1. Love Me Or Leave Me [3:16]
2. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans [3:35]
3. Stompin At the Savoy [2:29]
4. Low Down Man [3:40]
5. Young At Heart [3:18]
6. One Note Samba [2:35]
7. Makes My Heart Sway [4:12]
8. Nature Boy [4:21]
9. September In The Rain [3:31]
10. Smile [2:49]
11. Confessin’ (That I Love You) [4:57]
12. Fascinating Rhythm [2:40]
13. After You’ve Gone [4:59]
14. Pretty Little Thing [3:44]
TOTAL TIME
[50:06]
A girl, a guy and a guitar. Sundae + Mr. Goessl, also known as vocalist Kate Voss and her husband, guitarist Jason Goessl, are a popular
musical duo from Seattle. They perform regularly around town, and occasionally venture on tour around the Northwest. Their album Makes My Heart Sway (2016) is an appealing set of jazz and swing tunes, most from yesteryear, with a few surprises for good measure. This
album follows the formula of their previous release Cheek To Cheek (2014) and the holiday album, Dear Santa, Won’t You Bring me A Ring?
(2016). Kate Voss has a fine, playful voice, and performs some vocal gymnastics with the fast –paced opener, Love Me Or Leave Me, written by
Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn, and first recorded in 1928 by Ruth Etting. Sundae’s version has her lovely alto voice leaping from note to note with style,
charm and surprising range, while being perfectly accompanied by the creative guitar work of Jason on his Epiphone Swingster custom guitar. A much slower
song in this set is the lovely Confessin’ (That I Love You), written in 1930 by Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds, and Al Neiburg, and first made
popular by Louis Armstrong. It is a simple ballad, performed with charm and affection. Another perfect match is Jason’s fine guitar work with Kate’s dreamy
vocals on Jason’s title composition Makes My Heart Sway, highlighted by an unexpected turn on a melodica. One Note Samba, composed by
Antonio Carlos Jobim, was first recorded in 1960. In this set it is performed in the classic bossa nova style and rhythm, with an interesting arrangement
having the guitar finger-picking a melody in close harmony with the singer’s melody. My favorite song on this disc is a sweet arrangement of Low Down Man, composed by James “Jimbo” Mathus and performed by the retro-swing group Squirrel Nut Zippers. This song begins with a joyful walking
bass line on Jason’s guitar that simply struts, and after a verse from Kate, develops into a guitarist’s reverie, picking, strumming, and sliding, before
dropping back into the walking bass line and the final verse.
This disc was recorded at Studio Nels in Seattle, with Robb Davidson serving as Chief Engineer. The mixing was performed by Jason Goessl, and mastering by
Huntley Miller. The sound quality is excellent. No booklet was included, however credits are listed inside the disc cover.
Bruce McCollum
CD Reviews
