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Lyn Stanley has been awarded Female Jazz Vocalist of The Year 2018 from one of the most visible public radio stations in the USA, KKJz-Los Angeles who have the highest Nielsen ratings for jazz radio audiences in the U.S.
Lyn Stanley honors the Great American Songbook icon with 17 classic songs on London CallingÂ…A Toast To Julie London
Award-winning vocalist Lyn Stanley follows her top-selling Moonlight Sessions with an ultimate tribute to Julie London
In this stunning collection - London Calling…A Toast To Julie London, listeners will discover a side of singer Lyn Stanley that they haven’t heard before. The 17 tunes on this recording explore phases of romance from first glance in ‘Blue Moon’ to a missed chance in Cry Me a River.’ Most of the wide-ranging material presented here was originally recorded by singer/actress Julie London, along with a couple of offerings that Stanley feels would have been perfect for the sultry songstress, such as “It’s Impossible,” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
With her distinctive sound and approach, Lyn Stanley brings to mind a method actor, mining the stories and feelings in each tune and getting to the heart of the lyrics. Striving for sensitivity, Stanley stays true to these stories and portrays experiences of people engaged in the dance of romance.
London Calling marks a big step forward in Lyn StanleyÂ’s evolution as a recording artist. Just five years after her debut album in 2013 - Lost in Romance, this recording provides a unique vision of Julie London with a self-curated set list emanating from Lyn StanleyÂ’s clear idea of how each tune should sound, holding true to the composersÂ’ ideas, and integrating her own.
Working with many of LA’s best session players, and without any written arrangements, the intimate collaboration is nothing short of remarkable. Stanley said; “It was a thrill to hear something that you’ve brought to life come all so easily.” The stellar lineup of musicians include guitarist John Chiodini, pianists Mike Garson and Christian Jacob, bassists Chuck Berghofer and Michael Valerio, percussionists Luis Conte, Brad Dutz, and Aaron Serfaty, and drummer Paul Kreibich.
Thanks to engineering by Steve Genewick, Rouble Kalpoor, and Spencer Garcia; mixing by Allen Sides, and mastering by Bernie Grundman, the best comes through bright, clear, and magnificently.
Lyn Stanley, whose audiophile bona fides and perfectionism in the studio are well established, has also produced artful packaging for the album with gorgeously photographed images, yet another tribute to Julie London inspiration. Completing the package are wonderful liner notes by Scott Yanow, offering an historian’s perspective on the music, background on each song, and insights to how both Lyn—and Julie!—approached these tunes.
London CallingÂ…A Toast To Julie London is a gift for lovers and lovers of great music, created as it was in the 1960s.
"London Calling Album - In my 60 years as a programmer this is among the greatest recordings I have ever heard." - Saul Levine, KKJZ-88.1FM Los Angeles
"I have reviewed her since her first album Lost in Romance, released in 2013. I have heard her grow from good to greatÂ…but London Calling is by far her best workÂ…absolutely. I understand she rehearsed tirelessly with her musicians in a band searching for just the right way to capture Julie London's singing style. Important to note here is that this is not an impression of London but an homage to her music and to her originality in making it stand apart...and it surely does." - Don Grigware, Broadway World
"Lyn found seventeen songs that both fit the album's concept and Ms. Stanley's conception of how she wanted this album to play. Pulling some of Julie London's most loved tunes, like 'Cry Me A River,' 'Blue Moon,' and 'As Time Goes By' with less remembered numbers to create an album that anyone would be proud to have as a memorial to their life's work – as I'm sure Julie would if she were still here to hear this album for herself... Julie London is calling to you through the voice and stylings of Lyn Stanley in an album that should stay in heavy rotation in your pile of albums that never quite get put away as you're always wanting to reach for it on a regular basis. Yes, it really is that good." - John M. Crossett III, Aural Musings, 4.5 Music, 5 Sound
