Dreamsville

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Strictly in terms of recognizable standards, Stacey Kent's 2001 album, Dreamsville, might be hard-pressed to measure up to her 2000 NPR smash Let Yourself Go, a snappy, swinging tribute to the great dancer-singer-actor Fred Astaire, but it's still a sterling example of the girlish charm of London's top jazz vocalist. This collection of ballads ranges from the Gershwins ("I've Got a Crush on You," the underrated "Isn't It a Pity") to Henry Mancini (the dreamy title tune) all the way to Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman ("Hushabye Mountain" from the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). That it works seamlessly is a tribute to the singer's relaxed way with a lyric, excellent support and solos from a band featuring reedman Jim Tomlinson (Kent's husband), guitarist Colin Oxley, and pianist David Newton, and solid arrangements by Kent and Tomlinson. --David Horiuchi

BBC Music Magazine, January 2000
...Dreamsville is a superb addition to an already highly distinguished series of albums by one of the finest intepreters of a song since Ella Fitzgerald.

Album Details
The New York Native who Resides in England is a Formidable Presence on the Modern Jazz Scene. This is her Fourth Album Exploring the Standards and the Reviews have all Been Sterling. The Emphasis Here is on the Ballads and her Breathy Emphasis and Phrasing Are Nothing Less Than Spectacular and Riveting. Her Vocals Are Not "Dressed Up" Or Enhanced by Studio Technique. What You Get is Pure, Raw Singing Talent that Shines Like a Fine Jewel.

Dreamsville

Tracks:

Peter Gunn
Dreamsville
Mr. Lucky
Moment To Moment
Baby Elephant Walk
Two For The Road
Days Of Wine And Roses
Hatari
Whistling Away The Dark
Soldier In The Rain

Customer Reviews:

Mr Lucky.......2007-05-13

Dave Grusins arrangements of Gershwin and his work with Lee Ritenour and Brasil artists is astounding. He makes everything so listenable! So here we have him arranging the great original works of Hank Mancini. The magic of both these great musicians is overwhelming. Henry wrote some great classics. Dave Grusin gives them a freshness that you will want to listen to over and over again.

Wife is happy now........2007-01-09

Wife had heard this CD on FM radio and secretly wrote it's name on slip of paper. I found it and got it for her for Christmas. "When mama is happy, everbody is happy."

Moonlight homage!.......2006-06-08

Dave Grusin made a very heartfelt homage in Henry Mancini `s memory with this striving album that deserves all your special attention.

If I had to find any motive of complaint around this invaluable CD is the few number of songs. Perhaps Moon river, Charade, and Sunflower could be arranged and included because these three themes were emblematic and definitive in the winning career of Mancini

The only hope I have is that Cruisin makes a second album. But this is fantastic entry to enjoy.

"Fresh, Interesting and Successful Music!".......2006-05-21

I remember collecting Mancini on vinyl when I was a kid. The phrase above was on one of the album covers.

I see Henry Mancini, in hindsight, as a classic example of how talent is consumer voraciously by the entertainment business. He enjoyed his success, to be sure, but it sucked everything out of him, too.

This album is distinguished by its final track though. First, I did not know that lyrics existed for "Soldier in the Rain," and wonder who wrote them. Second, to me, Grusin's choice of this track as the last depicted was no accident. Mancini was a devoted father and husband, and he wanted the best for his children, very much including his son. "That your someday child, never knows the rain."

Grusin's tribute to this great musician and composer is well-fitted and much welcomed.

Dave Grusin Plays Mancini . . . Two For The Road.......2006-01-17

Dave Grusin's greatest influence and inspiration in his musical career was Henry "Hank" Mancini, and he dedicated this album in memory of the legendary composer. When he was younger and trying to decide what road to take, he thought of the music of Henry Mancini and some other composers such as André Previn and Elmer Bernstein.

According to Dave Grusin, Hank Mancini was "as generous with advice and enthusiasm as anyone he had known in this arena, the whimsical good humor you hear in his music was there in real life as well."

