Introducing Sunny & Her Joy Boys [ENHANCED]

Sunny & Her Joy Boys

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 24, 2009)
• Original Release Date: March 24, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Stony Plain Music
• ASIN: B001SO6KTM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,783 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A man of my advanced hipness expects any album that numbers Duke Robillard among the personnel to be the bee's knees. But even by his standards this is simply gob-smacking: Sunny And Her Joy Boys are not merely the bee's knees, but the cat's spats, the whelk's kneecap, and the dromedary's drawers; and their debut INTRODUCING... is what the doctor ordered, why the preacher danced, and about as much fun as you can have with your pants on. Sunny Crownover is just miraculous, a truly breath-giving talent. Together she and Her Boys are perfect avatars of what the world needs now more than ever: Good Time Music, Like They Used To. I started to smile seconds into the first track, and never stopped. The emotional weather created in my head was defined by the group creating it: Sunny, warm and humid, with cool breezes. INTRODUCING... was the title of the Beatles' first American album, and I hope this one does at least as well. Sunny And Her Joy Boys definitely gave this boy toy the flatfoot floogie with a floy floy, Roy. --Spider Robinson

Product Description

Introducing Sunny and Her Joy Boys is the debut CD from singer Sunny Crownover, backed by a band led by acclaimed guitarist/producer Duke Robillard.

Introducing Sunny and Her Joy Boys is the brainchild of award-winning guitarist and producer Duke Robillard, and debuts the stunning voice of Sunny Crownover, whose beautiful interpretations of these tunes from the Great American Songbook are nothing less than a revelation. Sunny spent a large part of her life in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Austin area and is now based in New England. Robillard heard her sing for the first time in late 2007 at a Harvard University concert and knew he'd found the voice he was looking for to bring a project to life he'd been wanting to do for over 35 years.

That project became Introducing Sunny and Her Joy Boys, a CD that salutes the golden era of women vocalists of the '20s through the '50s, where big bands and small combos alike created classic American pop, swing and blues songs of the day. Robillard assembled a small all-acoustic group to provide sympathetic backing to Crownover's voice, with the talented Billy Novick on clarinet and alto saxophone, Duke and Paul Kalesnikow on arch top guitars and Jesse Williams on acoustic bass. Many of the tracks were done in one take, a testament to the chemistry between the singer and band.

Robillard delved into his encyclopedic knowledge of this music and put together an amazing group of songs that complement both Crownover's voice and also play to the band's musical strengths and sterling arrangements. Included are gems from the pens of such classic jazz and swing composers as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Chick Webb, to Tin Pan Alley legends Harold Arlen, Ned Washington and Victor Young.

Some of the album's many highlights are the opener, "Strictly from Dixie," originally popularized by Ella Fitzgerald; Walter Donaldson's "You're Driving Me Crazy;" the bluesy ballad, "That's My Desire;" the classic "Between the Devil and the Deep Blues Sea;" the gorgeous Ellington/Strayhorn composition, "I Don't Mind;" Billy Holiday's "Travelin' All Alone;" the seminal Ellington ballad, "I Got It Bad (and that Ain't Good);" and another great Chick Webb/Ella Fitzgerald hit, "Undecided."

This enhanced CD also includes a video performance of the album track, "You're My Thrill," playable on most computer CD players.

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