"Self-made DYI jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley has achieved enough success through five best selling albums to have some fun andÂ…pay tribute to another artist." - Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine
"On London Calling, Stanley provides two valuable listening commodities: authentic performances of the Great American Songbook, demonstrating how the composers may have originally intended their compositions (sans any scat or vocalese elaborations) to sound, and snap arrangements decided on the spot during recording. These arrangements range from Stanley's crack duet with bassist Chuck Berghofer on 'Bye Bye Blackbird' to her lithe trio with Berghofer and guitarist John Chiodini on London's signature piece, 'Cry Me A River' to her breezy and humid full-band stroll through 'Summertime' (Stanley reprises the piece with Mike Garson on piano, offering an effective juxtaposition in formats). Where Stanley really shakes things up is with her atmospheric 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine' and morphine-languid 'Light My Fire.' London Calling is another strong release by Stanley, showing evermore, her developing command over all aspects of recording." - C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
"London CallingÂ…A Toast to Julie London is sensual, intimate, sensitive, sexy and most of allÂ…romantic. These 17 compositions mostly associated with Julie London are now superior vehicles for Lyn Stanley's sultry vocals and the stellar ensemble of musicians she has chosen as accompanists. She spontaneously sings the stories behind the songs as an adept storyteller would while remaining true to the original composerÂ’s intentions. Among the most memorable versions heard here are 'As Time Goes By' with its quaint bossa nova feel, both versions of 'Summertime' with the bluesy feel of John Chiodini's guitar and Mike Garson on piano, her intimate telling of 'It's Impossible' with its calypso beats supplied by Luis Conte and Aaron Serfaty, 'Sway' with its sensual reading, and 'You The Night and The Music' as a tango. Overall, London CallingÂ…A Toast to Julie London is among the best recordings in Lyn Stanley's dynamic repertoire and the first tribute to a singer she chose to honor, not mimic." - www.soundsoftimelessjazz.com
"Her performance on the classic 'Summertime' is certainly one of the most laid-back & groovy I've ever witnessedÂ… you're going to LOVE it, I've no doubtÂ… Chuck's bass is pure perfection on this tune, too! I can tell you right now that you have never heard a rendition of Morrison's 'Light My Fire' as H-O-T as Lyn'sÂ… once again, Lyn's vocal and the players make the song come ALIVE as you've never heard it beforeÂ… mighty mellow. The percussion intro on 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' is just superb, and really sets the song up to be just what it isÂ… my personal favorite of the seventeen tunes offered up on the double albumÂ… the recording is absolutely flawless, and the 'groove' the group creates for you is timelessÂ… you'll find yourself listening to this piece over & over againÂ… I suspect DJ's across the nation will be putting this one into regular rotation!" - Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews
"Taking an extraordinarily bold step just five years into her recording career, Lyn Stanley showcases her stylistic range and heartfelt intuition as a vocalist on this epic, warmly produced, playfully titled 17 track tribute to legendary jazz and pop singer Julie London. While Stanley's voice, while emotionally resonant, isn't anywhere near as husky and smoky as her muse's, she makes each song her own - beautifully conveying a sense of hushed intimacy on ballads like 'Cry Me A River' and 'I've Got a Crush on You' and subtle swing on various tunes, including 'Blue Moon' and the lively opener 'Goody Goody.' Working with some of the jazz world's hippest most renowned studio cats – including guitarist John Chiodini, bassists Chuck Berghhofer and Michael Valerio and pianist Mike Garson – Stanley breezes, sashays and seduces on colorful arrangements which, remarkably, were created spontaneously, without written arrangements in the studio. Among the most unique of these is the gentle bossa treatment of 'As Time Goes By' and a dusty flamenco caress of The Doors' 'Light My Fire.' Stanley's confidence in paying homage to London and her repertoire extends to her including several tracks – including a sparse, hypnotically percussive 'Heard It Through the Grapevine' and a torchy, Latin tinged twist on 'It's Impossible' – that Stanley felt would have been perfect for the sultry songstress." - Jonathan Widran, The JW Vibe
