By Jerry Pearce

We’re happy to see the readership of this Sinatra column steadily growing here at Newzbreaker.com, and because of that, we introduce a new feature, “Pearce’s Picks.” While Frank Sinatra is perhaps the ultimate interpreter of the Great American Songbook, there were many other noteworthy vocalists of his era deemed worth of honorable mention. Each post, three albums will be featured, and through these brief reviews, and if you’re unfamiliar with the material, we hope you’ll be inspired to listen to the recordings themselves. For this initial piece, here are three albums centered almost entirely on ballads, and why they would be a perfect fit for an evening in with your sweetheart. If the sound of beautiful music does to your heart what it does to mine, you’re in for a wonderful listening experience.

Sinatra & Strings (1961)

Sinatra’s first collaboration in a more then twenty-year musical relationship with arranger and conductor Don Costa, a relationship that would endure until the arranger’s untimely death in 1983. Recorded for Sinatra’s burgeoning Reprise label as he was approaching his late forties, this album’s ten selections capture the Chairman of the Board in his vocal prime, his voice set against a massive backdrop of strings and occasional brass. “Night and Day,” recorded five years before with Nelson Riddle as a swing tune, is superbly recast as a lush ballad, recalling Sinatra’s earliest days with Columbia Records nearly twenty years prior, as well “All or Nothing at All,” first recorded during Sinatra’s first work as a singer with Harry James. Other standout performances on this album include an unusual verse-only performance of the song “Stardust” (Sinatra later said he performed the entire song so much beforehand in his career, he wanted to try something different), as well as his second career reading of “Come Rain or Come Shine,” often considered a definitive performance in the Sinatra canon and one that would be performed by the Chairman in concert right up to the end of his career. This album is available in multiple formats, including remastered compact disc, new vinyl (available at Barnes and Noble), and of course, digital download at iTunes and Amazon music.

John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (1963)

Skirting the thin line between straight jazz and contemporary pop standards, saxophonist John Coltrane and vocalist Johnny Hartman created a release that is nothing short of a classic when they met in an Englewood, New Jersey recording studio on a June afternoon in 1963. The album consists of six superfluous tracks, and both Coltrane and Hartman take even time before the microphone showcasing why they were the best in their fields; Coltrane the dynamic reed player, and Hartman, the ultimate balladeer. Hartman puts an indelible stamp on these standards with his silky baritone, and in a sense, takes Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” as well as the Guy Wood/Robert Mellin tune “My One and Only Love” and puts them to sleep with definitive, landmark synchronicity. Long hailed as a high point in the career of both men, the album has never gone out of print, partially from the help of Clint Eastwood, who included some of the album’s music in his 1995 motion picture “The Bridges of Madison County,” bringing it back to light. This classic is also available for digital download at iTunes and Amazon music.

In The Blue of Evening (1966)

Recorded in 1966 but not released until 1979, In The Blue Of Evening is the second collaboration between vocalist David Allyn and arranger Johnny Mandel, two old friends who worked together in the days of the Boyd Raeburn band. From the iconic album cover, featuring a blue-tinted Allyn leaning against a tree, to the rich Mandel orchestrations (featuring, among others, Jimmy Rowles, Vince DeRosa, and Shelly Manne), one does feel like they are listening to someone sing during the romantic time of the title. Mandel’s trademark bells and vibes sneak in amongst the lush strings and reeds, with Allyn delivering prominent vocals on the songs “In The Blue of Evening,” “It All Comes Back To Me Now,” “That Old Devil Called Love,” “All Through The Day,” and even swings a bit on the tounge-in-cheek “Down With Love.” Closing with the Allyn-penned “And Now, Goodbye,” one will find it a shame that, not only did this album sit on the shelf fourteen years before it was released, it has not been issued as an official compact disc to this day. It can, however be found digitally, coupled with his first album with Johnny Mandel, “Sure Thing,” on a few independent mp3 download sites, including www.mp3mixx.com.

Be one the lookout for new “Pearce’s Picks”

Until next time, music lovers!

Jerry Pearce is an amateur singer in the vein of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dick Haymes and has released two discs of standards music, Crossroads in 2010, and One Summer Night in 2016. Samples of his music can be heard on his YouTube Channel. To purchase his CDs use the form box below.

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