Jazz legend Benny Carter's brilliant instrumental melodies are given voice through the artful lyrics of singer/screenwriter Deborah Pearl who knew and loved him. Featuring Benny Carter with his Big Band and a lyric booklet with stories & photos.

13 MP3 Songs in this album (58:26) !
Related styles: Jazz: Jazz Vocals, Jazz: Big Band, Solo Female Artist

People who are interested in Al Jarreau Annie Ross Diana Krall should consider this download.


Details:
Souvenir Of You - New Lyrics to Benny Carter Classics, the debut release from multitalented vocalist/lyricist Deborah Pearl is a remarkable musical memento thatâs been two lifetimes in the making! The brilliant instrumental melodies of multiple Grammy-winning jazz legend Benny Carter have been given voice through the lyrics and singing of Ms. Pearl, whose deep friendship with Carter and his beloved wife Hilma served as inspiration to this truly wondrous work. Pearl hopes this recording, a real labor of love, will bring to todayâs jazz singers and their audiences the musical genius of this bandleader, composer/arranger, saxophone and trumpet soloist, whose artistry created a template for the Swing Era and beyond, in a career that spanned a staggering eight decades. Ms. Pearl, a talent with abilities nearly as broad as Mr. Carterâs himself, finally brings her long recognized excellence as a singer into the spotlight, having been diverted by her success as a tv and screenwriter (Designing Women, Waiting For Yvette) and playwright (Incomplete Strangers, About Sex). The result is a refreshing new sound that is simultaneously novel and mature, filled with artistry, wisdom and wonder.

As a child, Pearl loved to perform by lip-syncing to jazz great Dakota Staton. Her youthful turn in pop, club and jingle singing - jazzing and blusing it up - all prepared her for this project. Carter himself told Pearl that âshe could be a jazz singerâ and âhas a phenomenal rangeâ more than a decade ago after attending her critically acclaimed one-woman show, Chick Singers, in which she portrayed eight different female vocalists, from classical and country western to jazz and blues. Reviewers agreed, from Backstage West âsuperbly written and performedâ to âPearl could have a career just as an accomplished jazz singer.â to LA Weeklyâs âblessed with a wonderful alto voiceâ to LA Timesâ âPearl saves the best for last, performing songs as herself.â Two years ago, Carterâs widow asked Pearl to evaluate an unsolicited lyric sent to her for Bennyâs beautiful âPeople Time.â That neither was impressed was fortuitous - they decided Pearl would put her writing skills to work on the composerâs music. In the words of Carterâs biographer, Ed Berger (whose encyclopedic knowledge of all things Benny Carter gave Pearl much insight), âDeborah Pearl's longtime friendship with Benny and Hilma Carter has given her a deep appreciation of Benny Carter, the man, and special insights into his music. She is the ideal person to put lyrics to these quintessential Carter melodic masterpieces and to perform them with the sensitivity and understanding they deserve.â As youâre about to hearâ¦

The cd gets off to a swinging start with the great Carter himself, LIVE!, leading his Big Band and the Rutgers University Orchestra on âHappy Feetâ from his MusicMasters Harlem Renaissance recording. Pearl jumps in singing her hip lyric âHappy Feet (At The Savoy),â a nod to the amazing dancing at the legendary Harlem Ballroom (where Benny first met Hilma back in 1939). From there the vocalist and her trio -- pianist Lou Forestieri, bassist Kenny Wild and drummer Jimmy Branly â mesh seamlessly with Carter and the orchestra, trading off instrumental and vocal sections. Pearl opens with âDancinâ to the beat thatâs on the street/Kickinâ to the beat with happy feet,â later rhythmically fulfilling Carterâs prophetic vision of her abilities as a jazz singer with a scorching scat chorus, followed by Carterâs own solo with the orchestra with Pearl doubling the altoistâs line on the final chorus, followed by Forestieriâs piano solo that returns the trio to backing the singer before she takes things out with the full orchestra.

Pearlâs imaginative words to Carterâs joyously lilting melody âWonderland (Isle Of Love),â finds her full bodied voice conjuring images of the composerâs first meeting with Hilma and the exhilaration of love at first sight. Her ability to craft a vivid story to a nimble melody shines here as she sings âWhat a stumble/Happy tumbling in love with you/Youâre a wonder/And a spell that I fell under too/Every time I lose a mile/Think of you and Iâm beguiled/Fate has finally forced my hand/Stranded me in wonderland.â

Carterâs popular âPeople Timeâ (previously recorded by Stan Getz, Phil Woods, J. J. Johnson, Joe Wilder, and Roberta Gambarini with Hank Jones) is finally given the words its beautiful melody has so long cried for. Pearlâs warm, rich vocal enhances the emotional rendering of her lyric, which speaks to the Cartersâ private unrequited love that endured through three decades between falling in love and their eventual marriage. First recorded beautifully by Grace Kelly with Phil Woods on their new Man With A Hat cd, itâs both melancholy and joyous, with lyrics Kelly calls âbeautiful, philosophical, and deep,â telling a satisfying story of the timeless exultation of love.

