The Bill Emery Band - It Is What It Is; Songs for My Father and Other Jazz (2019)

This album of jazz and songs is the result of an impromptu recording session in 2018. Bill Emery and the other musicians (Chris Wojtecki - saxophones, Vicki Norris - keyboards, Reed Ellenberger - Bass, and Bobby McGuffin - drums) all are busy and enjoy playing live jazz, dances, and performances to a variety of audiences and ages. The songs we have recorded were picked for listening pleasure as well as getting up in the middle of the room and dancing (solo or with a partner). The music comes from what's known as the Great American Songbook, the "canon" of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century (per Michael Feinstein, founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation). Many thanks go to all the performers of these songs that have given inspiration and made us feel so good over the years including Nat "King" Cole, Horace Silver, William "Count" Basie, Louis Prima, Ray Charles, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley (AKA, The Righteous Brothers). I hope you will enjoy the album, Bill Emery