A Day Like This

It doesn’t seem to matter if it is Kinhan’s lush vocals on “The World Keeps You Waiting,” Nazarian’s cooing on “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning,” or Meader’s scat solo on “On A Clear Day;” the vocal ensemble is always breathtaking. The timbre of Eldridge’s voice adds depth and texture to many of these great songs.  

The elegant, well-textured arrangements written for songs such as “A Day Like This,” or Meader’s arrangements for “On A Clear Day,” are in my estimation even better than the original arrangements. That is no disservice to Burton Lane (lyrics by Alan Lerner), who wrote the song for the musical, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever; it is simply to say that Darmon Meader took an already strong composition and made it even better.

Like the Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices has defied time and the short lifespan that is the inevitable fate of so many talented musicians and artists. They have done so by continually providing breathtaking vocal performances such as we hear on “Love You Madly” and “As We Live And Breathe.” The listener experiences the thrill that you can only experience while listening to music that is to be treasured and held in your heart.  
 
 

This CD has so many great musicians it is a shame that we cannot mention all of them. They include Meader who doubles on tenor sax and Eldridge who doubles on piano, as well as Paquito D’Rivera’s pretty clarinet playing on “Chamego (Betty’s Bossa)” and Jay Ashby’s masterful trombone solo on John Coltrane’s “Noticing The Moment.” Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet), Dave Samuels (vibes) and Gil Goldstein (accordion) all put in great performances on A Day Like This. We would be remiss in not mentioning that Nazarian and Eldridge wrote lyrics for the original instrumental, “Noticing The Moment,” and it further enhances the music. “No Moon At All” is an enchanting tune that had me wishing I was on a ballroom floor. Mike Tomaro has an absolutely wonderful baritone saxophone solo.  
 

New York Voices provides good contemporary interpretations of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ’Bout A Thing” and revitalizes Laura Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic.” I really liked what Eldridge and Meader did with the new arrangements for the latter, and the ensemble, well for lack of a better word, adds a lot of soul. On the Wonder tune, Chuck Loeb guests on guitar and, as one would expect, is stellar. Jay Ashby’s percussion is energetic.   
 

This is already a classic CD and it doesn’t hit the streets until this week.