Songbook Ink’s Accentuate The Positive

The two-CD set Accentuate The Positive put out by Songbook Ink contains 21 classics from the Great American Songbook, all of which are familiar songs that are given superior and swinging treatments. In addition to revisiting the classic tunes, this twofer gives listeners an introduction to quite a few up-and-coming singers and instrumentalists.

After a lush instrumental version of “Moonlight Serenade” that features the superb clarinetist Felix Peikli with a string section (he also appears on three other songs including “Moonglow”), 14 different singers are featured and all are excellent. While Jane Monheit (who scats well on “Look For The Silver Lining”), Byron Stripling (vocalizing and playing hot trumpet on an uptempo “Blue Skies’), and Nicki Parrott (singing and playing bass on “Our Love Is Here To Stay”) are well known, the other mostly lesser-known vocalists hold their own and their names should be remembered for the future. They are Kate Kortum (who stars on “Stomping At The Savoy” and “It Had To Be You”), Wyatt Michael (displaying a warm voice on “Too Marvelous For Words” and “You Go To My Head”), Olivia Chindamo, Gretje Angell, Robbie Lee, Tahiri Clayton, Alphonso Horne (who plays some spectacular trumpet during “On The Sunny Side Of The Street”), Angela Gray, the inviting and enthusiastic Tahira Clayton, Renee Lubin-Holmes (who is assisted by Stripling on the title cut), and Lucy Wijnands. Each of the singers sound inspired by the opportunity to be showcased on this collection.

The supporting cast is also excellent. Konrad Paszkudzki, who ranges from Count Basie to Oscar Peterson in his playing, is the main pianist while some selections have Philip Grantly, Byran Reeder, Robbie Lee or, on one song, Champian Fulton. Dylan Shamat is the main bassist (with appearances by Hakon Bjorge, Mike Gurrola, or Ilya Osachuk), while the drummers are Kevin Congleton, Dag Markhus, Charles Ruggiero or Aaron Kimmel. Rhythm guitarist Sam Raderman is on three songs, altoist Klas Lindquist guests on two, and tenor-saxophonist Harry Allen is a strong asset on the two Kate Kortum features.

And, as if that is not enough, the late clarinetist Ken Peplowski is heard on one of his final recordings. He supports Lucy Wijnands on “That’s All” and is featured along with fellow clarinetist Felix Peikli on a dazzling instrumental rendition of “It Don’t Mean A Thing.” Peikli is quite impressive on the latter and holds his own with the masterful (and much-missed) Peplowski during the exciting clarinet battle. Even with its large assortment of singers and instrumentalists, Accentuate The Positive is consistently enjoyable with no weak performances. It certainly shows that there is still plenty of life to be found on swing standards.

Accentuate The Positive
Songbook Ink 44047
www.songbook-ink.com

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.