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
CD Reviews
Black Coffee 120004
