THE David BergER JAZZ ORCHESTRA - the acclaimed band featured in the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and PBS TV - introduces the groundbreaking new album Sing Me A Love Song: Harry Warren's Undiscovered Standards, on January 19, 2010. The CD features vocal performances by Freda Payne ("Band Of Gold," "Bring The Boys Home") and Denzal Sinclaire (National Jazz Award Winner).
For the first time ever, these previously unrecorded and unpublished melodies by Harry Warren (1893-1981), the legendary composer of iconic hits like "Lullaby of Broadway," "At Last" and "Jeepers Creepers," are seeing the light of day with a thrilling big band sound. Warren - who won three Academy Awards out of eleven nominations - had more songs on the Hit Parade's Top 10 than Gershwin, Berlin or Porter. These new songs with smart and sophisticated new lyrics written by Paul Mendenhall - appropriate to the period yet never dated - have the quality of Golden Age classics with their beautiful melodies and distinctive hooks. Each sounds like a standard we should already know and love.
The album includes a wide range of styles from the Italian waltz "Positano Afternoon," the exciting Latin beat of "But Here We Are," the emotional ballad "I'm Sorry" and the Count Basie-esque instrumental "Double Trouble." "There Is No Music," the rarely heard song with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, is another valuable contribution. In addition to the vocal tracks, the CD includes five additional instrumental versions which, as Berger says, "show their beauty and adaptability."
Sing Me A Love Song features distinctive contributions from Freda Payne - the chart-topping singer, actress and TV personality recently seen on "American Idol" who has an accomplished career as a jazz and ballad vocalist - and the smooth sound of Denzal Sinclaire, one of Canada's most popular jazz vocalists with his own Bravo TV special and multiple nominations for the prestigious Juno Award.
This new recording, created with the full support of the Harry Warren family, is a follow up to Berger's acclaimed instrumental jazz Warren collection I Had The Craziest DreaM. Berger's Jazz Orchestra features Jay Brandford, Matt Hong, Dan Block, Mark Hynes, Carl Maraghi on reeds; Bob Millikan, Brian Pareschi, Irv Grossman, BranDon Lee and Scott Wenholt on trumpet; Wayne Goodman, Ryan Keberle and Jeff Bush on trombone; Isaac ben Ayala on piano; Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Jimmy Madison on drums. Berger serves as conductor, arranger and producer. Robert Schwartz and Peter Fannon serve as Executive Producers.
David BergER, the composer, arranger and conductor is recognized internationally as a leading authority on the music of Duke Ellington and the Swing Era. Conductor and arranger for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra from its inception in 1988 through 1994, Berger has transcribed more than 700 full scores of classic recordings including nearly 500 works by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Mr. Berger maintains a close working relationship with Wynton Marsalis and continues to transcribe and arrange for and conduct the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
In 1996 Berger collaborated with choreographer Donald Byrd to create the Harlem Nutcracker, a full-length 2-hour dance piece that expands the Tchaikovsky/Ellington/Strayhorn score into an American classic. The 15-piece band assembled to play this show has stayed together as the Sultans of Swing and tours throughout the United States and Europe. Berger has written music for television (he conducted his band for the Kennedy Center's "Mark Twain Award for Comedy" given to Billy Crystal), Broadway shows including Sophisticated Ladies; films including The Great Debaters, The Cotton Club and Brighton Beach Memoirs; dozens of singers, bands, orchestras and dance companies.
