by Gareth Hemmings
Harry Connick Jnr is one of those Renaissance men;
actor, composer, arranger, conductor, singer and pianist. And he is
pretty talented at all these things. I wanted to share with you a great
album of his that I have been listening to lately; listen to it whilst you are
cooking dinner, it’s a tour de force in arranging and breathes new life
into old classics in a tasteful and insightful way.
Songs I Heard is one for all the
family. A collection of classic Disney songs played by superb jazz musicians
and truly stunning arranging. Share it with your parents/children/
grandparents - these are timeless tunes given creative and interesting twists.
The album opens with a high octane performance of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
(amazingly Google Docs has this in its spelling dictionary). Given a New
Orleans Dixieland feel this has the feel good factor!
The Lonely Goatherd
has a sophisticated Big Band feel with tight sax ensemble playing at the start
and some classy reharmonising before moving into a more modal riff based style.
Ding-Dong! The witch is dead
has a bebop infused drive and is largely instrumental with virtuosic
soprano sax solo-ing and stratospheric trumpet playing. In typical
Connick tongue-in-cheek style the vocals feature only in last two lines of the
song!
Maybe is given a tender treatment, arranged
for orchestra with a Hollywood-style string section. Some beautiful wind
playing too.
Pure Imagination / Candy Man
opens with a smooth relaxed swing style reminiscent of classic Dean Martin,
Sinatra crooning and is the start of a sequence of songs from Charlie and
Chocolate Factory. The two songs are cleverly juxtaposed here.
Golden Ticket / I Want it Now offbeat
sax riffs, subtle muted trumpet textures bubble under the smooth vocals as Golden
Ticket moves into I Want in Now with screaming trumpets and
saxophones mirroring Veruca Salt’s spoilt impetuousness.
Oompa Loompa starts with a
slightly sinister double octave piano riff in an off beat extended triplet
pattern that completely disguises the pulse. The whole piece has a somewhat
claustrophobic, “pent up” feel to it, intensified by the scoring for voice and
piano alone.
A Spoonful of Sugar brings
back the Mardi Gras feel of New Orleans; a joyous celebration for jazz quintet
with voice.
Stay Awake is a given an
orchestral treatment that is reminiscent of Englebert Humperdinck’s fairy tale
opera Hansel and Gretel evoking a warm nostalgia.
Subtle string shades gentle colour Something Was
Missing from Annie, leading to the slightly “wonky” introduction to You’re
Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile. Enjoy those moments when the
band suddenly let rip between each line of the song and then return immediately
to subtle accompaniment mode!
A stormy orchestral soundscape clears to reveal
sunshine as the melody of Over the Rainbow breaks through the dissonance
with sighing strings and shimmering harp.
The Jitterbug is treated with
playfulness and features Connick on piano again as well as voice. Merry
Old Land of Oz is the last in the set of Wizard of Oz tracks.
Edelweiss features lush orchestral textures with
responsive and expressive string accompaniment, before Do-Re-Mi finishes
this album with warm wit. I love the clear affection that is held for
these classic songs and the reworking of them which pushes the material to the
edge of tastefulness without going over it. These charts are played with
effortless ease by a stella line up of musicians who are clearly having a ball
together.
Available on Apple Music:
Spotify:
YouTube:
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