Steve Tyrell - It's Magic: The Songs Of Sammy Cahn

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:55
Size: 107.4 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:05] 1. Come Fly With Me
[4:38] 2. It's Magic
[3:33] 3. The Tender Trap
[3:40] 4. All The Way
[3:30] 5. Teach Me Tonight
[4:20] 6. The Second Time Around
[3:49] 7. It's Crazy
[4:36] 8. Call Me Irresponsible
[2:16] 9. Ain't That A Kick In The Head
[4:59] 10. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
[3:07] 11. It's Been A Long, Long Time
[2:09] 12. Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week)
[3:07] 13. I Fall In Love Too Easily

Sammy Cahn, a prolific lyricist, is being honored by Steve Tyrell in Steve's new CD, "It's Magic." Sammy wrote with such notable composers such as Jule Styne and Jimmy Van Heusen. His contributions to music have been heralded by movie awards and television awards. The "Sammy" annual award was established by the Academy in his honor for outstanding songs and scores. It is long overdue that a CD is finally released honoring this brilliant man, and Steve Tyrell is the person able to perform this task and has done a magnificent job with Amazon distributing this.

The songs in the CD include, "Come Fly With Me," "It's Magic," "The Tender Trap," "All the Way," "Teach Me Tonight," "The Second Time Around," "It's Crazy, "Call Me Irresponsible," "Ain't That A Kick in the Head,' "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry," "It's Been A Long Long Time," "Saturday Night Is the Loneliest Night of the Week," and "I Fall in Love Too Easily." Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are associated with the works of Cahn, which you will recognize from the above titles. The title song, "It's Magic," associated with Doris Day shows a groovy approach and interpretation by Steve.

The arrangements are well done, crisp, yet mellow, and allow you to follow this cd on a "magical" trip to romance land. Alan Broadbent arranged the majority of the tunes sharing honors with other arrangers, Bob Mann, and Don Sebesky, and Artie Butler. Mann's arrangements bring a soulful feel to the tunes and Broadbent's arrangements border on classical sound and romance (opinion). ~Ellie Kligman

It's Magic: The Songs Of Sammy Cahn

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Steve Tyrell - Shades Of Ray: The Songs Of Ray Charles

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:08
Size: 129,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:55) 1. Let The Good Times Roll
(3:21) 2. I Got A Woman
(3:32) 3. Georgia On My Mind
(3:18) 4. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
(4:00) 5. Ruby
(5:07) 6. I Can't Stop Loving You
(3:26) 7. You Don't Know Me
(3:29) 8. What'd I Say
(3:05) 9. Hit The Road Jack (feat. Sharlotte Gibson)
(3:31) 10. Am I Blue
(3:17) 11. Born To Lose
(3:46) 12. Big Bad Love (feat. Nita Whitaker)
(3:58) 13. Cry
(3:49) 14. Bye Bye Love
(3:27) 15. Crying Time
(2:00) 16. Curiosity (feat. Ray Charles)

Steve Tyrell is a larger-than-life 76 year old who has practically done it all in the music business. A former R&B band singer from Houston Texas, who chose his professional name while driving through the town of Tyrell, he moved to New York at 19 and became the A&R/Promo man at Scepter Records where he hustled Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs and produced Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head for BJ Thomas, wrote It’s Only Love for Elvis and How Do You Talk To An Angel, the TV theme for The Heights.

By the nineties he was established in Los Angeles producing music for movies, and his well received guide vocals on the songs he was producing for The Father of the Bride soundtrack (including The Way You Look Tonight) were subsequently used in the film and persuaded him to start singing professionally again. He had huge chart success with 1999’s A New Standard which was cleverly marketed through gift and clothes shops and other non traditional outlets, produced the Rod Stewart Songbook albums (all recorded in ‘girls keys’ for Stewart’s high vocal pitch), is a DJ for KJAZZ in Long Beach and continues to make records and tour. He’s now releasing a record celebrating Ray Charles’ 90th birthday (September 23rd), and what makes it work so well are the astute arrangements by album co-producer Bob Mann. He gives this well-known repertoire a shot in the arm, enabling Tyrell to really deliver these songs he obviously knows inside out, coming over like Dr John meets Delbert McClinton at the Café Carlyle. As Tyrell says, “Ray’s versions of these songs are so timeless that there’s no point in trying to copy him. What I tried to do is take the influence he’s had on me over the years and let that inspire performances straight from my heart.”