âDoozy Bluesâ is a witty account of love and cell phones in the 21st Century, with Pearl rocking clever lines like âIâll make your passion ring ding-a-ling/A swinginâ ringtone that your heart can singâ and âPick up your text and text me the rest.â Reminiscent of Annie Rossâ âTwisted,â another melody written for horns sung with speed and dexterity, this tune is sure to be a crowd pleaser - and hopefully a ringtone!

Pearlâs âSunday Morning Comes,â a second selection from Carterâs Harlem Renaissance, (her days as a Barnard College coed were spent a subway stop away), is about loveâs ability to get us through anything. She dismisses lifeâs challenges with, âDonât care what a new day may bring/As long as Iâve got one single thing/My one day break from time/Work and all the grind/Sunday morning comes/Easing my weary mind,â ending romantically with âSunday morning comes whenever Iâm with you.â

âScattinâ Back To Harlem (aka Sugar Hill Slow Drag),â also from the Harlem Renaissance suite is a bluesy outing with Pearlâs words speaking of musicâs power to unite people in a universal âcool state of mindâ thatâs uniquely jazz. A power, she says, thatâs in us. âAnywhere is Harlem, itâs just a cool state of mind/Everywhere is Harlem, tunes are the ties that will bind/ Harlemâs in you, and you can go anytime.â

Bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Dave Karasony join Forestieri in the trio for âAgain and Again (I Try To Pretend),â a captivating Carter melody, somewhat reminiscent of Victor Youngâs classic âBeautiful Love,â complemented superbly by Pearlâs melancholic lyric, âAgain and again I try to pretend/And ask myself when your memories will end.â Filled with octave leaps and rich low tones, Pearlâs voice dips and soars like a saxophone in this emotionally full performance.

âAnniversary Dance (Song of Long Ago)â is an enchanting Carter tune in 3/4 time (his "Waltzing the Blues" was one of the very first jazz waltzes), from the altoistâs Japanese inspired Tales of the Rising Sun Suite. The track again features Carter with his Big Band and the Rutgers University Orchestra, opening with Pearl warmly intoning her Great American Songbook styled lyric alone with Forestieriâs expressive piano, then segues movingly into Carterâs sumptuous saxophone solo backed by the orchestra, before the singer steps out front with the big band for a rousing finish. âOur love rights any wrong/Loveâs a dance that lives on/You and me together, happily forever/In loveâs ever-after song.â And a song you could easily hear replacing the standard âAnniversary Waltzâ at those occasions.

Not even the exhaustive research of Ed Berger could turn up the identity of Carterâs âJohnny Trueâ. With no clues, Pearl instead found inspiration in the compositionâs melodic longing, and the nameâs historic civil war reference, leading her to âhonoring the wives, mothers and families of servicemen who wait for their loved ones to return home,â which she sings with touching poignancy.

In âSail Away With Meâ aka âSirius Samba,â written by Carter for the award winning Faith Hubley animated film Journey To Next (one his countless scores for the silver screen), Pearl blissfully sweeps us away to a tropical vacation. The trio, propelled by Karasonyâs driving Brazilian rhythms, stretches out with the singer, whose overdubbed backing vocals emphasize the songâs carefree feel.

âAn Elegy In Blue,â title track of Carterâs 1994 MusicMasters album, was written to memorialize the composerâs late friend from Japan, Dr. Kiyoshi Makita, founding president of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists. Pearl sings with convincing sorrow about the death of a friend who always looks on the bright side and always gets you through, but now is gone. Her vocal stings with emotion and irony as she sings, âYouâd raise your glass and say/Be sad another day/Play me an elegy in blue.â

The mood returns to joyous on âSky Dance For Two,â from Carterâs critically acclaimed Central City Sketches cd with the American Jazz Orchestra. Here Pearl finds the inspiration for her delightful lyric in the idyllic reunion of Benny and Hilma, singing exultantly âthat love puts wings on your shoes.â Ever true to her source, Pearl borrows the horn line from Carterâs arrangement and scats it with the piano.

Carter composed the title track, âSouvenir Of You,â upon hearing of the passing of his friend, fellow altoist Johnny Hodges and played the moving melody throughout his career in memory of departed musical colleagues. Here Pearl addresses her dear deceased friend with gratitude and grace, ending the cd with wise words that honor the man and his enormous contribution: âTime takes our verses away/But melodies live on/Forever playing your song/At heavenâs door/ And here, a souvenir of you.â

A touching tribute to one of the greatest jazzmen to ever live, Deborah Pearl brings to life the incomparable melodies of Benny Carter on Souvenir Of You, singing and swinging lyrics inspired by the man and his music. She says, âWe hope Bennyâs music will play on for decades to come.â Now with her words, it will sing on, too.