Hank Marvin - Without a Word

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:27
Size: 114,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:42)  1. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(3:44)  2. Michelle
(2:42)  3. Alfie
(3:33)  4. Theme From 'Poirot'
(3:19)  5. Are You Lonesome Tonight
(3:09)  6. Russian Doll
(4:04)  7. Peter Gunn/Baby Elephant Walk
(3:00)  8. Moon River
(2:52)  9. Doctor Who Theme
(2:56) 10. What A Wonderful World
(3:36) 11. Cry Me A River
(3:44) 12. The Fool On The Hill
(3:52) 13. America
(5:07) 14. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

The master of the twanging electric guitar returns. We were all set to meet the man and talk guitars, this record and everything else, but his trip over from Australia for promo was cancelled, as we understand it for family reasons. No matter, we can bide our time for a meet and in the meantime listen to this fresh album, produced by Hank and with some input from his son Ben. Recording was undertaken at Nivram Studios in Perth. The titles confirm no real theme or overall mood to the record as they are frankly and almost bizarrely all over the place hence it is best to assume that this is a collection of numbers that Hank felt like recording. After all and all this time Marvin has nothing to prove. His fans will always be eager to hear his skills put yet again to good use. We know of his penchant for gypsy jazz but on this current set it’s exploring the melodies that seems to prevail…. Don’t Get Around Much Any More is of course the Ellington standard, a tune favoured by many including Paul McCartney. Cool piano and brush drumming staggers start the tune and that liquid single-note guitar starts to chime, the tiniest hint of delay. Makes me think for some reason of Sunday lunchtimes and Two-Way Family Favourites on the radio. A very slight fuzztone can be heard. The piano solo has a George Shearing shine to it, unhurried. Beautiful stuff…

A corny accordion brings in Michelle, a straightforward reading of the Lennon & McCartney standard from Rubber Soul. The guitar tone is vintage Shadows to these ears. The delicacy of the melody is kept intact and a cute acoustic interlude works well. The Bacharach composition Alfie was brilliantly sung by the late Cilla Black of course and it is hard to hear the tune without thinking of the great Michael Caine deadpanning his way through the original film. The strings here are very close to the original Abbey Road arrangement. A genius composer whose intriguing chordal runs stay fresh and touching. Theme From Poirot benefits from a guitar treatment, it’s lot less Charlie Chaplin and this fairly lively approach gets the composition moving along with deft fingerwork and excellent drumming Ben Vanderval. Plus ominous but uncluttered descending bass runs by Roy Martinez. Things get jazzy @ 2:13 as Hank goes into blues mode, vamping Hammond et al. A winner, this one and fades away too early for me! Are You Lonesome Tonight has rolling acoustic guitar and Marvin twanging softy away on the Elvis favourite. Shame he didn’t do Let’s Play House.

Russian Doll is a father & son original taken at a brisk pace and somehow evoking Donovan in its changes. Would make a good film theme, opening credits for a thriller maybe. A nod to Henry Mancini now and the spiky Peter Gunn/Baby Elephant Walk, rocking away quite rhythmically, the electric guitar taking the sleazy lead lines and handling the stops with a funk swagger but suddenly we are into a legato guitar take on Baby, stepping back to Peter Gunn. It’s clever, but I would never have paired these two tunes. BTW do check out Gary Hoey’s version of Peter Gunn! Moon River is also Mancini but plus Johnny Mercer and here Marvin uses his lagoonside crooning style over gentle acoustic guitar backing. I had to play this once at a wedding and used a Schaller volume pedal and a slide… The Doctor Who Theme cruises in on oscillating synths before the drums punch the backbone in and the guitar wobbles on its way. To be honest it sounds a bit odd and a wilder approach would have added a lot. This was once a spooky and exciting tv series and not the overcomplicated pc garbage successive naff producers have dragged it to. What A Wonderful World along with We Have All The Time In The World have truly timeless melodies and would have made a fine medley. Here Marvin takes the former for a walk with some subtle vibrato bar work here and there. The backing is almost reggae.  Cry Me A River is the song you associate with Julie London as opposed to Mr Timberlake. As a composition it aches with menace and the electric piano is terrific. The tune sounds surprising on guitar, a wah pedal would have made it even better. The lighter bridge is well played then returns to the darker mood. Definitely my choice of number on this set. It’s close to Larry Carlton after a couple of minutes.

