CAROL SLOANE - Dearest Duke (2007) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Jazz vocalist Carol Sloane covers ballads on Dearest Duke, generating a mellow love letter to one of America's greatest jazz composers, Duke Ellington. She's joined in her effort by clarinetist Ken Peplowski and pianist Brad Hatfield for a spare, intimate set that allows Sloane's voice to stand front and center. There is a hazard to stringing a dozen ballads together, mostly that an album will fall into a familiar pattern. Listening to a dozen Ellington songs performed by a sympathetic interpreter, however, builds thematic unity, creating an album well suited for late-night and lazy afternoon moods. And how can one fail with songs like "Mood Indigo," "In a Sentimental Mood," and "Sophisticated Lady"? The overall proceedings are only interrupted by slight variations in approach, as when Peplowski and Hatfield perform the instrumental "Serenade to Sweden" and Peplowski adds his vocals to "Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me)." Sloane's approach may seem a bit old-fashioned by those who have become accustomed to the more polished sounds and production of Diana Krall and the current crop of torch singers, but what of it? There's something to be said for bringing all musical elements to bear on the singer and the song, and this approach works just fine on Dearest Duke. Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.  
Tracklist :
1     Sophisticated Lady 5:02
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Mitchell Parish
2     Solitude 4:48
Eddie DeLange / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
3     I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart/Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me 4:17
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Henry Nemo / Bob Russell
4     I Didn't Know About You 5:01
Duke Ellington / Bob Russell
5     Serenade to Sweden 5:46
Duke Ellington
6     Mood Indigo 4:18
Barney Bigard / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
7     Rocks in My Bed/I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues 5:38
Duke Ellington / Don George
8     In a Sentimental Mood/Prelude to a Kiss 5:09
Duke Ellington / Manny Kurtz / Irving Mills
9     Day Dream 5:34
Duke Ellington / John Latouche / Billy Strayhorn
10     I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good 6:43
Duke Ellington / Paul Francis Webster
11     Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'/All Too Soon 6:18
Duke Ellington / Lee Gaines / Carl Sigman / Billy Strayhorn
12     Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me) 3:11
Duke Ellington / Lee Gaines
Credits :
Clarinet – Ken Peplowski (pistas: 6 to 8, 12)
Piano – Brad Hatfield
Tenor Saxophone – Ken Peplowski (pistas: 1 to 3, 5, 10, 11)
Vocals – Carol Sloane (pistas: 1 to 4, 6 to 12), Ken Peplowski (pistas: 12)