It’s all killer no filler: Let The Good Times Roll, Hallelujah I Love Her So, What’d I Say, I Can’t Stop Loving You and eleven more performed by a large group of A listers including saxophonists Andy Snitzer, Blue Lou Marini, Brandon Fields and Ricky Woodard, pianists Joe Sample, Chuck Leavell, Randy Kerber, Jim Cox and Andy Ezrin and guitarists Bob Mann and Grant Geissman. The string arrangements for Am I Blue and Ruby were written by Alan Broadbent (who also played piano) and the charts were recorded in Budapest. In fact, the album credits a number of different studio and home recording situations, and some of these tracks must have been on the back burner for some time as they feature long departed musicians such as trumpeter Lew Soloff who plays a wonderful solo on Georgia on my Mind and drummer John Guerin. Engineer and another co-producer John Allen has done well to mix this album so that everything fits together well.

A surprise addition is the bonus track Curiosity, a duet with Ray Charles written by Tyrell especially for Charles as the theme song to the 1989 TV series Snoops. Says Tyrell, “I played Ray the track in the studio and he just said, ‘Beautiful man, beautiful,’ which was the greatest thing I’d ever heard, especially since this was the first time he’d ever agreed to sing a title song for a TV series, and I wrote it. We had to re-write some of the lyrics to match changes that had been made to the show’s title sequence, so Ray had me sing him each re-written line one at a time so he could sing them back to me. I had a smile on my face for months after that. Can you imagine how thrilling it was to sing my words to Ray Charles and have him sing them back to me?” There are two more duets on the album, each with a superb vocalist, a funky Hit the Road Jack with Sharlotte Gibson and a version of Big Bad Love with Nita Whitaker, a song Tyrell wrote for Ray Charles and Diana Ross. There’s a dedication to participating organist Mike Finnegan, ‘a soulful friend’, in the sleeve notes. Tyrell is big on things soulful, he may not be jazz enough for some, but he’s a big hearted entertainer with a great voice who wants you to enjoy the music above all else.~ Adam Sieff https://londonjazznews.com/2021/09/20/steve-tyrell-shades-of-ray-the-songs-of-ray-charles/

Shades Of Ray: The Songs Of Ray Charles

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Steve Tyrell - A Song For You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:15
Size: 101.3 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[3:52] 1. Someone Like You
[4:43] 2. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[4:18] 3. Try A Little Tenderness
[4:18] 4. A Song For You
[3:31] 5. Sunday Kind Of Love
[4:13] 6. When I Fall In Love (Feat. Judith Hill)
[4:07] 7. Come Live With Me
[3:46] 8. You Are So Beautiful (Feat. Judith Hill)
[4:05] 9. To Be Loved
[3:02] 10. The Good Life
[4:16] 11. Always On My Mind

A Song For You furthers Tyrell's vision of bridging songwriting from the rock era with that of the standards era, placing at its core the fundamental immortality of great songwriting. It draws a through-line from modern classics, such as Van Morrison's "Someone Like You," to the timeless romanticism of Victor Young and Edward Heyman's "When I Fall In Love." Also featured on the record is the final work of Tyrell's friend and collaborator, the legendary Paul Buckmaster-one of the foremost arrangers and concertmasters of the rock era. "A Song For You" was the very last song Buckmaster worked on in his storied Grammy Award-winning career.

"Most of the songs I've sung are standards, ripped from the pages of the Great American Songbook. This album has quite a few of those, and I'm thrilled to return to that era again," says Tyrell. "These are timeless tunes, and their lyrics tear at your heartstrings. Some are upbeat, some are ballads, but the common thread is that they are all about love-whether you're hoping for it, reveling in it, or just giving it your best shot!"

