Not Just Another Pretty Bass [Import]

Jim Ferguson, Pat Coil, Chris Potter, Jim White | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 1, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Challenge
• ASIN: B00000J8B0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,078 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bassist and singer Jim Ferguson is undoubtedly a minority: people who sing and play an instrument in the jazz world are very few and far between. They might sell a whole lot of CDs (think Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr., if not 1998's surprise breakthrough Patricia Barber), but there aren't a lot of instrument-handling crooners about. Ferguson is even odder, playing acoustic bass while singing. But he's a wonder. He holds a great Southern-tinged voice, something that alternately echoes Lyle Lovett in its inflections, Mose Allison in its phrase shapes, and a mix of Mel Tormé and Chet Baker in its moods. The tunes Ferguson calls denote the chain of influence (note Allison's "Swingin' Machine" and the "The Real Thing," coauthored by Tormé and accorded Baker collaborator Gerry Mulligan), with swing pervading the CD as a shade rather than a full color, a vibe rather than a frank rhythm. Tenor saxophonist Chris Potter is in great form, caressing his phrases rather than bolting them to the floor. If it's a fine croon set into a slender jazz quartet context that you're after, check this out. --Andrew Bartlett

Terry Teachout, New York Times, August 8, 1999

New jazz singers are as thick on the ground these days as blockbuster movies, and just about as interchangeable. Not so Jim Ferguson, whose first album, "Not Just Another Pretty Bass," is the most distinctive recording debut since Diana Krall came along four years ago with "Only Trust Your Heart." ... though he can swing hard, he prefers to amble lazily through such wistful songs as "I Get Along Without You Very Well" and "Early Autumn," which he sings in the pensive manner of a man who has spent his share of sleepless nights wondering what might have been....The vocals are warm and irresistibly tender, and the band plays with the telepathic confidence of a longtime working group; the feel is that of a relaxed, intimate late-night set by a jazz singer of the first rank, backed up by a formidable quartet of instrumentalists who are at the top of their game...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching and sensitive interpretation of jazz tunes, October 8, 1999

By 

Caroline Donnelly ([e-mail]) (Auburn Al.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just Another Pretty Bass (Audio CD)

We were given this CD as a gift and it hasn't been out of my car CD player since!! After reading a bio of Jim we contacted him via e-mail and discovered he was going to be in our vicinity in one week as a back-up player with Crystal Gayle. We got tickets and met him after the concert. What a gracious and talented player he is. Our only dissapointment is that he is so busy with his duties playing back-up that he isn't regularly in any club so that his live performances are few and far between. He is writing actively and will have another CD out in the spring,with more of his own tunes on it. Again our assessment of his playing and personality can't be too enthusiastic. He is simply the best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of musical fresh air, December 29, 1999

By 

Charlie "wordwiz8" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just Another Pretty Bass (Audio CD)

As a terrific change of pace from rap, hip-hop, pretty-boy vocal groups with boring harmonies and country singers in big black hats, Jim Ferguson's Not Just Another Pretty Bass cd is a breath of musical fresh air. More than a virtuoso on the bass along with an open and inviting vocal style, Mr. Ferguson takes the musical form of jazz-influenced "standards" and delivers each song with an irresitable contemporary flair. From the whimsy in the title track, Not Just Another Pretty Bass, written by Mr. Ferguson, to the heartfelt performance of Blame it On My Youth, and all of the other cuts, we never tire of listening to it. We give it 5 stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smooth & cool, March 25, 2000

By 

Nanci "Book Dragon" (Tri-Cities, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just Another Pretty Bass (Audio CD)

Nashville jazz--I love it! Jim Ferguson has a voice as smooth as silky velvet.