“Moonglow” CD does Jazz band’s sound justice

When I found out about the new Jazz Band CD, Moonglow, I thought back to the other CDs from the Jazz Band that I had enjoyed, as well as their concerts which first got me started on jazz. I picked up my copy at the Spring Concert and took it back to my room. Next morning, I sat down and listened to it, straight through, without stopping. I had expected a very good experience, and I was not disappointed.

One of the big differences between Moonglow and previous Jazz Band CDs is that Moonglow was recorded in a studio environment, whereas the previous CDs were all recordings of live concerts. This changes things a wee bit. There’s none of the feedback from the audience that characterized the live CDs, but the studio format allowed for greater editing powers. On balance, I think it’s a reasonable trade.

Now to the vocals. Moonglow has two very good vocalists in Laura Dees and Sydney Cash, but Laura Dees performs many more times than Ms. Cash. I enjoyed all of their vocal pieces, particularly “The Girl from Ipanema” which struck me as a very smooth and refined tune, and is one of my favorite tracks on the CD. To me what makes their vocals so superb for me is the smoothness and sweetness with which they croon the words. I found myself looking forward to vocal tracks, eagerly awaiting their tuneful singing.

Of course, all that’s for nothing if they don’t have a good accompaniment. But never fear, the rest of the band is not leaving our fearless vocalists out in the cold. The vocal tracks have good accompaniment, and the instrumental tracks stand very well on their own. Particularly of note to me was some excellent saxophone playing in several solos. I don’t know about you, but I found the sultry saxophone solos to be both relaxing and therapeutic.

If the Jazz Band were a football team, they would not be the sort of team with a star quarterback who could lead the team to the Super Bowl, if only he got enough support from his team. They would be a well-rounded team with many different moves in their playbook who support each other and complement each other very well. And that, more so than any of the individual talent, superb though it may be, is what makes Moonglow work so well.

All in all, Moonglow makes for good listening. It has a wide selection of tunes, both instrumental and vocal, and the only real “theme” of it all is that they’re classic jazz. The music is well-performed and professionally presented with informative liner notes by GCSU’s own Dr. Bob Wilson. If you haven’t heard the Jazz Band in concert and happen to have $10 lying around, you could do much, much worse than to get a copy from Porter Hall.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 3 2009. Filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry