Details
Track Listing
1. Check Up
2. Zwielicht :: Twilight
3. Glitter and Be Gay
4. Basquiat
5. It's Over
6. Creepin'
7. Nessun Dorma
8. Soldier in the Rain
9. Reach Out I'll Be There
10. Ladies Who Lunch, The
11. Larghetto
Album Notes
Personnel: Don Byron (clarinet, bass clarinet); Mark Ledford, Patricia O'Callaghan, Dean Bowman, Cassandra Wilson (vocals); Uri Caine (piano); Jerome Harris (acoustic guitar, acoustic bass); Paulo Braga (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, New York in April and May 2000. Includes liner notes by Don Byron.
One of the most flexible musicians on the jazz scene, clarinetist/composer Don Byron has, as a leader and accompanist, performed and recorded with bebop, klezmer, avant/free-jazz, hip-hop and large group '30s swing outfits, investing each with flair. A FINE LINE features his exploration of various aspects of the song form: European classics, Broadway/Tin Pan Alley, and 1960s Top Forty.
With Leonard Bernstein's "Glitter and Be Gay," you're transported to a sultry night in a European cafT where an elegant, operatic diva cuts loose with some jazz players--it's somber and stately, until a driving rhythm section takes over and dances with the diva. Roy Orbison's "It's Over" features the reflective, Bryan Ferry-like croon of Mark Ledford, and Stephen Sondheim's scornful "Ladies Who Lunch" gets a dusky late-night reading from Cassandra Wilson. The Four Tops' "Reach Out I'll Be There" gets a wistful exploration courtesy of Byron's understated yet soulful bass clarinet. Byron and company exhibit first-class musicianship and exceptional taste throughout.
Industry Reviews
...A gorgeous collection of arias and lieder by this [awesome] clarinettist...
Mojo (04/01/2001)
...Fine instrumental execution is guaranteed. But the choice of material is instantly disarming, not so much by its nature as its range....calculated eclecticism...
The Wire (12/01/2000)
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