A Song For You mc
A Song For You zippy

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Mark Winkler - The Company I Keep

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:56
Size: 128.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. Walk Between The Raindrops (With Jackie Ryan)
[5:12] 2. Strollin' (With Cheryl Bentyne)
[4:27] 3. Midnight In Paris
[3:30] 4. But It Still Ain't So (With Steve Tyrell)
[5:42] 5. That Afternoon In Harlem
[3:15] 6. They Can't Take That Away From Me
[4:58] 7. Stolen Moments (With Claire Martin)
[4:27] 8. Love Comes Quietly
[5:18] 9. Rainproof (With Sara Gazarek)
[5:20] 10. The Sum
[4:00] 11. Lucky To Be Me
[5:28] 12. Here's To Life

Mark Winkler: vocals; Jackie Ryan: vocals (1); Jamieson Trotter: piano (1, 2, 4, 6, 7), Hammond B-3 (4); Lyman Medeiros: bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11); Mike Shapiro: drums (1, 2, 6, 10); Bob McChesney: trombone (1, 5, 7); Ron Blake: trumpet (1, 7); Brian Swartz: trumpet (1, 7); Bob Sheppard: saxophone (1, 4, 7, 9, 10), clarinet (11); Cheryl Bentyne: vocals (2); Larry Koonse: guitar (2, 3); Rich Eames: piano (3, 12); John Clayton: bass (3, 7-9); Jeff Hamilton: drums (3, 5, 7-9); Don Shelton: clarinet (3); Paul Cartwright: violin (3); Bob Mann: guitars (4); Kevin Winard: drums (4), percussion (10); Eric Reed: piano (5, 8); John Beasley: piano (10); David Benoit: piano (11).

The utility of music, at its very core, is entertainment. It is not all about dissonance and consonance, tonal conflict and resolution; heart and intellect, pathos and ethos. Somewhere in everything music has to offer, there must be a smile. It is in music's smile that vocalist Mark Winkler exists. An elegant West Coast mainstay, vocalist/lyricist/composer Winkler, drove across my radar first with his 2011 recording Sweet Spot (Café Pacific Records). I was struck by how well Winkler could skirt the orbit of con brio cabaret singing, with its fun, entertainment core, and remain completely fixed in his capacity of jazz singer and composer.

Winkler followed Sweet Spot with his bold 2013 release, The Laura Nyro Project (Café Pacific Records). An exceptional duet recording with The Manhattan Transfer's Cheryl Bentyne, West Coast Cool (Summit Records, 2013) came next, followed by the fun and good-natured Jazz and Other Four Letter Words (Café Pacific Records, 2015).

Winkler had a period of personal loss in 2016 that would have crushed lesser musical mortals. Rather than dwell in the loss, Winkler circled his wagons, and, by wagons I mean his friends, producing the present recording, The Company I Keep. The recording is tacitly a duets recording, where Winkler shares singing duties with the likes of Jackie Ryan "Walk Between the Raindrops" and Steve Tyrell "But It Still Ain't So." Sometimes the duets are with musicians: pianists David Benoit, Josh Nelson and Eric Reed join Winkler regular Jamison Trotter in providing the singer support. Add to this the contributions of reeds player Bob Sheppard and a picture is complete. With friends like that, how can one go wrong.

The recording, engineering, and sonics are exceptional, as well as the arrangements (mostly by Trotter). The project is composed of a a dozen pieces, half with lyrics composed by Winkler and half carefully selected by him and his cohorts. Beautifully, the "standards" (if you will) are not so standard. Donald Fagan's "Walk Between Raindrops," shared with Ryan and Prince's "Strollin'" shared with Cheryl Bentyne are pure genius in song selection. What is amply apparent is that Winkler is enjoying himself and his friends and vice versa. "Stolen Moments" with Claire Martin (using the late Mark Murphy's lyrics) and "Rainproof," sung with Sara Gazarek (this latter with Winkler lyrics) demonstrates Winkler's artistic resilience and determination.

