Paul Marinaro
Vocalist
Some great music, books, movies...
For anyone interested, I'd thought I would add some musical recommendations. These are the albums that I'm currently listening to, the ones that drive me happily up the wall every time! If you're curious, check some of them out. I'd love to know what you think. Happy listening!
Check it out...
*An impeccable album from Sassy, certainly ranking as one of her best. Her renditions of selections such as "Lullaby of Birdland", "April in Paris", "I'm Glad There Is You", and "Jim" are breathtaking, and are definitive. Sarah's vocal prowess is soaring and the support that Clifford Brown provides is brilliant, adding up to a five star performance by all. It doesn't get better than this.
A truly brilliant concept album; a landmark album not only for Sinatra, but also in the canon of great American recordings. The theme of loneliness has rarely been recounted with such maturity, depth, and sincerity. Sinatra is at his most expressive and vulnerable, his interpretation is knowing and real. In Sinatra's voice, the listener gets a very palpable sense that the songs are being lived rather than performed, and the sound is haunting. The orchestrations by Nelson Riddle are stately yet brooding, creating a bleak atmosphere of loneliness. At it's core, the album is a set of some of the best saloon songs ever written. "Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely" sits at the top of the list of the true Sinatra masterpieces, and should be required listening for any singer.
This one is with the Oscar Peterson Trio and is one of Anita's best. It has the spontaneity and energy of a jam session, and it proves to be a great pairing of the two artists. Anita turns in surprisingly tender versions of "I've got the World on a String", "Tenderly", and "Bewitched", and shows how her distinctive style is adapted to ballad singing. She sings alongside the Trio on cookers like "Them There Eyes", and "Love Me or Leave Me", all of them sounding like a well-oiled machine. The music here is creative, yet accessible. All of her albums that she recorded for Verve during the 50's and early 60's are highly recommended, and this one is at the top.
This one I have on vinyl and it sounds amazing. Each year at the first hint of Autumn, I play this album and get lost in it all over again. Joining Cannonball Adderly is trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Hank Jones, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Art Blakey, who all sound inspired by each other. The opening track, "Autumn Leaves", is mesmerizing, an achingly beautiful interpretation that is everything it ought to be. This is truly one of my all time favorite recordings.
An often over-looked masterpiece in comparison to "Only the Lonely" or "In the Wee Small Hours", this concept album from 1957 is brilliant. It remains unique and powerful; a moody collection of torch songs featuring Gordon Jenkins' lush, melancholy arrangements. As with all of Sinatra's concept albums, a theme is closely followed with each song chosen, it's mood being fully realized in it's title track. Here Sinatra sets a mood of a man once again lonely, passionately yearning for love, and questioning it's absence. Sinatra's vocal is knowing, covering the full range of expression. His tone is a touch darker than on other albums from this period, adding greatly to his intrepretations. His voice is never a fully controlled instrument, using an erratic vibrato that is searching, almost nervous, but fully expressive and descriptive. These are the nuaces that give his readings a more human, realistic quality. As an intrepreter of popular song, Sinatra demonstrates his immense skill at phrasing not only by his masterful shaping of a particular line, but also by painting individual words. The songs choices are stellar, a standout being the title track "Where are You?", which opens the album with a question, thereby setting the mood for the entire album. Other standouts include the moving "Lonesome Town", the haunting "Laura", and the quiet, contemplative beauty of "Autumn Leaves". As a whole, if albums could be related to seasons, this one is autumn.
