Album:
So In Love: Perry Beekman Sings And Plays Cole Porter
Size: 119,1 MB
Time: 50:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front
01. Let's Misbehave (2:53)
02. I Get A Kick Out Of You (4:50)
03. Always True To You In My Fashion (3:31)
04. I Happen To Like New York (2:06)
05. Anything Goes (3:12)
06. In The Still Of The Night (3:59)
07. My Heart Belongs To Daddy (2:56)
08. Miss Otis Regrets (3:23)
09. Night And Day (3:30)
10. Let's Do It (3:15)
11. Just One Of Those Things (3:16)
12. It's De-Lovely (3:42)
13. So In Love (2:53)
14. I Love Paris (3:56)
15. You're The Top (3:23)
In '92, the Verve label finally collected its three Cole Porter Songbooks into a 3-CD box set, a knock-out of an anthology featuring a Who's Who of jazz (Torme, Blossom Dearie, Louis Armstrong, Ella, Evans, Farlow, etc.) and that gatherum remains one of the best expositions of the inimitable Porter's catalogue. The immortal Cole is a ceaseless mainstay as The Great Amrican Songbook enjoys its eternal youth, but that particular set is tough to beat as a milestone tribute. Then, of course, came the Red, Hot, & Blue trib, featuring a killer collection of modern paeans to the late master, all trotted out by rockers andothers: Iggy Pop/Stooge, Annie Lennox, the Pogues, the Neville Bros., Fine Young Cannibals, etc. The competition, y'see, stiffened appreciably. Not everyone has since been able to bear up under the pressure…and you may already be intuiting where this review is going.
Perry Beekman plays guitar and sings, the former in the old Green / Ellis / Kessel vein, the latter as a combo of Barry Manilow, Peter Allen, and what it would sound like if Kyle McLauchlan were a vocalist. In So in Love, he formulated a trio format to keep things simple but swingin' and, in the instrumental aspects, succeeded very nicely, but, hoo boy!, when it comes to talents as a vocalist, the disc drives itself as a community college recitation presented in the secondary theater, not the main stage. Beekman plays a very clean axe bridging France's hot jazz inclinations with the American bop stringbenders just cited, and had this CD been purely instrumental, this would be a completely different review, but his voice is sufficiently unpolished, much too straight, uninflected, and more than a little Boy Scouty.
Miss Otis Regrets, one of the truly classic American tragedian compositions (a whole film could be made from the track), is perhaps the most vivid illustration of Beekman's defects as a singer: too Manilowesque (which, to some, will be a virtue, I guess). He starts an intro with promise but, as the band kicks in, the atmosphere becomes mellifluously carnivalesque, way too uptone, and diametrically opposed to everything the song is about. On the other hand, check out the instrumentals—My Heart Belongs to Daddy and Always True to You in my Fashion—as well as the half-instrumental In the Still of the Night and it's readily seen where his true virtues lie. And, on that last song, the same complaints arise again…and again…and again as the disc proceeds. Perry Beekman needs to keep that finessey-fingers part of himself employed and fire the vocalist. THAT would be a CD I'd be VERY interested in. ~Review by Mark S. Tucker
So In Love
Album:
Bewitched: Perry Beekman Sings And Plays Rodgers & Hart
Size: 126,6 MB
Time: 54:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front
01. I Wish I Were In Love Again (2:48)
02. Mountain Greenery (3:30)
03. Wait Till You See Her (2:38)
04. Have You Met Miss Jones (3:36)
05. Bewitched (5:05)
06. Thou Swell (3:27)
07. It Never Entered My Mind (4:31)
08. My Heart Stood Still (3:38)
09. There's A Small Hotel (3:18)
10. Spring Is Here (2:54)
11. This Can't Be Love (4:19)
12. Blue Room (3:10)
13. This Funny World (2:48)
14. Falling In Love With Love (3:31)
15. The Lady Is A Tramp (4:57)
The follow up to the critically acclaimed So In Love finds Perry Beekman embracing the music of Rodgers and Hart with imaginative arrangements and a nuanced texture that reinvents these timeless classics for the next generation. The guitar, piano, and bass trio is not an unusual ensemble, the ability to perform with such a remarkable lyrical chemistry is indeed quite rare. While the arrangements are fresh and vibrant, the melodic intent of Rodgers & Hart is never mangled and politely pushed aside as with some artists do when seeking a self indulgent pat on the back.
As a vocalist, Perry Beekman can hold his own with any of his contemporaries. As a guitarist, Perry adds a bit of the New York panache that elevates these classics to a new rarefied level of excellence. You know the tunes and the highlights here are almost too numerous to list. "My Heart Stood Still" is pure swing, a groove you can use. A personal favorite "Mountain Greenery" is a deceptively subtle swing that attacks when lease expected while "Bewitched" is an exquisite ballad that showcases the Beekman style of literally crawling inside a tune and fully understanding the meaning of each word. A singer sings, a vocal artist tells stories. Enter Perry Beekman.
Pianist Peter Tomlinson shines on "There's A Small Hotel" while Lou Pappas holds court with a stand out solo on "Have You Met Miss Jones." Perhaps the most surprising reharm would be that of "Blue Room" adding a J.S. Bach riff without venturing off the improvisational path. Easily one of the finest trios working the more traditional side of the jazz street.
Perry Beekman raises his game and with that moves to the very top of the pack in the traditional jazz setting. Bewitched is about as close to perfect as you can find.
Personnel: Perry Beekman: Vocals, Guitar; Peter Tomlinson: Piano; Lou Pappas: Bass
Bewitched
