WE’VE GOT A WORLD THAT SWINGS
CLAIRE MARTIN RAY GELATO
WE’VE GOT A WORLD THAT SWINGS CLAIRE MARTIN RAY GELATO
Recorded at Master Chord Studio, London, UK 2–4 November 2015 Executive Producer Philip Hobbs Produced and recorded by Calum Malcolm Assistant engineering by Raoul Terzi Cover image by Hanson Leatherby Photography Design by gmtoucari.com
DAVID NEWTON PIANO DAVE WHITFORD DOUBLE BASS SEBASTIÁN DE KROM DRUMS AND PERCUSSION
Claire and Ray would like to thank the superb trio of world-class musicians; Dave Newton, Dave Whitford and Sebastián de Krom. Thanks to Philip Hobbs and Calum Malcolm for such an enjoyable recording experience and continued support and our heartfelt thanks go to everyone at Linn for their dedication and passion for music. A big thank you to Jonathan Boddy at the John Boddy Agency. Thanks also to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club for letting us hold our photo shoot there and Maria McKenna for her great styling at the photo shoot. We would like to acknowledge all the wonderful artists who have continued to inspire us throughout our careers and to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude. This album is dedicated to the memory of the great Mark Murphy. © Claire Martin and Ray Gelato, 2016
2
1. We’ve Got A World That Swings ....................................................... 3:15 Lil Mattis and Louis Brown
2. This Could Be The Start Of Something Big ..................................... 2:27 Steve Allen
3. Now Baby Or Never ........................................................................... 4:03 Curtis Reginald Lewis and Billie Holiday
4. More Than You Know ........................................................................ 5:53 Vincent Youmans, Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu
5. C’est Si Bon! ...................................................................................... 4:22 Henri Betti, André Hornez and Jerry Seelen
6. A Swingin’ Affair ................................................................................. 2:03 Ray Gelato
7. All I Do Is Dream Of You .................................................................... 3:37 Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
8. Come Dance With Me ....................................................................... 4:14 Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn
9. The Coffee Song ................................................................................ 3:25 Dick Miles and Bob Hilliard
10. Ornithology ........................................................................................ 3:49 Charlie Parker, Benny Harris and Babs Gonzales
11. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis ............................................ 3:03 John Benson Brooks and Bob Russell
12. Something’s Gotta Give .................................................................... 2:20 Johnny Mercer
13. Smack Dab In The Middle ................................................................. 3:16 Charles Calhoun
Total Running Time: 46 minutes 3
WE’VE GOT A WORLD THAT SWINGS Nobody would blame you for asking ‘Does the world really need an album of duets by Claire Martin and Ray Gelato’? Having just spent an entire afternoon listening to the whole thing from start to finish three times, my recommendation would be that every household should have at least one copy of We’ve Got A World That Swings. What’s more, someone needs to pester the Department for Education to get them to stick it on the curriculum as soon as possible. Demonstrating to the school children of today, what the human race is possible of creating when it’s not behaving like a bunch of mentally challenged Neanderthals from thousands of years ago, can surely only improve society’s chances of achieving a more sane and decent tomorrow. Claire and Ray have been schlepping all over the world with their own bands, bringing enjoyment to audiences for the past thirty or so years and their hooking up in the studio for this album is wildly overdue. To anyone who has seen either of them perform, it won’t come as a surprise to know that they are gloriously at the top of their respective games on this recording; Claire’s vocals are what you would expect of someone who has been acknowledged and decorated by Queen Elizabeth II as a vital force in singing and Ray’s vocals and tenor playing show why he’s been summoned by every echelon of society – from Her Majesty The Queen to Van Morrison and Paul McCartney, as the ‘must have’ ingredient for any decent party. 4