The Fool On The Hill is another haunting song. The tempo is quite jaunty, here. Resulting in a pretty and uplifting take on the number which is a highlight on this album, for sure. If only he would try my favourite Beatles composition, Rai ! America is the Bernstein torcher, sounding mellow at the start of this effort. Then things get much better and that early Shadows touch jumps out at you. Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a song I had to work out not long ago to back a female vocalist. The chords are lovely and the cadence quite warming. Goffin and King wrote few clinkers. This version has a brisk backing letting the single-note melody float along. The instruments used by Marvin on these cuts include Hank’s Signature Fender Stratocaster, a Dan Electro Baritone and a Hahl Gypsy acoustic six-string. Hank can make them all talk..and they do. Take My Word.~ Pete Sargeant http://justlistentothis.co.uk/reviews/hank-marvin-without-word/

Personnel: Hank Marvin (acoustic guitar); Kevin Reeves (guitar); Roy Martinez (bass guitar); Ben Vanderwal (drums, percussion); Paul Rossiter (programming).

Without a Word

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Hank Marvin - DJango's Castle

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:48
Size: 130,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:28)  1. Swing 42
(3:32)  2. Swingtime In Springtime
(3:53)  3. Noto Swing
(3:31)  4. After You've Gone
(4:15)  5. Si Tu Savais
(5:12)  6. Honeysuckle Rose
(3:59)  7. Coquette
(3:44)  8. Micro
(3:30)  9. Viper's Dream
(3:42) 10. DJango's Castle
(4:16) 11. Minor Swing
(4:39) 12. Swing Guitars
(4:47) 13. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
(4:13) 14. Belleville

The name Hank Marvin may not be as internationally well known as those he's influenced (Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knopfler, to name a few), but intimations of his characteristic vibrato have emanated from many a six-string since he first backed Cliff Richard with his band the Shadows in the late 1950s. Marvin has enjoyed continued success as a solo artist, most recently in the present trio with accordionist Nunzio Mondia and rhythm guitarist Gary Taylor. Mondia and Taylor became instant collaborators when they first came together on the tribute album Hank Plays Cliff (1995 Polygram TV). Now known as Hank Marvin Gypsy Jazz, Marvin and his associates have built up a songbook of arrangements out of mutual passion for Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, whose music dominates their first full outing, Django's Castle. With bassists Pete Jeavons, Robbie Pisano, and Matt Willis providing arch support, the band understands the meaning of swing and uses that understanding to enliven this collection of 14 tunes with panache. Three nominal swings, in fact, set the mood for a rollicking good time. Each highlights Marvin's exceptional feel for steel, and the band's keen making of music that is sure to get those feet tapping. Shuffling sweet solos into a deck of savory themes, the core trio deals itself a winning hand without fail. 

All are straight flushes, with the exception of two royals: the uplifting and distinctly realized "Micro" and emotionally naked "Si Tu Savais." The latter is an unusually somber detour, all the more so for its haunting bellows. Mondia lends further graces to classics such as "Coquette" and "Viper's Dream," both striking mid-tempo pieces that ooze nostalgia. Even evergreens like "Honeysuckle Rose" and "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" feel renewed, not least of all for their adroit sense of traction. Mondia plays with a smile, eliciting from his instrument a smooth, legato current that feels enmeshed in every shift of terrain. His relays with Marvin in "Minor Swing" and "Swing Guitars" are especially noteworthy in this regard. Marvin, for his part, adds sparkle to every nook and cranny that catches his ear. Whether bobbing on the current of the title track or ending the album as he does with the enlivening "Belleville," he shows that virtuosity is one thing, but that threading virtuosity with a melodic line one can always follow is quite another. What truly distinguishes Marvin in the hallowed halls of fingerstyle players is the immediacy of his tone. Here is an artist who paints directly and cleanly, without the need for blending but who, like van Gogh, applies his paint in relief and lets the colors sing. What's more, Marvin and his band are living proof that optimistic music can be just as serious and cerebral as the darkest, most brooding forms of jazz. For while there is an unmistakable joy about the album, one would require immense effort not to hear the depth of dedication required to pull it off with such fluidity. Fans of John Jorgensen, Lollo Meier, and Angelo Debarre won't want to miss this. A master at work. ~ Tyran Grillo https://www.allaboutjazz.com/djangos-castle-hank-marvin-mtm-music-pty-ltd-review-by-tyran-grillo.php

Personnel: Hank Marvin: lead guitar; Nunzio Mondia: accordion; Gary Taylor: rhythm guitar; Pete Jeavons; double bass; Robbie Pisano: bass; Matt Willis: bass.

DJango's Castle

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