In the Company of Friends Personnel: Denise Donatelli - vocals, Tom Garvin - piano/arranger, Clay Jenkins - trumpet, Bob Sheppard - reeds, Andy Martin - trombone, Tom Peterson -tenor, Brian Scanlon -alto flute, Peter Woodford - guitar, Tom Warrington - bass, Steve Houghton - drums, Brian Kilgore -percussion. Tracks: On Green Dolphin Street, The Thrill Is Gone, Round Midnight, You Don't Know What Love Is, A Sleepin' Bee, Send In The Clowns, This Is New, If You Could See Me Now, Dream Dancing, A Roarin' Borin' Alice, When Summer Turns to Snow

Denise Donatelli

In the Company of Friends

I know I’ve gone on and on about previous vocalist submissions at radiojazz247, but please check out Denise Donatelli’s disc, In The Company of Friends! I’ve just recently been exposed to her work, and her musical interpretations really move me. In the Company of Friends is a disc for the most serious and novest of Jazz fans. It has great arrangements, great improvisations and hip vocal interpretations that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand.

Those of you who know the scene in LA will recognize all of the names of  the brilliant instrumentalists she has hired for this session. Accompanied with great studio mastering, she has a product that will gain her both national and international acclaim.

Some of the musical highlights (and there are too many to mention in a review) are Garvin’s arranging for small horns. Check out Donatelli’s line w/ensemble in This is New. Other nice gems include You Don’t Know What Love Is? I love the metric additions and rich horn lines!  Bob Shepard and Clay play interesting solo’s and explorative harmonies spurred on by Tom Garvin’s hip pokes at interesting harmonic suggestions! Very hip! I love the dissonance on Roarin’ Borin’ Alice, and Denise sings with precision on the 1/2 steps with horns. She also show’s a grittier side on this cut. She really shines on things that contain beauty. Check out When Summer Turns To Shadow, Round Midnight, A Sleepin’ Bee and Send in The Clowns. She displays very accurate pitch control with a lovely vibrato. Many singers do not have the musicianship carry tunes like these. 

Maybe the pleasant surprise of the disc is Denise’s possession of a rare quality of creative awareness, accompanied with a great vocal instrument. She sings with amazing pitch control, combined with an amazing collection of Jazz professionals to produce one of the best releases in 2005!! I agree with Tom Scott, Denise is truly an awesome Jazz vocalist. Check her out!!
For more information: DeniseDonatelli.com