Ballads, Blues and Bey

Andy Bey is one of those few jazz vocalists who are so singularly personal and distinctive in style that they communicate the material they choose more in the manner of an instrumentalist than a vocalist. On these recordings from 1995, his first after 1974’s Experience And Judgment, he sings and accompanies himself on piano on a series of standards, including four by Duke Ellington (including I Let A Song Go Our Of My Heart and In A Sentimental Mood), two by George & Ira Gershwin (Someone To Watch Over Me and Embraceable You), Cole Porter’s You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To, Jerome Kern’s Yesterdays, and others by Ann Ronnell and Tadd Dameron. The setting is intimate and showcases his broad range from baritone to falsetto and his angular and often sparse piano accompaniment. This is the first time these recordings have been issued on vinyl.