Customer Reviews

Standard Time

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Steve Tyrell has done it once again. His debut, "A New Standard," was an incredible piece of art ('nuff said). When an artist has tremendous success with his/her freshman offering, the followup can be disappointing. Not so with this disc.

Tyrell has turned the pages back on the Standards and given us another great performance. For those jazz enthusiasts, Jane Monheit, an up-and-coming jazz vocalist in her own right, is featured on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" while trumpet master Clark Terry provides background vocals on "What a Little Moonlight Can Do." Finally, the last song on this disc is a tribute to Sweets Edison, the great trumpetist who passed shortly after appearing on Steve's first CD. This disc has a great mix of the slower, melodic standards as well as upbeat tunes. Tyrell's gravelly voice is at its peak here.

For those who enjoy big band standards and classic jazz, check out Steve Tyrell. He really does a great job of mixing the genres to present a great listening experience.

As with the last Tyrell offering, purchase one for your office, car and home. You need this music around!

Fans of Steve Tyrell know this: Steve Tyrell has earned his place in history. His first album, A NEW STANDARD was a perfect piece of work. This second release, STANDARD TIME, seals it.

How much excellence can one absorb? On first hearing, one is blown away by the spirit of the thing; the rhythm, the sound. What a Voice! What a Band! It's obvious that he's having a lot of fun. You know the songs. Even the youngsters are recording them, some of them very well. Steve Tryell is giving them back to us the way they ought to sound.

With the same swinging band from A NEW STANDARD--world-class players from the era of big bands and jazz joints--and more excellent songs, more brilliant arrangements, and a voice too marvelous for words, Steve Tyrell has given us more reason to dance, to smile, to listen.

He's a man of many moods, this Steve Tyrell. Listening to him sing is like watching an accomplished actor read his lines. His heart aches with "That Old Feeling," and the haunting "Stardust." He isn't maudlin about it. It's just a fact. His take on "I Wonder" is fun, and it seems to make the song more important than it ever was before. "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" will sweep you away to New Orleans, with the band having as much fun as Tyrell. The Gershwins would be proud of his sincerity on "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and his longing on "Someone To Watch Over Me.". But listen closely to "Ain't Misbehavin'." Isn't that a wink? And when Jane Monheit joins him for "Baby, It's Cold Outside" the wolf comes alive in him. Their rendition beats the old, and even the new, takes on this delightful piece.

Add this album to your shopping cart. Once it starts playing and you start grinning you may find you want to keep it playing all the time. It's a straight shot of joy.

Steve Tyrell is a stylish, unique singer with a gravelly, charming voice, and he delivers a song in an easy, comfortable manner; there is always a touch of humor one can sense, and a merry twinkle to the interpretation. In this aspect Tyrell is a little like singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer, but perhaps their greatest similarity is that they are both one-of-a-kind talents. The songs are a great collection, standards with heavenly melodies and terrific lyrics that take one back to a simpler time; they also lend themselves well to the jazzy, big band arrangements in this recording, giving the musicians some leeway to express their artistry.

Favorites include "That Old Feeling" (Brown/Fain), with Plas Johnson's honey mellow sax solo, and "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (Woods), which includes a vocal by Clark Terry as well as his marvelous trumpet solo. "Baby, it's Cold Outside" (Loesser), a classic recorded in 1949 by Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting (and many more like Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan), is here given a delicious rendition with Jane Monheit.

No small part of what makes this CD a total winner is the superb musicianship from a stellar group of instrumentalists that are tops in their field:
Bob Mann, arrangements and guitar
Kenny Asher, Joe Sample, and Alan Pasqua, piano
Clark Terry, trumpet
Bob Cranshaw, Bob Magnusson, and Chuck Berghoffer, bass
Allan Schwartzberg, John Guerin, drums
Plas Johnson, sax
"Toots" Thielemans, harmonica
Jane Monheit, vocals on "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
The final track is the last recording by Harry "Sweets" Edison, who passed on in 1999, and his trumpet solo is sweet indeed.
Even those that don't care for Tyrell's voice and style will appreciate the extraordinary artistry of the bright and polished musicianship. Sound is excellent and total playing time is 56'02.

This CD is the second of Steve Tyrell's three superb albums of standards and it features my all-time favorites such as "It All Depends On You," "It Had To Be You," "Our Love Is Here To Stay," "Ain't Misbehavin," "What A Little Moonlight Can Do," "I'm In The Mood For Love" and "That Old Feeling" which according to him is one of Sinatra songs that he loved.

This beautiful CD, "Standard Time" is one of the most remarakbly gorgeous albums of standards ever recorded. It has the backing of seasoned and talented musicians headed by Bob Mann, Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Alan Pasqua, Plas Johnson, Joe Sample and Sweets Edison, to name a few. I'm not saying this simply because I've seen him performed recently before a live audience at the Starlight Bowl but he's really best suited to sing these standards, which according to him "have no expiration dates!" ;)

Listening to this CD is so contagious but never tiring. Track-wise: tasteful and exquisite! Performance-wise: simply superb! Arrangements-wise: fabulous! Back-up-musicians-wise: talented and amazing!

