|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Waverly Seven's recording debut Waverly Seven, the ensemble of New York's finest young jazz players, makes their recording debut with the double CD Yo! Bobby, out June 26th on Anzic Records. The septet of saxophonists Anat Cohen and Joel Frahm, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, keyboardists Jason Lindner and Manuel Valera, bassist Barak Mori, and drummer Daniel Freedman reinterpret signature tunes popularized by crooner Bobby Darin, who would have been 71 years old this May. With their collective spirit of improvisation and impeccable talent, Waverly Seven play 24 Darin classics like you've never heard them before. The group strips the songs of their vocals but preserves their vibrant nature with new twisting instrumental melodies. Although Darin wore many musical hats from folk roller to Vegas hipster, Waverly Seven uses a jazz sensibility as the blueprint for their creations. Wurlitzer and acoustic guitar solos take “Nature Boy” into a soulful new direction, fast and furious clarinet add an extra jolt to Darin's breakout “Splish, Splash”, a sultry bass solo highlights ”The Good Life”, and “Mack The Knife” ends with a multilayered jam. Yo! Bobby also features some rare tunes from Darin's songbook including “That Funny Feeling” and “Work Song.” Waverly Seven debuted Yo! Bobby on March 14th during a sold out performance at NYC's Jazz Standard. Billboard magazine called this, the group's first public performance, “robust” and “a swinging affair.” Already noted for their individual talents, members of the Waverly Seven gladly accepted this unique challenge. Band member Joel Frahm explains: “Bringing something new to these already beloved songs might have been seen as a daunting task however we decided to look at recording this album as a celebration of an era. We aimed to nail not only the music but also the showmanship. To truly become entertainers like Darin and those of his time and have fun with it.” Born into a working-class family in the Bronx, NY, Darin went on to become one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols in the late 1950s and 1960s. The two-time GRAMMY winner and multi-million album seller released 12 Top 20 Pop Singles and 14 Top 200 albums between 1958 and 1969. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |