Customer Reviews

With a Song in My Heart

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had the pleasure of meeting Lew Soloff a few months back at The Carlysle Hotel in New York when he was backing Steve Tyrell along with his friend Lou Marini. Lew was kind enough to invite a few of us over to a club he was playing "after hours" and I was turned on to what Lew has been doing since his years with Blood, Sweat and Tears.

I immediately ordered "With A Song In My Heart" when I returned home and immediately took to all 9 tracks. This album has more tasty arrangements; thoughtful and insightful instead of trying to blow you away.

I highly recommend the CD for those of you wanting to step up from that terrible "smooth jazz" fluff and instead - want to listen to something that is "real" jazz with a smooth touch. You won't be disappointed.

Lew Soloff, always a great soloist in Gil Evans' band, is a wonderful soloist. His improvisations blew my socks off on Evans' recordings, and he is no disappointment here. A great solosist who deserves more recognition. Try this CD, you'll like its intelligence, creativity, and emotion.

Truly beautiful CD. Order it now. Its mellow, rich,sometimes swinging somwtimes moody and lyrical. Always extraordinary playing and music. One of the best jazz CD's I listened to in a long time.

This is a very relaxing and soothing recording, it might even lower blood pressure. Definitely one of the most beautiful recordings that I have heard. I would like to thank the reviewers who previously gave this recording high ratings and inspired me to acquire it.

I know Lew Soloff's work mostly from Blood, Sweat and Tears rather than from his jazz session work, so I was expecting something a little more brassy when I bought this about a year ago.
I didn't get what I expected, but I wasn't wholly disappointed either. There is a time and a place for music such as that presented on this CD, and that time and place is in any romantic setting when the lights are low and you are taking it slow.
The opening cut promised perhaps a little bit of up-tempo ambience, but the mood slips quickly into a laid-back, easy flow on subsequent cuts before winding up with a spirited rendition of the title song.
My favorites are Come Rain or Come Shine, Deguello, and the Near-Eastern flavored Istanbul.
Not everyone will like this CD. Those who like and understand traditional jazz stylings will be more likely to enjoy it than will those who prefer modern jazz or fusion. And, if you are looking for horn-driven funk/rock, forget it.
But I find it perfect for laying down a sophisticated and unobtrusive background ambience at the office in addition to the romantic settings for which it is seemingly tailor-made.