Winkler's complete dedication to his friends is also expressed in the cover art, which includes West Coast dignitaries well known to our electronic pages (in no particular order): Lauren White, Jeffrey Gimble, Barbara Brighton, Andrew Abaria, Richard Winkler, Judy Wexler, and Dolores Scozzesi. Mark Winkler, I am so glad you (we) have them all. ~C. Michael Bailey

The Company I Keep mc
The Company I Keep zippy

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Steve Tyrell - The Disney Standards

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:06
Size: 110,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. When You Wish Upon A Star
(3:46)  2. Kiss The Girl
(3:27)  3. You've Got A friend In Me
(2:58)  4. Bella Notte
(2:52)  5. Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat
(3:38)  6. Beauty and the Beast
(3:07)  7. He's A Tramp
(4:42)  8. You'll Be In My Heart
(2:48)  9. A Deeam Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
(3:07) 10. When She Loved Me
(2:46) 11. The Bare Necessities
(3:29) 12. Once Upon A Dream
(3:33) 13. Cruella De Vil
(3:54) 14. Baby Mine

On 2006's Disney Standards, pop vocalist Steve Tyrell offers up a charming set of tunes from vintage Mouse House films. Although Tyrell's gravelly voice may seem like an unlikely match for the melodies from animated classics such as Dumbo and Pinocchio, the project works to wonderful effect, allowing the vocalist to imbue the songs with plenty of emotion. Trumpeter Chris Botti joins Tyrell on a delicate reading of "When You Wish Upon a Star" (from Pinocchio), and Dr. John sits in on an easy-going rendition of "You've Got a Friend in Me" (from Toy Story). (The latter is a slightly strange pairing since Tyrell's voice echoes Dr. John's own singing style). Other highlights include "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (a dreamy, piano-driven version of the beloved Cinderella song) and "The Bare Necessities" (a smooth, orchestral take on the Jungle Book original). For fans of both Disney movies and Tyrell, this disc is sure to entertain. http://www.allmusic.com/album/disney-standards-mw0000702722

Personnel: Steve Tyrell (vocals); Bob Mann (guitar, keyboards); Dave Koz (saxophone); Chris Botti (trumpet); Dr. John, Lee Musiker (piano); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

The Disney Standards

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Steve Tyrell - That Lovin' Feeling

Size: 122,8 MB
Time: 52:46
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Jazzman (Feat. Dave Koz) (3:47)
02. Up On The Roof (3:18)
03. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (Feat. Bill Medley) (3:46)
04. There Goes My Baby (3:26)
05. Be My Baby (3:20)
06. Good Good Lovin' (Judith Hill) (3:08)
07. Laughter In The Rain (Feat. Neil Sedaka) (3:29)
08. Groovy Kind Of Love (3:16)
09. Rock And Roll Lullaby (Feat. B.J. Thomas) (4:21)
10. Chapel Of Love (Feat. Lauryn Tyrell) (3:38)
11. Just A Little Lovin' (Early In The Morning) (2:37)
12. On Broadway (Feat. Barry Mann) (3:43)
13. Any Day Now (3:48)
14. Stand By Me (3:37)
15. Hound Dog (Feat. Chuck Leavell) (3:24)

Renowned singer, Steve Tyrell, is back! This time with a new show, That Lovin’ Feelin’, featuring selections from his eleventh studio album, also titled That Lovin’ Feelin’, out in February 2015 via Concord Music Group. Tyrell’s celebration of what he calls “the next generation of the Great American Songbook” includes seminal rock era classics penned by legendary songwriters such as Carole King, Neil Sedaka, and Burt Bacharach.

A true a renaissance man, in over four decades in the music business, he has achieved great success as an artist, producer, songwriter, music supervisor and performer. With his breakthrough performances in “Father of the Bride” and “Father of the Bride II,” Steve Tyrell reinvented and re-popularized classic pop standards for a modern-day audience. With the grit and soul of a lifetime of experiences, producing hits for Grammy-winning artists ranging from Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, to Rod Stewart and Diana Ross, Steve himself has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and gained a passionate following all over the world. His hits “The Way You Look Tonight,” “The Simple Life,” “Crush On You,” and “The Sunny Side of The Street,” have launched thousands of weddings and millions of romances. He’s held top positions at Standards, Swing, and Big Band outlets with a devoted following at key Adult Contemporary Radio.

