Fay Claassen sings Chet.

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It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

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Maybe I should start by mentioning that in my youth I was a great fan of West Coast jazz, especially of the music of Gerry Mulligan. I listened to the Gerry Mulligan quartet day after days and today I can still sing in unison every single note that Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker played on such famous tunes as "Line for Lions" and "Walking Shoes". So when I received and listened to the Fay Claassen double CD named "Fay Claassen Sings Two Portraits of Chet Baker" Fay hit the jackpot with me.
The CD was done in remembrance of Chet 75th birthday. Listening to the first CD, it is quite obvious that it is like a retake of the famous Gerry Mulligan piano-less quartet, but we have Jan Menu on baritone, Hein van de Geyn on bass, John Engel on drums and Fay taking Chet's place on vocal.
Obviously the period that Chet spend with the Gerry Mulligan quartet was purely as a trumpet player, Fay sings Chet's parts, sometimes note for note.
Most of the famous Gerry Mulligan tunes are covered. It is also obvious that all four musicians know the music very well as sometimes it is just so uncanny how similar they sound to the original quartet. Fay scats in unison with the baritone sax just like Chet did with his trumpet, the interplay between the two is just fabulous, just listen to Fay on "Swinghouse" and "Poinciana".
Well when "Walking Shoes" came on I just could not resist I joined in, and sang in unison with them. It was so much fun!!!
Luckily for you this version does not appear on the CD.
The second CD is a different thing all together, Fay concentrate on Chet Baker vocal repertoire, with such tunes as "My funny Valentine" "The Touch of Your Lips", "Let's Get Lost", "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and even sings in Italian "Retrato em Branco epreto" ("Portrait in Black and White"). She sings very much in Chet style but uses a greater vocal range.
On this CD joining in are Jan Wessels on trumpet playing in the style of Chet, and Karel Boehle on piano.
The arrangements on the second CD are by bassist extraordinaire Hein van de Geyn, he obviously has a great affinity with Chet's music having been Chet's bass player for many years.
It is a concept CD, but it works well and most of all made me happy like no other vocal CD I bought in a long long time.
Fay is outstanding, her vocal abilities are limitless, she scats,sings to perfection.
I cannot think of any other jazz vocal cd that can even come close to challenge this one for best of 2006.

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Topic - Fay Claassen sings Chet. - jazz1 11:23:59 12/05/06 (0)

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