Big City Rhythms
Encyclopedia
Big City Rhythms is a 1999 album by American vocalist Michael Feinstein
accompanied by the Maynard Ferguson
big band
. It was Feinstein's second album for the Concord
label, and his first with Maynard Ferguson.
Production
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
accompanied by the Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
. It was Feinstein's second album for the Concord
Concord Records
Concord Records is a U.S. record label now based in Beverly Hills, California. Originally known as Concord Jazz, it was established in 1972 as an off-shoot of the Concord Jazz Festival in Concord, California by festival founder Carl Jefferson, a local automobile dealer and jazz fan who sold his...
label, and his first with Maynard Ferguson.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Jonathan Widran awarded the album 4 stars and said the pairing of Feinstein and Ferguson "such a rousing success that it's surprising the two didn't think of it before".Track listing
- "Close Your EyesClose Your Eyes (1933 song)"Close Your Eyes" is a popular song written by American composer Bernice Petkere. The song was published in 1933.The song is featured in the film The Abominable Dr...
" (Bernice PetkereBernice PetkereBernice Petkere was an American songwriter. She was dubbed the "Queen of Tin Pan Alley" by Irving Berlin.Born in Chicago, Illinois, she began performing in vaudeville as a child. "Starlight " , her first published song, was recorded by Bing Crosby. She also wrote radio themes for CBS...
) - 2:57 - "The Very Thought of YouThe Very Thought of You"The Very Thought of You" is a pop standard published in 1934, with music and lyrics by Ray Noble. In addition to Noble's own hit recording of the song with his orchestra, featuring the vocals of Al Bowlly, there was also a popular version recorded that same year by Bing Crosby. A decade later, the...
" (Ray NobleRay NobleRay Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...
) - 5:29 - "Let Me Off Uptown" (Earl BosticEarl BosticEarl Bostic was an American jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist, and a pioneer of the post-war American Rhythm and Blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which showed off his...
, Redd EvansRedd EvansRedd Evans was a music lyricist whose songs have been recorded by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Doris Day amongst many others....
) - 3:34 - "Girl TalkGirl Talk (song)"Girl Talk" is a 2002 song written by Lisa Lopes, Anita McLoud, Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement, Kandi Burruss, and Tionne Watkins, and was the first single released from TLC's fourth album, 3D . It was produced by Hustle and released as the album's lead single in North America in October 2002 and...
" (Neal HeftiNeal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
, Bobby TroupBobby TroupRobert William "Bobby" Troup Jr. was an American actor, jazz pianist and songwriter. He is best known for writing the popular standard " Route 66", and for his role as Dr...
) - 5:07 - "You Can't Lose 'Em All" (Marshall BarerMarshall BarerMarshall Barer - Born Marshall Louis Barer, Astoria, New York City, 19 February 1923. Lyricist, librettist, singer, songwriter and director. Died Santa Fe, New Mexico, 25 August 1998....
, David RossDavid RossDavid Ross may refer to:*David Ross , British actor who played Kryten in the second series of BBC sitcom Red Dwarf*David Joseph Ross , American environmentalist...
) - 4:33 - "One Day at a Time" (Charles DeForest) - 3:54
- "The Rhythm of the Blues" (Michael FeinsteinMichael FeinsteinMichael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
, Lindy RobbinsLindy RobbinsLindy Robbins is a songwriter from Los Angeles. She has contributed many recognizable songs to popular culture.-Career:She started singing with her late, gifted musician father Walter Wissman when she was three-years-old, and was an acclaimed performer in NYC and LA before becoming a full-time...
) - 5:52 - "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)"The One I Love " is a popular song.The music was written by Isham Jones, the lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was published in 1924. It was first introduced by Al Jolson. The song was performed in the 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams, starring Doris Day and Danny Thomas...
" (Isham JonesIsham JonesIsham Jones was a United States bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.-Career:Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, to a musical and mining family, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, where he started his first band...
, Gus KahnGus KahnGustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
) - 5:25 - "Ev'rything You Want Is Here" (Murray GrandMurray GrandMurray Grand was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, and pianist best known for the song "Guess Who I Saw Today"....
) - 4:29 - "Johnny One NoteJohnny One Note"Johnny One Note" is a 1937 show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, where it was introduced by Wynn Murrary. Judy Garland sang it in the film version, released in 1939.-Notable recordings:...
" (Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) - 2:27 - "Swing Is Back in Style" (Feinstein, Ray Jessel, Cynthia Thompson) - 2:38
- "Love Is Nothin' But a Racket" (Betty ComdenBetty ComdenBetty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
, Adolph GreenAdolph GreenAdolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
, André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
) - 3:27 - "Lullaby in Rhythm" (Benny GoodmanBenny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Walter Hirsch, Clarence ProfitClarence ProfitClarence Profit was a jazz pianist and composer associated with swing.He came from a musical family and began studying piano at age three and led a ten-piece band in New York City in his teens. A visit to his grandparents in Antigua led to his staying in the Caribbean for five years and he also led...
