The Ritz Movin' Up

Ritz | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 20, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Denon Records
• ASIN: B000008C3X
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,445 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manhattan Transfer - MOVE OVER!!!, November 2, 2007

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This review is from: Movin' Up (Audio CD)

Vocal jazz fans, if you've never heard The Ritz, please run - don't walk - to grab your wallet and get a copy of this gem (and its sibling, self-titled "The Ritz) - how amazing to see it available again after so much time!!

The Ritz was a cool little band that seemed to work mainly out of Boston back in the 80's, a smoothly rhythmic vocal quartet with a rhythm section to die for. As a local music student with a love of jazz, I went to hear them live several times a year, and I literally mourned when the breakup began (with the departure of lead singer Sharon Broadley around '89/'90).

To be blunt, this group was all that I've always wished Manhattan Transfer WOULD have been - they're sharp, they're together, they're rhythmically clean, they have a close vocal blend (and they manage to do all of this without falling into that overly-precise, formal choral mode which feels too uptight for jazz) - and best of all, when they swing, it sounds like jazz, not rock or pop. To steal a line from a vocalese on an earlier album, they've got "just that certain combination of real and tight" that makes for great vocal/band work in the jazz genre.

But wait - I lied: BEST of all, True Believers, is that they don't just do great harmony and inspired vocalese - these cats SCAT! Three tracks on this CD feature vocal improvisation: check out Daryl Bosteels' laid-back styling on "Mister Flat-Five," the long wild trading sequence between Bosteels and Bob Martin in "Rhythm-a-ning," and energetic improv from the entire group in "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" (my personal favorite from live concerts).

Of the other tracks: "Basically Blues" turns the four voices into the horn section of a big band with a big ending; "Jeru" is cool and smooth and just enough off-balance; "Vine Street Bar and Grill" (probably my favorite on this album) is neatly and seasonably dissonant, a sharp-edged, wintry-sounding arrangement with a gorgeous solo intro from the deep-voiced Martin (while the marvelous Jeff Auger pulls fragile, delicately lush sounds from his piano - how DOES he do that?); "Perdido," a fun half-Latin/half-swing arrangement of the Ellington classic; "South of the Border," a fiesty little tune with a big percussion interlude from the incomparable (in my opinion) Les Harris, Jr. (though this particular piece doesn't show him off to best advantage, IMHO).

My least favorite tracks on this recording are "My Foolish Heart," a pretty but unexceptional ballad arrangement, and the title tune "Movin' Up," which, I confess, I wish had been placed anywhere but first in the lineup - it made a good attention-grabbing concert opener (which is why I suspect it got top billing here) and is a fun little tune, but it's hardly the best demonstration of this group's style and versatility, and the heavy electric sound of the opening belies the more intimate and subtle work by the masterful Marty Ballou on acoustic bass found in later tracks. But even when the material is less impressive, the skill of these fine musicians is worth a listen. The vocal unisons are as crisp and clear as the harmonies; the instrumentalists are perceptive team players. This is great stuff, folks. This is real musicianship coupled with a genuine feel for the genre.

If you haven't guessed by now why I'm still in love with The Ritz, even after all these years... well, you'll just have to try them and see. They're not perfect - but they're as close as I've EVER heard!