TOMMY CECIL - American Melodies (2020)

Tommy Cecil and Nate Najar bring together their individual musical personalities for "American Melodies" yielding a varied, swinging, melodic program. Drawing from Broadway classics, jazz compositions, popular song and classical selections, they approach each track with a unique sense of aesthetic, reverence and atmosphere. From the macabre humor in Sondheim’s “A Little Priest” and the driving swing of Tommy Flanagan’s “Minor Mishap” to Ned Rorem’s poignant and beautiful “Romance Without Words,” Cecil and Najar have crafted an eclectic and picturesque journey through American music. Composers as diverse as Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Samuel Barber, Richard Rogers and even Billy Joel are represented in stunning audiophile sound. Tommy Cecil previously released recordings devoted to the music of Stephen Sondheim- Will Friedwald wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “...delivers blissfully swinging improvisations on such contemporary theater classics as 'Our Time'-showing that piano and bass can 'sing' more beautifully than many performers currently on Broadway." "All About Jazz" proclaimed Nate Najar to be "one of the finest classical guitarists in the business today".