Paul Jost - Breaking Through

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:03
Size: 117,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:00)  1. Singing In the Rain
(2:33)  2. I Got Rhythm
(5:29)  3. Waltz For Debby
(5:15)  4. Days Of Wine And Roses
(4:19)  5. This Nearly Was Mine
(2:40)  6. Sweet Loraine
(3:07)  7. Blues On The Corner
(4:48)  8. Book Faded Brown
(5:41)  9. I Don't Nedd No Doctor
(3:29) 10. Waltz New
(6:03) 11. Gentle Rain
(3:32) 12. All Of You

The contemporary (meaning "current") male jazz vocalist approaches the hypothetical when compared to his female counterpart. Based simply on what crosses this desk weekly one could believe that the only male "jazz" vocalist are board professionals (dentists, lawyers and the like) making vanity recordings. Where are male counterparts for Cassandra Wilson, Tierney Sutton, Gretchen Parlato, Kate McGarry Laurie Antonioli, Jacqui Sutton or Sara Gazarek? Well...they do not exist. Harry Connick, Jr., Peter Cincotti, Tony DeSare don't count because they are Frank Sinatra altar boys (though Connick has that undeniable Southern thing going on). Michael Buble? He is not a jazz singer, though, to be fair, he was heavily influenced by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire rather than Sinatra, so he has that in his favor. This also brings up the question: were (are) Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett for that matter, jazz vocalists? Bennett more than Sinatra, but both are masters of the popular song when than term really meant something and were not "technically" jazz singers. Like anything else, what we consider jazz vocals today is the product of an evolution of some earlier designation. 

Bennett's longevity has allowed him to develop into more of a jazz singer than Sinatra did. Bennett has risen to that point where, like Ray Charles, Willie Nelson or Van Morrison, he can sing whatever he wants, however he wants and it is still perfection. That said, as an imperfect segue, who has Bennett fostered in the influence department?  That brings us to Paul Jost, who in a joyous and rollicking "Singing in the Rain" takes Bennett's ebullient and robust delivery and turns it on its ear. And then he scats... doubletime. Jost invests in the freedom principle just enough to freshen things up, ending the piece with an electric piano solo and chuckled, "Ah, George..." foreshadowing an equally outside-the-box "I've Got Rhythm." Jost's talent, like that of Beat Kaestli's is in the art of arranging his songs. "Days of Wine and Roses" features Jost singing and playing body percussion while Mark Adler's flute flies around like a demented magpie throwing off notes like pixie dust. He, rocks the Ashford/Simpson classic "I Don't Need No Doctor," acoustically allegro con brio. Breaking Through is a solid statement by an equally solid artist deserving more attention. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-vocals-june-paul-jost-by-c-michael-bailey.php#.U8F8erFryM0

Breaking Through

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