Year: 2000
Record Label: Independent
Style: Jazz Vocals
Musicians: Cassandre McKinley (vocals), Herb Pomeroy (trumpet), Ben Cook (piano), Marty Richards (drums), Dave Landoni (bass), Bela Sarkozy (guitar), Harvey
Review: When this CD arrived in the mail, my wife read over the tune list, handed me the recording and said "Cassandre McKinley made this CD just for you". Puzzled, I looked at the back of the package and 7 of the 11 compositions are among my list of favorites.
Needless to say, this fine young Boston songstress had my immediate attention. The first track is "Easy Street" which was introduced to me by the great Clancy Hayes. Cassandre's version kicks of with a beautiful Herb Pomeroy trumpet intro and the solid bass of Dave Landoni. These players are stand-out performers throughout this session. Cassandre enters "Easy Street" from the swingin' end of town and generates some subtle, but delightful changes to the melody.
Her heartfelt rendition of the Matt Dennis tune "Angel Eyes" is the finest I've ever heard. Landoni and Sarkozy are superb on this song. Happily, Cassandre is more than willing to give all the musicians a chance to show their stuff.
Those of you who generally shy away from Indie labels are missing out if you don't give this recording a very serious listen. I'd recommend it to those dedicated late night jazz radio hosts. Give this a play!
Ms. McKinley has a wonderful, intimate and swinging style. Drop by the artist's web site and check out the great selection of songs on this CD. You won't be disappointed. To top it off, the musicianship is hard to beat with such players as Herb Pomeroy, Bela Sarkozy and the outstanding performance of bassist Dave Landoni. To quote the last track, I can only say "But Beautiful".
Go get it!
Artist's Website: http://www.cassandremckinley.com
Reviewed by:
Richard Bourcier
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