Trish Hatley - I Remember: 2nd Set (2015)

Tracklist

01. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing!)
02. Loverman
03. Shadow Waltz
04. I Don't Want to Hurt You
05. Four Brothers
06. Robbin's Nest
07. I'm Glad There Is You
08. A Sleeping Bee
09. Why Don't You Do Right
10. Midnight Sun
11. S'wonderful
12. An Occasional Man
13. Smile
14. Beyond the Sea
15. Thou Swell
16. That's All

Five years ago, West Coast vocalist Trish Hatley pleased her many jazz fans with an album full of classics from the past in I Remember. Familiar to Baby Boomers, Hatley faithfully covered beloved standards such as “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” “Cry Me A River,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Tangerine,” and of course, “Stardust.” Warm and comforting like a quilt on a winter’s night, surrounded by family, the 12-track medley of old favorites brought back fond memories to many of the listeners who first heard the songs on record players, the radio, and live in a big band, with jazz legends leading the charge.

She’s back on the second set with most of the musicians from the first, fulfilling the dream of executive producers Frank and Joy Wili, some of her biggest fans. They imagined Hatley bringing even more jazz classics — from the 1940s-‘60s — back to life. They called Hatley “the 21st century version of the great jazz singers of yesteryear” and entrusted her again with “the truly American art form.”

Released this year, I Remember – 2nd Set brings Hatley back with many familiar musicians: pianist/associate producer/co-arranger Darin Clendenin, bassist/co-arranger Larry Holloway, saxophonist/co-arranger John Anderson, drummer Ken French, percussionist Jeff Busch, guitarist Dave Peterson, flugelhornist Paul Mazzio, and trombonist Dan Marcus. With Hatley at the helm as producer, she and her fellow musicians proceeded to do due diligence to a second set of jazz classics, popular songs of their era: “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” “Lover Man,” “’S Wonderful,” “An Occasional Man,” “Smile,” and “Beyond The Sea.” And these only cover less than half of the second collection.

The vibe for the entire second set is easygoing swing, nothing too out there, no egomaniacal solo swaps — just pure lyricism, serving the silhouettes and the romanticism of a lovely, popular song.

The musicians two-step a light samba in “Shadow Waltz,” with well-intonated brassy tones and a percolating percussion fix. Then they borrow a mini-big band splendor in an Ella Fitzgerald-inspired “Robbins Nest,” with a horn section kept in time by pianist Clendenin and a lively whistling skip and a jump from Hatley. Ballads fall in line behind “Midnight Sun,” a showcase of Clendenin’s quietly moving touch. He arranged this and most of the other classics, allowing Hatley enough room to elaborate almost just below the mystery line. Hatley has a knack for letting certain pivotal points of a song hang in the air and linger. This is most true for the languid rhythm in “Midnight Sun” and “Lover Man,” her vocals taking on the role that perhaps a saxophonist might, or answering the horn’s beck and call.

The finishes of these numbers curl every edge, as yellowed postcards and photographs of a bygone time, slipping out of a forgotten attic-tucked scrapbook. From the fun, Pink Panther slink of “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” to the sentimental, tear-inducing vocal embrace of a surprisingly sturdy “Smile,” Trish Hatley shows that less is more, so much more.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]