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Kathy Kosins: To the Ladies of Cool
ByLos Angeles in the 1940s and '50s was a jazz incubator in search of a genre movement. The City of Angels found itself in the "cool" jazz given life by Miles Davis' famous nonet recordings of 1949, The Birth of the Cool (Capitol); not strictly accurate, but close enough for this purpose. All four these singers produced cool jazz, but that was after their stints in big bands during the last gasp of swing. Instrumentally, during this transitional period, West Coast jazz adopted a keen emphasis on arrangement, often to the point of over-arrangement. When a creative happy medium is achieved, the art of the arrangement is elevated to the level of composition; Kosins and company grasp this concept and run with it on To the Ladies of Cool.
Elegance and sophistication are two descriptors perfectly capturing Kosins' intention on To the Ladies of Cool. Pianist Tamir Hendelman arranged all of the songs, taking great care to balance the modern and contemporary with the 1950s' chic art of LA's Central Avenue. His instrumental and rhythmic figures are calculated and precise, but not at the expense of the songs' natural swing.
Kosins' voice is perfectly suited for the repertoire, being well- balanced and evenly distributed. She makes To the Ladies of Cool an effortless labor of love, and one given gladly.
Track Listing
Learnin'the Blues; Nightbird; Don't Wait Up For Me; All I Need Is You; Free and Easy; Hershey's Kisses; Lullaby In Rhythm; November Twilight; Kissing Bug; Where Are You?
Personnel
Kathy Kosins
vocalsKathy Kosins: vocals; Tamir Hendelman: piano: Graham Dechter: guitar; Gilbert Castellanos: trumpet (2, 3, 4, 9); Steve Wilkerson: reeds (4, 6); Kevin Axt: bass (1, 5, 7, 8, 10); Paul Keller: bass (2-4, 6, 9); Bob Leatherbarrow: vibraphone, drums.
Album information
Title: To the Ladies of Cool | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Resonance Records