Search - Jackie Ryan :: Best Of Love Songs

Make every day Valentine's Day with 'one of the outstanding vocalists of her generation and, quite possibly, of all time,' as JazzTimes states. Featured on NPR, Voice of America, CNN TV, En Español, and Primetime A&E, 'Jackie bridges gaps between both geography and generations,' as Billboard aptly puts it, and delivers 15 songs you can both fall in love with, and fall in love to. Whether you are in the mood for a sensuous Brazilian love song, or a passionate Spanish bolero, a rarely performed jazz gem or a sizzling classic, these songs will keep the home fires burning. Two-time GRAMMY-Award nominee Ernie Watts and the legendary Red Holloway (Billie Holiday, B.B King, Muddy Waters) ignite the sessions with incendiary sax, backed by some of the jazz world's finest musicians: Jon Mayer, Tamir Hendelman, Larry Vuckovich, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff Chambers and a host of others.Throughout the recording Jackie captures a full range of romantic feelings - all with stunning arrangements and stellar accompaniment: take note of Ernie Watts solo on Make It Last, Red Holloway's on Let There Be Love, and Allen Smith's (featured soloist of the Benny Goodman Orchestra) on the rarely performed Now Or Never penned by Billie Holiday. Selected from three recordings released from 2002 to 2006, Best of Love Songs reflects the seemingly limitless breadth of Jackie Ryan's myriad musical gifts: classic romantic ballads like Harry Warren's Serenade In Blue and Ray Noble's The Very Thought Of You, a swinging guitar rendition of Oscar Hammerstein's When I Grow Too Old To Dream, a poignant harp arrangement of Livingston/Evan's You Are There - rounded out by two originals graced with her own insightful lyrics. Having composed vocalese lyrics note for note to the scorching bop sax solos of Benny Carter's Doozy and Joe Henderson's The Kicker, Ms. Ryan possesses a keen ear for jazz phrasing and its internal rhymes, and her natural affinity for the language of jazz extends deeply into its intricate structures. Give a close listen to the hauntingly poetic lines found on this CD's Seasons of The Heart and the jubilant jazz turns of phrase in Once In Everyone's Life. Her natural affinity for languages is on full display here with three Latin songs - one sung in Portuguese and two in Spanish, reflecting the heart of Jackie's Latin heritage. Best of Love Songs is a fundamental acquisition for anyone interested in this artist. Her last release, Doozy, was the #1 CD nationwide on JazzWeek's industry-standard chart - for 7 weeks (a record exceeded by only one other vocal CD in the chart's history) and the 3rd most played jazz CD on radio for the entire year - finishing as the #1 vocalist on JazzWeek's Top 100 CDs of 2009 and atop many critics' end-of-year lists. In fact, Jackie was one of only 5 vocalists voted by critics to make JazzTimes' TOP 50 CDs of The Year.PERSONNEL - Vocals: Jackie Ryan; Sax: Ernie Watts, Red Holloway, Noel Jewkes; Piano: Jon Mayer, Tamir Hendleman, Larry Vuckovich, Leonard Thompson; Drums: Jeff Hamilton, Roy McCurdy, Omar Clay, Eddie Marshall; Percussion: Luis Romero; Trumpet: Allen Smith; Bass: Christoph Luty, Jeff Chambers, Darek Oles, John Wiitala; Guitar: Barry Zweig, Larry Koonse; Harp: Carol Robbins.