Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks - Cheek To Cheek (2012)

Yet another stellar CD by Vince and his Nighthawks. This time, they explore the musicals of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and capture perfectly the grace, beauty and appeal of the music they danced to. I always have to emphasize that, unlike so many other "period" jazz bands, the Nighthawks show absolute respect for early jazz, and present it as it was back in the early days - in its authentic form, rather than in the form of caricature. This album is a great one for introducing a listener to early jazz - these pieces are all standards, whereas most of the Nighthawks' other albums focus on lesser-known, but equally great, examples. ~Danielle Bennignus