Customer Reviews

Hearts of Fire

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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FIVE STARS!! New York Voices is a wonderful vocal group. They have won collaborative Grammy and Latin Grammy awards with the Count Basie Orchestra and Paquito D'Rivera ("Brazilian Dreams"). Picking out great contemporary jazz and classic pop songs, they execute them with their own flare and originality. Nothing like Manhattan Transfer in sound or arrangements, but surely in their tradition, as well as that of Lambert Hendricks and Ross/Bavan and the Double Six of Paris. This CD features the original killer New York Voices quintet of vocal stylists and sonic gymnasts.

My personal favorites are "Too High", "That's The Way Of The World", "Sassy Samba" and Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments".

But the 'Piece D'Resistance' has to be the incredible "Giant Steps". I heard this sizzling version over a decade ago on a car radio in Washington DC, I pulled over and I was blown away. I called the station, got the data and went out and bought it that night. I then added it to my 'best of the best' cassette tape for individual enjoyment. From the walking bass vocalese introduction, to Darmon Meader's killer vocalese solo, to the harmonic interaction of the entire group, and to the instrumental solos, this is an AMAZING PERFORMANCE of the Coltrane classic. In addition, the great solo of super pianist Mulgrew Miller and the superior drumming of Lewis Nash play an integral part in it's success. I would encourage anyone to buy this CD just to hear this performance alone. I play it over and over and over. WOW!! But if you buy the individual song through a music service, you would be cheating yourself of the rest of this excellent CD. The award winning New York Voices is a group demanding to be heard. Five BIG 'Scat Singing' Stars.

The five-part harmony in the original lineup of New York Voices is simply unearthly. On top of that they have amazing composers in the group. This record would be worth ten times its price for the original tunes alone. "Sign of Spring" and "Soon One Day" take me to another world entirely. This is possibly the group's best effort ever, but all of their first three records are mind-altering. Don't listen to this stuff while driving - you'll forget where you are! I can't recommend this one enough.