Dave Grusin is joined by some of the finest studio musicians in creating one of the best Henry Mancini tributes: John Pattitucci (bass), Harvey Mason (drums), Russell Malone (guitar), Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), Tollak Ollestad (harmonica), Gary Grant (trumpet), Andrew Martin (trombone), Jerry Hey and the Hot Band, Dan Higgins, Tom Scott and Eric Marienthal (sax). Diana Krall did the vocals on "Dreamsville" and "Soldier In The Rain."

This is Henry Mancini music in smooth jazz, so typical of Dave Grusin's innovative and jazz-oriented arrangements and it presented not only his skills but also his dedication to piano playing.

It's an awesome CD to listen to and enjoy the music of Henry Mancini and the artistry of Dave Grusin. You'll be delighted with all the selections especially his terrific interpretations of "Moment To Moment," "Two For The Road," "Baby Elephant Walk" and "Days of Wine and Roses."

Very highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

How Sweet!!!!
Pure and sweet
Dreamy
Enchanting Voice!
3.5 stars

Dreamsville
Stacey Kent
Manufacturer: Candid Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004ZAYM
Release Date: 2002-10-31

Tracks:

I've Got A Crush On You
When Your Lover Has Gone
Isn't It A Pity?
You Are There
Under A Blanket Of Blue
Dreamsville
Polka Dots And Moonbeams
Hushabye Mountain
Little Girl Blue
You're Looking At Me
Violets For Your Furs
Thanks For The Memory

Amazon.com

Strictly in terms of recognizable standards, Stacey Kent's 2001 album, Dreamsville, might be hard-pressed to measure up to her 2000 NPR smash Let Yourself Go, a snappy, swinging tribute to the great dancer-singer-actor Fred Astaire, but it's still a sterling example of the girlish charm of London's top jazz vocalist. This collection of ballads ranges from the Gershwins ("I've Got a Crush on You," the underrated "Isn't It a Pity") to Henry Mancini (the dreamy title tune) all the way to Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman ("Hushabye Mountain" from the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). That it works seamlessly is a tribute to the singer's relaxed way with a lyric, excellent support and solos from a band featuring reedman Jim Tomlinson (Kent's husband), guitarist Colin Oxley, and pianist David Newton, and solid arrangements by Kent and Tomlinson. --David Horiuchi

Album Details

The New York Native who Resides in England is a Formidable Presence on the Modern Jazz Scene. This is her Fourth Album Exploring the Standards and the Reviews have all Been Sterling. The Emphasis Here is on the Ballads and her Breathy Emphasis and Phrasing Are Nothing Less Than Spectacular and Riveting. Her Vocals Are Not "Dressed Up" Or Enhanced by Studio Technique. What You Get is Pure, Raw Singing Talent that Shines Like a Fine Jewel.

Customer Reviews:

How Sweet!!!!.......2007-05-16

Great album.

"You are There" is stunning. Simple and poignant. What a beautiful rendition of Johnny Mandel and Dave Frishberg's tune.

Thank you Stacey.

Pure and sweet.......2007-01-15

It is the best of times and worst of times. The first decade of the 21st century may be remembered as a time when some of the most talentless trash was ever produced for popular music--while, at the same time, a new crop of very talented young jazz vocalists came to the forefront. Stacey Kent is one of those talented singers.

First, what Stacey is not. She is not a multi-octave range singer like Sarah Vaughan (of course, Billie Holiday also had a very limited range and still was a "lion"). Stacey's sound is clear, pure, and sweet. Some might say it to be "innocent," but--when she sings of love, or love lost--you just sense that she knows of what she sings.

It doesn't hurt that she has a first-rate band. We Americans have probably heard of none of them, but no matter. They deliver the goods here. Special note should be made of Stacey's husband, Jim Tomlinson. He is an excellent tenor saxophonist of the Lester Young/Ben Webster school. That is, unlike many modern tenor players who tend to "overblow" the instrument, Tomlinson knows how to bring out the romantic sensual tones. In this, he is comparable to one of the few contemporary players who has also figured this out, Scott Hamilton. It sure works here.

