Valerie Joyce

[pljms]

A recently released Bacharach collection that seems to have slipped this site's attention is by a singer called Valerie Joyce. Called, surprise, Surprise, 'The Look of love - The Music of Burt Bacharach', it features 8 B&D standards plus a couple of songs from the Carole Bayer Sager years. She's accompanied by jazz pianist David Hazeltine, who had his own Bacharach collection released last year, entitled, 'Alfie - The Burt Bacharach Songbook'. I've yet to hear the Valerie Joyce album but can recommend the Hazeltine CD, especially if you're a fan of modern jazz.

[Steve Schenck]

Thanks for the heads-up on these new CDs. I'll be looking for them - especially the Hazeltine one; I like to hear jazz interpretations of Burt's songs. Steve

[pljms]

Although many jazz musicians have covered Bacharach over the years, only a few have recorded complete albums of his tunes. The two that immediately spring to mind are Stan Getz and McCoy Tyner, but both their efforts are marred by over elaborate orchestration when all you want to hear is these great musicians really get their teeth into Bacharach's chord sequences in a small group setting. Although, thankfully, the David Hazeltine album sticks to the piano trio format and he solos brilliantly throughout, he re-harmonizes the songs just a little too much for my liking and if you mess around with Bacharach's meticulously crafted chord sequences a good deal of the magic goes.

[steveo_1965]

Pljms,
I agree...too much of a radical change in the chord structure of any
pop song can be fatal for me to have to listen to....in jazz, thats usually the case...but with some of the old war horse tunes(pop standards of the 20s thru 40s)...its refreshing....
With Burt's music, it's nice when someone like Cal Tjader gives a good reading without slaughtering the chord structure of Burt's music.

Steveo