"Stanley's got it all: brains, beauty, personality, and a true alto with a gorgeous lower register that invites all the 's' words - smoky, sultry, sexy, sophisticated. Her first priority is always the lyrics, the story in the song. Even when you don't share her view of a piece, the why of her interpretive decisions and the intelligence behind them are evident.... Stanley doesn't attempt to 'do' London, though she avails herself of some of London's favorite instruments, notably guitar, here the estimable John Chiodini, and double bass, the wonderful Chuck Berghofer, who indulges a ritzy allusion (which I shall not spoil) at the end of 'Bye Bye Blackbird,' a song Stanley dispatches with rhythmic panache and wry humor. 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' finds her low-key but intense expressiveness rejecting the driving rhythm-and-blues soulfulness of performers who made hits of the song, instead zeroing in laser-like on the hurt that lies at its heart, the lyrics about a lover who's learned form third parties of her partner's deceit and betrayal... She includes two versions of 'Summertime,' the first given the typical hot Southern summer evening bluesy treatment - great steamy backup by Chiodini, Berghofer, and the pianist Mike Garson. The second, which concludes the album, is a sans rehearsal one-off in the last seven minutes of a session, because Garson wanted to do it as a duet with Stanley. The results are exquisite, the intimacy holding one spellbound as Garson weaves gossamer textures around Stanley's limpid vocals, the lyrics sung so simply, so directly, with such depth of feeling as to restore the song to its origins, a mother soothing her baby to sleep. 'It's perfect,' said the owner of the studio, 'wouldn't change a thing.' Nor would I... The reference-caliber recording - Allen Sides and Bernie Grundman share principal credits - is so fine it can be enjoyed for itself alone: clear, clean, natural, dynamic, transparent, and true. You feel there's nothing between you and the performers." - Paul Seydor, The Absolute Sound, July/August 2019
"Any salute to Julie London would be incomplete without a rendition of 'Cry Me a River,' and Stanley's wonderful, plaintive vocal is wonderfully supported by just Chiodini's exquisite guitar (including a marvelous solo) and Berghofer's bass. In a similar vein is her rendition of the classic Cole Porter ballad, 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye,' with Chiodini and Berghofer equally superb. There are also two appealing, heartfelt renditions of Gershwin's classic 'Summertime' with an understated quintet on one and just pianist Garson on the other. Then there is a sublime interpretation of 'It's Impossible,' with Chiodini sublime on his Spanish guitar. Chiodini's superb flamenco-tinged guitar and the band's accompaniment provides on 'Light My Fire,' a version more akin to Jose Feliciano than The Doors, although Lyn's understated sensuality contrasts with the more explicit feel of Jim Morrison on the original. This is only a sampling of the marvelous music heard on this. The sound is wonderful, and the productions, with diverse musical settings, and performances imbued with Lyn Stanley's musical personality result in this superb tribute." - Ron Weinstock, inabluemood.blogspot.com
Features:
• Audiophile Recording!
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
Musicians:
Lyn Stanley, vocals
John Chiodini, featured guitar
Mike Garson, piano
Christian Jacob, piano
Chuck Berghofer, bass
Mike Valerio, bass
Paul Kreibich, drums
Aaron Serfaty, drums, percussion
Luis Conte, percussion
Brad Dutz, percussion
Selections:
1. Goody Goody
2. Call Me Irresponsible
3. Bye Bye Blackbird
4. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Bonus Track
5. How About Me?
6. Cry Me A River
7. As Time Goes By
8. Summertime - Band Version
9. It's Impossible - Bonus Track
10. Blue Moon
11. I've Got A Crush On You
12. Light My Fire
13. Sway
14. Go Slow/Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast
15. You The Night And The Music
16. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
17. Summertime - Piano Vocal