There really isn't a bad tune on this album--I would say "Thanks for the Memories" is my least favorite, but it's still OK. For my favorites, I would nominate "Violets for Your Furs," a somewhat forgotten standard and "When Your Lover Has Gone." Now, the latter tune has been done by just about everybody recently, but Stacey still puts her stamp on it, and Tomlinson's solo is wonderful. My favorite on this album, though, is "You Are There," where Stacey sings a single verse, accompanied only by piano. You can just tell that she feels the quiet, but intense emotion of love lost that is in every word that she sings.

This album is a "keeper."

Dreamy.......2006-03-07

The first time I heard Stacey Kent sing (Bali Hai on "In Love Again"), I said "where have I been?"

Very few singers are a consistently perfect match for their material and sing strictly within themselves. Kent's material, on disc after disc, is a perfect match for her little girl, soft-cell vocalizing. She never stretches to reach ends that are beyond her, as so many other singers often attempt to do. Plus, her back-up group, as is this set, supports and complements her, and never attempts to overshadow her with "I'm here too" type playing. In this regard, listening to Stacey Kent on this album reminds me of Karrin Allyson, another fine vocalist, whose work on "Ballads, Remembering John Coltrane" was totally overwhelmed by tenorman Bob Berg's obvious attempts to remind listeners that he was there too.

On "Dreamsville," listen to When Your Lover Has Gone, and you will know what Stacey Kent is all about. Also, her version of Polka Dots and Moonbeams is so well done, it will be easy to set aside the notion that this is a "guy" song and that only someone such as Sinatra can get away with singing this Jimmy Van Heuson gem.

For what she does, and how she does it, Stacey Kent is perfection.

Enchanting Voice!.......2005-04-09

I'm in my 20s and love jazz/standards. I've never heard a voice like Stacey's... she sounds 'innocent', pure... you just have to hear the samples! My favorites are "I've Got a Crush on You", "Dreamsville", & "Polka Dots & Moonbeams". Wonderful band too!

3.5 stars.......2004-05-31

CORRECTION:
ALBERT, not Alfred, Marx [Discovery Records]

Tracks:

Someone To Watch Over Me
Polka Dots And Moonbeams
April In Paris
Bewitched
I've Got A Crush On You
Body And Soul
It Never Entered My Mind
Embraceable You
September Song
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Misty
Lush Life
I'm In The Mood For Love
Dreamsville
If I Loved You
Autumn In New York

Customer Reviews:

Sarah the Magnificent.......2004-05-28

Sarah Vaughan is undoubtedly one of the greatest singers ever. The richness of her vocals, her phrasing, the emotion that shimmers not saturates - nothing short of divine.

This was my first recording by Miss Vaughan and the reason I chose it over all the others was the inclusion of "Dreamsville" which is one of my all time favorite songs. This version is now my all time favorite rendition.

The sound quality is excellent and there are lots of goodies to choose from - a whopping 16 songs - but other highlights include: "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Body and Soul" and "I've Got a Crush on You" and..... oh, they're all wonderful.

I, too, am a bit baffled by the choice of cover. Why not a picture of the lovely Sarah? hmmm....odd, just odd.

Anyway, I highly recommend this CD to Sarah Vaughan fans, those who love classic songs magnificently sung, and anyone who wants to kick back and escape to Dreamsville.

THE SLEEVE IS UGLY.......2001-09-07

A sample of the divine one singing the ballads.While there are now many good collections of SARAH on the market,this one focus on ballads.New superlatives are always difficult to find to describe her marvellous voice.Everything is a highlight here;it's an hour of magic perfect for romantic couples who want to relax while playing the games of love.Trying to find a better SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES is impossible.When SARAH takes an hold of a particular song she likes,other singers are often left speechless.SARAH was simply put-here i go with superlatives again-the greatest female singer of her time.

Sassy at her most sentimental.......2000-07-27

This is a fantastic series that features many great singers at their finest. The sound of this particular album is artfully remastered. The series has a immediate appeal for many who are not familiar with great jazz vocal classics.