Al Basile Sets July 15 Release Date for New Jazz CD, Swing
n’ Strings, on Sweetspot Records, Produced by Duke
Robillard
Basile Will Perform Special CD Release Show on Thursday, July
24, at Rhode Island Historical Society’s “Concerts Under the Elms” in
Providence
RUMFORD,
RI – Singer/songwriter/cornetist Al Basile announces a July 15 release date for
his new swing-based jazz CD, Swing ‘n Strings, produced by Duke
Robillard, on Sweetspot Records. Backing Al Basile (cornet and vocals) on the
new album are Marty Ballou (bass) Fred Bates (guitar)., Rich Lataille (alto and
tenor sax) and Bob Zuck (guitar and vocal on “I Know What I’ve Got, Don’t Know
What I’m Getting”).
To
launch the new disc, Al Basile will perform a special CD release show with the
members of the band who recorded the new album with him on Thursday, July 24, at
the Rhode Island Historical Society’s “Concerts Under the Elms” series in
Providence.
While
a complete departure from his recent Woke Up in Memphis CD
released in May, Swing n’ Strings is a natural progression for Al
Basile, whose sound is informed by many influences, including, blues, soul,
gospel and - in this case - jazz. The
drummer-less band is modeled on the Ruby Braff-George Barnes quartet and gives
Al a chance to sing songs from the Great American Songbook that first influenced
his singing and songwriting, and stretch out on longer cornet solos than he
usually takes on his other CDs.
“I was already working with Duke
Robillard on my tenth solo CD, Woke Up in Memphis, for my
Sweetspot label, which used him and his band to back me on 14 of my own new
songs in a ’60s Memphis soul/gospel/R&B vein – very different from the
swing-based jazz of Swing n' Strings, especially when it came to
the vocal style,” explains Basile. “It made for a busy and rather schizophrenic
summer and fall for me, as we worked on both records simultaneously, often
switching from one day to another. But it was exhilarating as well. I'm
especially proud of the way Fred and Bob took to the studio experience, which
was a newer one for them than for the rest of us. It's certainly a lesson on how
one rainy day's disappointment can be transformed into a lasting source of
satisfaction.”
The “rainy day” circumstances on
how Swing ‘n Strings came to be recorded, originated from a
situation that initially didn’t start off so promising, according to Basile.
“We were booked to play an outdoor concert for the Rhode Island Historical
Society's summer series in July of 2013,” he recalls. “It had been a long time
since we'd played out, so it was easier to work up a new set list and new
arrangements than to try to remember the old ones. Fred and Bob began meeting at
my house for rehearsals in February, and they did a lot of great work arranging
the songs we chose for two guitars and bass. We brought Marty and Rich in for
later rehearsals and were ready to play when heavy rain on the day of the
concert forced a cancellation. The Historical Society had already committed their rain date to a band which
had been rained out earlier in the summer, so the best they could do was offer
us a date in 2014. This was very kind, but I knew it involved a problem: since
we worked so little, we would have no chance to repeat the new arrangements
enough to set them in our memories. After a year passed they'd be
forgotten.”
At this point, a special
opportunity presented itself to Al that enabled him to utilize both the new
songs and arrangements in a recording situation and have them ready to
perform when the 2014 concert series show came around. “I got a brainstorm,” he
remembers. “Let's record the new arrangements with the band and have both a
handy reference for us when next summer arrived, and a CD we could have
available to the concertgoers to commemorate the event they'd just heard.”
And so was born Swing n’
Strings, a jazz album of material composed primarily from such iconic
songwriters as Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne, Victor Young, Ned Washington,
Irving Berlin, Jimmy Van Heusen, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The one
departure from that repertoire is the inclusion of a swinging version of the
Lennon/McCartney classic, “Things We Said Today,” which recalls the kind of
treatment guitarist Wes Montgomery often did back in the ’60s/’70s jazzing up
pop tunes of the era.
“We give ‘Things We Said Today’ a
‘Moondance’ groove with a swing bridge,” explains Basile, “and I found the
original phrasing works fine over the different background. Soloing over the
form makes it seem different from the Beatles song I grew up with. Fred slipping
into ‘Secret Agent Man’ over Marty's ending groove was spontaneous so we left it
in.”
For more information, visit www.albasile.com
Rhode
Island Historical Society’s Concert — Swing n’ Strings with Al Basile
Date: Friday, July 24, 2014 6:30 –
8:00 pm
Ticket Price: $10 per person. Free
for RIHS members and children under 12 years old
Venue: The John Brown House Museum,
52 Power Street, Providence, RI 02906
Phone: (401) 331-8575
x133
