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Gladys Knight - Before Me |
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by Rick Holland
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 Before Me | | Personnel: The Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, and these featured artists:Gladys Knight Vocal
Tommy LiPuma (1, 3-4, 6, 11, 12) Producer
Russell Malone (1, 3-4, 6, 12) Guitar
Anthony Wilson (11) Guitar
Jeff Hamilton Drums
Joe Sample Piano
Joe Porcaro (1, 3, 11, 12) Percussion | | Tracks: Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me, The Man I Love, Good Morning Heartache, Since I Fell For You, God Bless the Child, This Bitter Earth, I Got it Bad, Someone to Watch Over Me, But Not For Me, I’ll Be Seeing You, Stormy Weather, Come Sunday
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Verve has released a new recording with Gladys Knight and the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra that is going to raise eyebrows in the Jazz community. It is a first rate recording that has shades of the great vintage recordings of the past. There is great orchestration, arranging, and quality performances throughout. The production is simply outstanding. It is entertaining, creative and has a highly listenable quality to each performance. The person who owns this disc will listen to this over and over again.
Gladys really shines within these orchestrations. I’ll be honest, I had my reservations when I picked up this disc. But maybe, I should have trusted John Clayton. His work is continually stellar. His orchestra is continually making key associations through performances and recordings. He has a knack for being able to communicate Jazz in a way that makes the musical accessible to the millions of people familiar with the American Songbook. The key is his work is steeped in creative writing and he posses a great understanding of the Jazz tradition. He is becoming a real treasure of this generation.
Gladys Knight is a true living legend of modern music. She is a six-time GRAMMY® winner who has had number one hits in a wide variety of musical genres including pop, R&B, and adult contemporary, performed on Broadway, appeared in films, and is a member of the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame.
Gladys just blows me away on this recording. She is able to take all of her experience and combine this with a real understanding of what the music really needs. She is soooooo soulful, expressive and communicates so clearly. She swings and has beautiful groove in her phrases. On the smoother tunes, she shines with excellent dialogue with the band. It is convincing and refreshing!!
The key to her success on this disc may be the association with producers Phil Ramone and Tommy LiPuma. Tommy LiPuma is known for his work with Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau and George Benson. Phil Ramone has worked with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. These performers are some of the cream of the crop of American Music. They sought the arranging skills of John Clayton, who understands this music as well as anyone in our generation. Ramone and LiPuma obiviously saw the imagination and potential of Knight singing the American Songbook. I must say it was great assessment on their part, for the album shines with chemistry, and could be one of those recordings that make it through the generations. Just by the mere choice of personnel alone!
If you like classic performances of the American Songbook, and combine this with one of the outstanding big bands of our time, with a vocalist who sings with imagination, groove and swing, I’m telling you, you’re going to love this CD. You can take that to the bank!!
For more information about this and other Verve Recordings, please visit:
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com |
Rick Holland |
| About the author: |
| A versatile musician and veteran performer in organizations such as the Louie Bellson Big Band (Chicago Based Band), Jimmy Dorsey, Mike Pendowski, Rob Parton , Buddy De Franco, Buselli-Wallrab and Terry Gibbs Bands, Rick Holland brings a wealth of experience and musicality to each performance. |
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