy muted trumpet are examples of looking for material in unexpected places. Her sensual rendition of Victor Young's "Dreams & Shadows (Delilah)" and engaging scatting in Jerome Kern's "In Love in Vain" revive ...

Judy Wexler songs In the jazz world, there is a joke that goes like this: how many vocalists does it take to sing "My Funny Valentine"? All of them. That joke is a response to what can be called the "warhorse factor" -- that is, improvisers who stick to the most overdone Tin Pan Alley warhorses and don't do anything unusual with them (something that instrumentalists and singers are both guilty of). It isn't that the improvisers are performing bad material; no one is saying that "My Funny Valentine" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay" aren't great songs, ...