As I write this, it’s September 2. The weather in southwest England is mostly still good, with mid-afternoon temperatures regularly approaching 25℃. But meteorologically speaking, we’re now officially in autumn so—as far as my wife is concerned—it’s spooky season. Krissy wants hygge, hot chocolate, Hallowe’en décor, and Hannah Gill, who has just graced our hi-fi with another installment in her Spooky Jazz series. And in truth, I’m here for it.
I could have sworn I critiqued last year’s Spooky Jazz Vol. 2… but I can't find any trace now, so apparently I did not. I must have been too busy listening, dining and jigging about to the record—I played it a lot—to review it. (Fortunately, Joe Bebco cast a critical ear over both previous releases in 2024.) Like those discs, Vol. 3 features a fantastic set of swing and blues tunes, both classic and original, with more or less creepy themes. You’ve got titles like the vaguely nocturnal “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (sadly not the jazz cover of Green Day that I got excited for), the implied witchiness of “Moon Ray” and the positively paranormal “My Friend the Ghost,” for instance.
This isn’t your typical costume party soundtrack—you’ll find no “Monster Mash” here. Instead you’ve got hidden gems like Betty Hutton’s “He’s a Demon, He’s a Devil, He’s a Doll” and Dinah Washington’s