Accompanied by an outstanding trio, Claire and Ray’s song selection is a delicious serving of some of the most sumptuous morsels in the catalogue. Billie Holiday’s 1949 ‘Now Baby Or Never’ is given a classy rhythm and blues treatment, with Claire’s vocals and Ray’s sax bringing to mind some of the classic recordings made by LaVern Baker and Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor. The colossal spectrum of Claire’s stylistic and vocal range is perfectly displayed among these tracks – listen to her boogaloo take on ‘You Came A Long Way From St. Louis’ and the chances are your day will improve tenfold. Her interpretation of Vincent Youmans’s 1929 melody on ‘More Than You Know’, is a vocal masterclass and when blended to perfection with Ray’s Hawkins-meets-Jacquet tenor playing, the outcome is a track that can nest comfortably on your shelf amongst any of the jazz greats and not seem at all out of place. Incidentally, what a testament to a tune written back in 1929 that it still sounds pertinent today. Its author Vincent Youmans, who was fatally and cruelly stricken down by tuberculosis at the age of just 47, left us with a stunning cannon of songs, (‘I Want To Be Happy’, ‘Sometimes I’m Happy’, ‘Tea For Two’, ‘Without A Song’, etc.). He didn’t just write songs, Vincent is the only songwriter I am aware of who won medals for his shorthand writing skills. Famously on one occasion he had to drive the shaft of his pen through a raw potato to combat a hand injury – nothing it seems could diminish his abilities to deliver one hundred and fifty words per minute. Whilst many of the songs on here have been recorded many times, hardly any of them at all have been the subject of duets – the title track may initially conjour up images of Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, but with Dave 5
Newton’s barnstorming piano solo, the recording on this album sounds more contemporary and relevant than most so called jazz releases of similar material. It’s fantastic to hear a song forever associated with one of the pillars upon which popular music is built on, given a completely new and exciting identity – many of us know Louis Armstrong’s recording of ‘C’est Si Bon!’ but crucially, it’s only by Claire and Ray reworking and recording the song that it survives and reaches new ears. This song also serves as proof that nobody should ever be frowned upon for taking a moment to admire the contents of a lingerie shop’s window. The composer of the songs melody, Henri Betti, was enjoying the sights of such an establishment, when he claims that from nowhere, the melody of ‘C’est Si Bon!’ arrived in his head. We can only imagine how delighted the songwriters whose work is featured on this album would be by the treatment Claire, Ray and the band have given their work. From the collective pens of Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, ‘Come Dance With Me’ remains one of the endless list of songs forever associated with Frank Sinatra, but once again Claire and Ray’s vocals, along with an exquisitely constructed piano solo, gives the song a current identity and significance. Dave Newton’s solos throughout the album, along with his tweaking of the original harmonic structure and chord sequence of this song as well as Steve Allen’s ‘This Could Be The Start Of Something Big’, is a stroke of genius and his work on this album should serve as satisfactory evidence for the claim that he must surely sit as one of the greatest jazz pianists in the world today. It’s great to hear the two singers pushing themselves on Charlie Parker’s ‘Ornithology’, without ending up sounding – as many singers do – like a couple of unoriginal, clichéd, self-indulgent show-offs. Additionally, it’s just as 6
marvellous to hear the lyrics penned by someone who was once Errol Flynn’s chauffeur, come to life. Babs Gonzales snagged the driving job, having spent much of his time in the 1940s sporting a turban and calling himself Ram Singh –he thought it might make him seem a more exotic and appealing option for any prospective employers and clearly it did the trick, as he did end up driving for one of Hollywood’s true greats. Sixty years have passed since Johnny Mercer wrote both the words and music for ‘Something’s Gotta Give’, and the fact that the song is still being recorded today hopefully means all is not lost for the human race –even if the song’s title has more relevance to today’s world events than Johnny Mercer could ever have imagined when he wrote it in 1954, or when Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1959. With Ray’s brilliant original ‘A Swingin’ Affair’, there’s no doubt and no confusion that Ray did in fact write it. Unlike the concluding song on the album, about which there is some confusion as to who actually wrote it. Some say it was Jesse Stone, others credit ‘Smack Dab In The Middle’ to Charles Calhoun whilst some believe it was the work of his relation Chuck Calhoun. I suppose you could say that they all had a hand in it, as they were all the same person; Jesse Stone, who also came up with ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’, ‘Money Honey’ and ‘Flip, Flop and Fly’, insisted on changing his name on a regular basis. In today’s world of Kardashians, radicalism and brussel sprouts, this album serves as the perfect antidote to twenty-first century life – enjoy it, spread the word and tell everyone about it – Claire and Ray’s recordings are good for your health and will most likely improve your chances of continued mental well-being. © Leo Green, 2016 7
Ray Gelato Giants feat. Claire Martin
Claire Martin Time & Place
The Full Flavour
Claire Martin Too Darn Hot!
Claire Martin Secret Love
AKD 524
ALSO AVAILABLE ON LINN
Claire Martin feat. Kenny Barron
Claire Martin
Too Much In Love To Care
He Never Mentioned Love
Claire Martin
Claire Martin
A Modern Art
For even more great music visit linnrecords.com
Glasgow Road, Waterfoot, Eaglesham, Glasgow, G76 0EQ T: +44 (0)141 303 5027 | E: info@linnrecords.co.uk
Perfect Alibi