Something that caught my eye on the liner notes - a photo of Steve Tyrell at a restaurant and looking at a menu written on a black board . . .

"Tonite's Specials"

Clark's Hot Chops
Toots' Tartar
Plas' Platter
Sweets' For Dessert
Free Samples

A very good addition to your collection of fine music. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

The first time I heard Steve Tyrell's voice, I was in a coffee shop. I immediately asked the manager who was playing. He told me that everytime they played his CD, at least 10 people a day would ask the same thing. "We used to sell his stuff, but it would sell out the same day it arrived." he told me.
I headed straight to the music store!

OK, so you can scroll down and read about all of the great, talented musicians who helped to make this a spectacular piece of work. But what I want to tell you is how this music makes me FEEL. I can never turn it on without smiling by the first sound of Steve's voice. No matter how stressed or depressed you are, I dare you to listen to this music and not feel better.
My 13 year old used to roll her eyes when I would slip this CD in. Now I find her borrowing it! His voice and choice of music melt it all away like a hot bath and a good glass of wine (which by the way...I reccomend enjoying along with this CD.)
Somebody prove me wrong...listen to this music and see if it doesn't put a pep in your step and make you think all's right with the world again! (Makes for great background music at parties as well.)

I am only 18 years old and not really a jazz fan, but after hearing Standard Time, jazz music seems much more of an alternative to listen to. I heard the CD through my friend whose dad is in the music business and surprisingly to myself I enjoyed it. The songs "Baby it's cold outside" and "What a little moonlight can do" are two songs that I enjoyed the most. With the singing of that girl, whoever playing the trumpet,and most important the voice of Steve Tyrell the two songs gave me a sense of comfortness and romanticness that i have never heard before. As you can see with my use of "that girl" and "whoever playing the trumpet" I know nothing about jazz and if i enjoyed it everyone can and will enjoy it. I suggest everyone buy a copy for anyone they know and spread the enjoyment of the voice of Steve Tyrell.

Thank you Today Show for doing a feature on Steve Tyrell. (Incidentally, he's a great man as well. He tragically lost his beloved wife to cancer a few years ago -- the focus of the piece -- and is raising three great kids.)

But I digress. After the Today Show piece, I immediately ordered his CDs and have not stopped listening to them. What a deft touch he has to the standards...and what a marvelous voice. He sings with such passion and feeling. He is a master of these standards.

Get this album. A MUST. Songs are the great ones and the guests complete the recording!!!

I stumbled across Steve Tyrell by accident a year ago when I heard him croon a very brief version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in the film '20 Dates'on HBO.I assumed I had heard Dr. John and looked all over for it with no success.I went out and rented the movie so I could pay attention to the credits and found out that the vocalist that had moved me to tears was none other than Steve Tyrell. This led me to his first CD, A New Standard.I was blown away.
Standard Time continues where Tyrell's first release left off. In fact they sound as if they both came from the same sessions. As with the first CD, the players and arrangements are top notch and compliment Tyrell's expressive voice perfectly. I'm not a professional critic but I know what I like and Steve Tyrell has once again brought a smile to my face.
If you've never heard him before, imagine Tyrell's voice as a combination of the charismatic grit of Dr. John with the tasteful and subtle phrasing of Ray Charles. This guy is GREAT. He sounds as if he's enjoying himself and it comes across contagiously. Crack open a good bottle of vino and put both of his CDs in continuous play mode. The object of your affection will be putty in your hands.

I have to thank a friend, Patrick English, for introducing me to the wonderous talents of the uniquely stylish Steve Tyrell. Patrick urged me to buy "A New Standard," and I became a Major Fan after hearing the first song. No one had to suggest that I buy "Standard Time," it was strictly my own idea.....and a very good one at that! Are we in a smoke-filled piano bar or a chic supper club when we hear Tyrell croon his way through 'Someone to Watch Over Me,' 'Everytime We Say Goodbye' and 'That Old Feeling'? Nope, he just has the magical talent and husky-voiced delivery to make us THINK we're there....and grateful to be, too. Plus, I haven't heard any singer since the late, great Roberta Sherwood...or maybe Hank Williams Jr...have so much FUN with 'Ain't Misbehavin'. Three diverse singing styles, yet Sherwood, Williams, and Tyrell make you enjoy that song because they obviously enjoy it so much! He also displays all that is good and right about jazz when he breathes new life into old chestnuts...'Stardust' and 'Until the Real Thing Comes Along' are jewels in his musical crown. Perhaps the highlight is when he takes what is basically a "woman's song"...the tear-jerker 'Why Was I Born,' first immortalized by 20's torch singer Helen Morgan, and much later by Polly Bergen portraying Morgan...and turns it immediately into a Steve Tyrell Classic. What a great talent!.....thanks again, Patrick. Any other recommendations?