With sold out shows across America and raves from around the world, his following increases daily. Although Steve tours mainly with his band, he also enjoys playing with some of the most renown orchestras in the land, and has had multiple performances with The Boston Pops, The New York Pops, The Nashville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and The Houston Symphony. Most recently, he has appeared with the New West Symphony performing Joseph Sohm’sphoto symphony, “Visions of America,” narrated by Clint Eastwood, singing the songs of Roger Kellaway and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

As an artist, all 9 of his American Standards albums have achieved top 10 status on Billboard’s Jazz charts, 7 of which have achieved top 5, and his first album “A New Standard” was amongst the best selling jazz albums for over 5 years.

That Lovin' Feeling

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Steve Tyrell - I'll Take Romance

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:30
Size: 105,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. At Last
(4:04)  2. That's All
(2:39)  3. Taking A Chance On Love
(3:33)  4. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
(2:54)  5. I'll Take Romance
(4:06)  6. Talk To Me, Talk To Me
(3:11)  7. You Turn Me Around
(3:39)  8. A Love That Will Last
(3:41)  9. All Of You
(4:04) 10. Trust In Me
(3:09) 11. Don't Know Much
(4:32) 12. The Way You Look Tonight

An homage to the Great American Songbook, vocalist Steve Tyrell's 2012 studio album I'll Take Romance features the singer on various classics of American popular song. Featured are such compositions as "That's All," "Taking a Chance on Love," and more. Also included are Tyrell's versions of such R&B classics as Etta James' "At Last," Sam Cooke's "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons," and the Supremes' "You Turn Me Around." 

~ Matt Collar  http://www.allmusic.com/album/ill-take-romance-mw0002235665

Personnel: Shari Zippert, Michele Richards, Gina Kronstadt, Jenny Takamatsu, Diane Rammon, Nancy Roth, Lesa Terry, Neel Hammond, Mark Cargill (violin); Robin Ross, Jimbo Ross, Philip Rammon, Rodney Wirtz (viola); David Mann (alto saxophone); Lawrence Feldman (tenor saxophone); Lou Marini (baritone saxophone); Randy Brecker (trumpet); Mike Davis (trombone).

I'll Take Romance

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Steve Tyrell - Songs Of Sinatra

Size: 113,7 MB
Time: 48:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2005
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals, Swing
Art: Front

01. I Get A Kick Out Of You (3:59)
02. I Concentrate On You (3:08)
03. Fly Me To The Moon (2:42)
04. Witchcraft (3:15)
05. In The Wee Small Hours (3:10)
06. The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else (2:46)
07. I've Got You Under My Skin (3:46)
08. Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered (4:28)
09. Night And Day (3:46)
10. All The Way (3:40)
11. Nice 'n' Easy (3:35)
12. Something Stupid (2:42)
13. All Of Me (3:34)
14. You Go To My Head (4:22)

As its title indicate, this CD sees popular vocalist Steve Tyrell pay tribute to the Sinatra songbook, and pretty much every track is a famous nugget closely identified with the Chairman of the Board. That Tyrell is no Sinatra is a given, but the combination of his slightly hammy delivery and old-school arrangements makes this perfect bourbon and leather-armchair music--familiar and comfortable. Three of the songs ("Fly Me to the Moon," "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else" and "Something Stupid") reproduce the original orchestrations--and really, how can you go wrong with those?--while the others boast cushy new ones by Bob Mann, Alan Broadbent or Count Basie arranger Sammy Nestico. In his press notes, Tyrell remarks that "Nice and Easy" features "the most modern of all the arrangements on the album," but fear not: It sounds exactly like the others, and modernity here only means extra-velvety strings and super-relaxed horns. Echoing the pairing of Frank and Nancy Sinatra on the original, Tyrell sings "Something Stupid" with his daughter Lauryn, though she seems to be pushed behind in the mix and is barely audible. But hey, Frank didn't like sharing the spotlight either! --Elisabeth Vincentelli

With his breakthrough performances in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II, Steve Tyrell reinvented and repopularized classic pop standards for a modern audience. With the encouragement of music legend Quincy Jones and the Sinatra family, plans were hatched for an album of Frank's material. For the first time the Sinatra family has shared some of the very charts and music Frank used with another artist. The greatest musicians in the world playing some of the greatest songs of all time, this is an album audiences will want to hear again and again and again. Hollywood. 2005

Songs Of Sinatra

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