Customer Reviews

Sing Sing Sing

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4 star:		(2)
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New York Voices' latest offering, Sing Sing Sing, does not disappoint! Fans of the group love their seamless blend and skill in the art of vocalese. This recording offers the latter with verve, with the added bonus of the group's covers of great old standards like the title cut, along with Stardust, Smack Dab in the Middle, I'll Be Seeing You, and others equally as recognizable. As a longtime fan, the only thing I can ever find wrong with this great group is the solos, which sometimes painfully reveal that voices which are powerful and gorgeous in a blend don't neccessarily have the quality or style I want to hear in a soloist. But even that weakness provides a foil for what the group does best -- wonderful harmonies, great musicality, and a tight vocal fit that provides lots of exciting sound. If you are a lover of the vocal arts, this one's for you!

"Sing Sing Sing" showcases NYV's artistic mastery and is, in this reviewer's humble opinion, a true showcase album for anyone interested in vocal jazz. This album features jazz and big band tunes from the World War II era. The vocals are truly stunning; ensemble moments are perfect blends of harmony and vibrato, scat solos soar over the band effortlessly, and solo passages are accompanied beautifully (by the other singers and the band). The arrangements for the band are tasteful and enjoyable- the instrumentalists prominent and powerful- never overpowering the vocalists. Fans of big band music will be impressed with this backup band and can appreciate the album for both its instrumental perfection as well as the amazing singers. I had a chance to see NYV perform the music on this CD live at a jazz festival in Pennsylvania and was immediately sold on the album more than a year before its release. Particularly stunning is the last track, an a capella arrangement of "I'll Be Seeing You". This track is among the most perfectly executed and beautiful arrangements you are likely to ever hear, regardless of musical style. Thanks to NYV for this disc of pure enjoyment. Everyone else... you need this CD!

On Saturday, November 3, The New York Voices accompanied andunaccompanied by the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, came to the restored Warner Theater in Torrington, Connecticut. I had never heard vocalists Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian, and a very pregnant Lauren Kinhan, before, but I sat enthralled as they performed 8 of the 14 titles on their Sing, Sing, Sing CD. They also gave the filled theater audience an example of Antonio Carlos Jobim's Desafinado, and after a standing ovation, they cameback for a final song with the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra. The quartet(plus) most impressed me when they rendered 2 of their songs acappella.

Increasingly, the New York Voices is becoming recognized as the best vocal jazz ensemble in the business, and this album is "Exhibit A" for that proposition. "Don't Be That Way" is my personal favorite: for 4 singers to be together in harmony at breakneck tempo like this is a wonderment to behold. And "Save Your Love For Me" rivals anything that came out of Motown. Besides the fact that the Voices sound tremendous as an ensemble, individually their voices are superb; and nowhere is this more evident than the set-ender "I'll Be Seeing You", an a capella answer to the oft-sung "Berkeley Square" done by the Manhattan Transfer and virtually every other amateur vocal jazz group in the U.S. Special word about Darmon Meador: He may be the best young male jazz singer around right now. Don't be surprised if he breaks out and goes solo someday.

They're singin' and they're swingin'! They're NEW YORK VOICES and they're back at last! Equally masterful at ultra-tight, harmonized, jazz vocal ensemble singing, as well as daring, individual vocal scat solo flights, vocalists Peter Eldridge, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader (who also blows a mean tenor sax!), and Kim Nazarian have delivered their most swinging outing to date. Backed by a roaring big band, NEW YORK VOICES puts a fresh, new- and decidedly vocal- spin on Swing Era and post-World War II big band classics, with Sing! Sing! Sing!

The New York Voices really know how to swing. This CD really shows it. The arrangements are absolutely fabulous. The tight crisp four-part harmony of the singers cut through the dynamite big band brass parts. We hear a very careful attention to nuance in the voices. Every little inflection, slide, and chord has been carefully fine-tuned giving the NY Voices the ultimate ensemble persona. Everything the group does together is completly synchronized. The album has incredible shape, starting off with an explosion of the vocalise of "Sing Sing Sing" and closing with the sultry, velvety chords of the a cappella "I'll Be Seeing You." Other stand out tracks include the trucking shuffle chart "Smack Dab In The Middle," the hillarious "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens," the cool, laid back "Bli Blip," and the Duke Ellington Standard "In A Mellow Tone" in which bass vocalist Peter Eldridge's smooth frothy voice takes the lead and executes an amazing vocalized transcribe solo (on LYRICS, not scat syllables.) Tenor Darmon Meader not only does some incredible vocal improvisation, but also exhibits his chops on the saxophone as well (which are just as good as his vocal solos.) This is truly some of the best vocal jazz around. This album is straight up big band jazz nirvana. Essential for the lover of jazz.

I only recently discovered the New York Voices. I wonder how I could possibly have missed them. "I'll be Seeing You" is perfect. I can't listen to anything else after it. I know I am a recent convert, so my enthusiasm may wane, but it may not, who knows?

If the two ballads weren't so gorgeous, this would be "Swing, Swing, Swing." The charts are full-bodied and the big band plays with incredible "pop!" The soloists are great, too. Meader is not just a great vocalist and arranger, he is fine saxman. The tight vocal harmonies are impeccably in tune. I have bought more than 10 copies of this CD to give to friends. It's one of my all-time favorites. If you liked the Four Freshmen or the Hi-Los, you'll adore this CD.

John Whitney, Allegany, NY

This album is ASTOUNDING. These songs get IN YOUR HEAD and you wake up after 8 hours of sleep and they are still in your head from when you listened to them the night before. That's how addicting it is, but trust me, it's a good kind of addiction. The only bad thing about it is that it will make everything else in your collection seem really boring by comparison. What makes the album so awesome are the harmonies and the song selections. Wherever they can, the arrangements really exploit the dissonant jazz harmonic potential that is inherent in the original compositions while still completely respecting the original melody and chord progressions. [For those of you who don't speak music theory, let's just say IT ROCKS.] Standout cuts are "Smack Dab in the Middle," "Orange Colored Sky," "Cloudburst," and "In a Mellow Tone." On "Mellow Tone," make sure you hang in there for the last couple of minutes when Kim Nazarian adds a super high harmony onto the mix. It will blow your mind.

Influenced by the Manhattan Transfer, not to mention hints of The Hi-Lo's and Take 6...a sound that is very contagious to say the least. Taking all the material from the pop and jazz genres, on this album we hear more traditional and standard tunes.

Their leader Darmon Meader (who also plays a mean tenor sax) joined by his rhythm section...consisting of Peter Eldridge, Lauren Kinhan and Kim Nazarian make up the New York Voices...with a harmony that is pure and clean as new fallen snow. Putting together some of the best songs from great composers ~ Ellington, Mercer, Prima, Carmichael and Goodman, just to name a few.

Of course the stand outs ~ "SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE", with a big band as their backup, reminisicent of the '40s..."EARLY AUTUMN", change of pace with a Johnny Mercer classic..."AIN'T NOBODY HERE BUT US CHICKENS", swing is the name of the game, as the Lauren and Kim strut their stuff.

We all had a swinging time, thanks to ~ Elliot Scheiner (producer), Glen Barros & John Burk (executive producers), Concord Records who always puts quality into every release...special thanks to the playful, powerhouse and joyful singers known as the ~ NEW YORK VOICES!

Total Time: 63:22 on 14 Tracks ~ Concord Records CCD-4961-2 ~ (2001)