A Tribute To Ella Fitzgerald – Performed By Clare Teal – Chasing the Dragon – Reel To Reel 1/2″ 15 ips

Clare Teal is backed by the Syd Lawrence Orchestra lead by Chris Dean for her tribute to the jazz diva Ella Fitzgerald. Teal performs jazz standards such as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, “I Get A Kick Out Of You”, “Anything Goes”, and “That Old Black Magic”.

“No left turns here, no postmodern reappraisals — just straight-ahead swing…And the sequencing is superb. Side A kicks off with three softly swinging numbers, and then, on “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead”, the orchestra raises the energy level a notch or three — enough to make one very curious about Side B, where, indeed, the music roars that much more, climaxing with “Too Darn Hot”, where Teal and the orchestra peak at the same time, yet sonics remain clean, with nice-sounding highs.” – Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound Read more!

“The playing is crisp (under the direction of Chris Dean), the arrangements are dynamic with nicely placed hard-driving kick drum accents, and Clare sounds, for all intents and purposes, like the fourth Andrews Sister. We should be grateful that someone is taking the time and spending the money to produce a direct to disk record but more grateful that the music lives up to the sonic promise.” – Michael Fremer, Analog Planet Read more!

“Mike placed Clare in the studio with the orchestra, and not in a separate cubicle. All that was between her and the orchestra was a glass screen and a single-ear Beyer DT102 headphone. Being a live recording, with no stops between the tracks, any rustling of pages or noises from trumpet and trombone mutes being picked up for quiet sections, or even vocal injections from the leader, Chris Dean, only add to the “liveliness” of the album.” – Janine Elliot, Hifi Pig Read more!

“I was looking for a “you are there” balance. Have we achieved it? Well, I loved the shuffling sound of the band turning the pages of the score and if you listen carefully, you can almost hear Chris the leader, counting everyone in…And the overall sound quality? Well, I think our new album has the “jump factor”, but this time I hope that you will feel that Clare is standing right in the center of the speakers and if there was a knob on the desk, which was marked foot tapping, I have this time been able to turn it all the way up to ten.” – Mike Valentine, producer Read more!

Musicians:

Clare Teal, vocals
The Syd Lawrence Orchestra