“Is that you singing? edition”
Dave – Charles Mingus – “Devil’s Blues” – It is hard to guess who is singing here, I believe Danny Richmond and George Adams both have hollered a tune before. I don’t think it’s Mingus, who often shouts during songs and solos. The vocals are in a Jimmy Witherspoon style. Adams is not playing during the vocals, so my guess is he is also singing. Though I believe I have heard him sing in other circumstances it’s nothing that I could recognize.
Travis – I don’t know this one. It has a very old school Hollywood feeling, so perhaps an actor which could be a whole other Seshjawn theme (Actors who sing (well)). Weird song, feels like it’s from a Musical. Leonard Nimoy – “Lost in the Stars” I believe it is a Kurt Weill song. I have also heard Nimoy sing before but weirder stuff than this. Nawi brings up that there was something Nimoy sang that was Lord of the Rings related. He has a pretty compelling voice and it has good orchestration and a little gem of a song. Nimoy surpasses Shatner in the vocal department.
Bart – Soft, gentle Singer Songwriter, I think it’s gonna be a good surprise. Whomever it is it’s not simply a moonlighting singer. but someone who does this as part of their life. Matt Davis – “All Grown Up” Our buddy! I should have guessed this and I have heard Matt sing, wordlessly, before but didn’t realize his new album featured him singing lead vocals. Great to learn something new about an old friend. Matt did start, as a young man, professionally playing as a singer/guitarist doing cover songs on a tour boat in New Hope, if I remember correctly.
Dan – Oscar Peterson – “What Can I Say After I Am Sorry” – From a Nat King Cole tribute album which surprised me when I discovered almost everything features O.P. singing. The intro here is perfect piano, which is kind of a tell, and the band is perfectly swinging. The song is a bit dated. Oscar sings better than I expected, always swinging, but his voice lacks some personality.
Billy Higgins – “Bahia Bahia Bahia” This shocked me even more than that O.P album. If you listen until the end, the full group sound is what the rest of the album sounds like – modern, hi quality Jazz. I recall I was cleaning to this album and then thought who the heck is singing (& playing guitar!)? I really had no clue, none of the players had that in there M.O. I thought there was an alternate track, or something, and at the time I also felt that this was an authentic Brazilian guest. The track caused a jarring effect, because there isn’t anything else like it on the album. Ultimately Billy Higgins transcends. Musically, as a singer, as a guitarist, and then at the end with his signature ghostly, shimmering ride cymbal – perfectly swinging. Strange/Beautiful.
Nawi – Heavy gated reverb drums, probably some 80’s trash Pop, but who is the vocalist? It reminds me a little of of Crime & the City Solution. Liza Minnelli – “A Twist in My Sobriety” – Later Liza, though I of course know her voice well in a Hollywood/Musicals context, here is a somewhat Cher-like Pop framing for her voice. I didn’t know she did that in her career.
Found Sounds 