, Edgar SampsonEdgar SampsonEdgar Melvin Sampson was a composer, arranger, saxophonist, and violinist...
) - 3:25 - Medley: "When Your Lover Has GoneWhen Your Lover Has Gone"When Your Lover Has Gone" is a 1931 composition by Einar Aaron Swan which, after being featured in the James Cagney film Blonde Crazy that same year, has become a jazz standard. The song was used in the 1991 film, The Rocketeer during the part where Neville Sinclair takes Jenny to The South Seas...
"/"The Gal That Got AwayThe Man that Got Away"The Man that Got Away" is a popular song, published in 1953 and was written for the 1954 version of the movie A Star Is Born. The music was written by Harold Arlen, and the lyrics by Ira Gershwin...
" (Einar Aaron SwanEinar Aaron SwanEinar Aaron Swan was an American musician, arranger and composer. Born of Finnish parents who had emigrated to the United States at the turn of the century, he was the second of nine children....
)/(Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) - 4:59 - "New York, New YorkNew York, New York (On The Town)"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
" (Leonard BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Comden, Green, John KanderJohn KanderJohn Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
) - 3:38 - "How Little We KnowTo Have and Have Not (film)To Have and Have Not is a 1944 romance-war-adventure film. The movie was directed by Howard Hawks and stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, and Lauren Bacall in her first film...
" (Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) - 2:43
Personnel
- Michael FeinsteinMichael FeinsteinMichael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - The Maynard Ferguson big bandBig bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
: - Maynard FergusonMaynard FergusonMaynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
- bandleader, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, producer, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Tom Garling - arranger, tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Brian Stahurski - double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Albie Berk - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Dave ThrockmortonDave ThrockmortonDavid "Dave" Throckmorton is an American drummer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also referred to by the nickname "Throck". He is currently the drummer for the Bill Deasy band and plays with several other local and national recording acts.-References:...
- Bobby ShewBobby Shew-Biography:After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich Big Bands in the mid-to-late...
- flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Dennis Budimir - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Larry BunkerLarry BunkerLawrence Benjamin "Larry" Bunker was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra.-Biography:...
- percussion - Earl MacDonaldEarl MacDonaldEarl MacDonald , is a music arranger, composer, jazz pianist and music educator. Director of jazz studies at the University of Connecticut, the Winnipeg native earned a bachelor of music degree in jazz performance at McGill University and a master of music degree at Rutgers, where he apprenticed...
- piano - Matt Catingub - alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
- Mike Dubaniewicz
- Gary FosterGary Foster (musician)Gary Foster is an American instrumentalist who plays saxophones, clarinets, and flutes ; he is considered a "crossover" artist who performs in jazz, pop, and classical genres. As a jazz artist he has recorded under his own name for Concord Records and several other labels...
- Sal Lozano - baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Jim Brenan - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Dan HigginsDan HigginsDan Higgins is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggins, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Go West, The Temptations, Lionel Richie, Joe Cocker and Eros Ramazzotti. He's also got over 300 motion...
- Alexander Iles - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Reggie Watkins
- Bryant Byers - bass trombone
- Adolfo Acosta
- Wayne BergeronWayne BergeronWayne Bergeron, American jazz musician and trumpet player, was born in 1958 in Hartford, Connecticut and grew up Southern California. His interest in music started on the French Horn before he switched to, his claim to fame, the trumpet, in 8th grade...
- Brian Ploeger
- Jim Self - tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
- Alan BroadbentAlan BroadbentAlan Broadbent, MNZM , is a jazz pianist, arranger and composer best known for his work with artists such as Woody Herman, Diane Schuur, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Charlie Haden, Warne Marsh, Bud Shank, and many others.Broadbent studied piano and music theory in his own country, but in...
- arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Eddie Karam
- Mort LindseyMort LindseyMort Lindsey, is an orchestrator, composer, pianist, conductor and musical director for Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Merv Griffin.Lindsey attended Newark Arts High School....
- Patrick Williams
Production
- Charles Paakkari - assistant engineer
- Dann Thompson
- Albert Treskin - design
- Alexis Davis - director, production coordination
- Leslie Ann JonesLeslie Ann JonesLeslie Ann Jones is a multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer working as Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm, Ltd. company. She is a past Chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Board of Trustees, the organization that awards Grammys...
- engineer, mixing - Glen Barros - executive producer
- Antonio Branco - stylist
- Roger Dong - portrait photography
- Shay Ashula - hair stylist, make-up
- Paul Stubblebine - mastering
- Bill HughesBill Hughes (musician)William Henry "Bill" Hughes is an American jazz trombonist and bandleader. He has spent most of his career with the Count Basie Orchestra and was the director of that ensemble until September 2010.- Early life and career :...
- music contractor, music preparation - Bruce Burr - photography
- John Burk - producer
- Allen Sviridoff