It's Wonderful

opis:
Audio Video, 2004-03, ocena - polecamy:
Niewymuszony swing, oszczędna, pozbawiona improwizacji, ale równocześnie pełna wyrazu wokalistyka spodobają się fanom śpiewających pań, prawdziwą ozdobą płyty są duety Susie z wyróżniającym się ciepłym brzmieniem gitarzystą. Jordan Officer to jeden z największych talentów ostatnich lat w Kanadzie, udało im się wspólnie napełnić ten nieco już archaiczny gatunek, jakim jest swing, nową energią, nowym życiem, nowym rodzajem młodzieńczego entuzjazmu...'

Editor's info:
The Susie Arioli Swing Band, who exploded on the Montreal music scene in July '98, wowing Montreal Jazz Festival organizers and public alike during their near-flawless set- one that garnered them a last-minute invitation to open for Ray Charles. Their debut recording It's Wonderful, has garnered wide acclaim, booming sales and has been at the top of the jazz charts in many stores locally. It's a delightful collection of favorites from the Swing era, re-arranged for combo by guitar prodigy Jordan Officer. Upright bassist Stephen Barry and rhythm guitarist Michael Browne also expertly accompany Miss Arioli who swings on vocals & snare.Bio The Susie Arioli Swing Band exploded on the Montreal music scene in July '98, wowing Montreal Jazz Festival organizers and public alike during their near-flawless set- one that garnered them a last-minute invitation to open for Ray Charles! Up until then Susie Arioli was known to many as a 'musician's singer' who evoked an earlier sound in the way that she used her voice ...and as a lady who could certainly swing (she's the timekeeper with brushes and snare). A local jam session appearance led to her meeting the multitalented Jordan Officer, the band's lead guitarist and arranger and her musical soul mate. Already a busy sideman in his own right (Stephen Barry Band) his playing has been heard on the soundtrack of the Quebec film L'Homme Idéal. The duo solidified into its current core of three by adding young stand-up bassist Solon McDade, occasionally a fourth member is added on rhythm guitar, blues stalwart Michael Browne. The group plays swing music from the 30's' and 40's, mainly: from small bands (Maxine Sullivan, Jack Teagarden...), big bands (Count Basie, Benny Goodman), blues swing bands (Memphis Slim, Jimmy Rushing) and even Western swing bands (Bob Wills...), as well as from the great composers (Duke Ellington, Cole Porter..). Occasionally a '50's tune slips in. Their original style has aptly been described by one critic as "minimalist swing" and by another as "real music for real people"! In Susie's own words, "Every song tells a story and I get my thrills telling each one with passion."No longer just the darlings of the underground set, the Band has begun to perform for a wider audience: they were the first artists to sell out a show at the 2000 edition of the Montreal Int'1 Jazz Festival ...and their subsequently added second and third shows also sold out! Their Toronto album launch during the JVC Jazz Festival at the Top of the Senator totally impressed the local media in attendance: Susie is "unerringly right in what she chooses to sing and unrivalled in how she sings it" said Peter Goddard of the Toronto Star, Mark Miller of the Globe & Mail found Susie's brand of swing to be "played in a manner free of the jive and posturing associated with the recent swing revival" and called it "charming". Their datebook is now filled with jazz & blues festivals, concerts, clubs, parties and TV & radio appearances, in Canada and elsewhere as word continues to spread. They performed for the first time in New York, at the legendary Birdland Club where they impressed a seasoned crowd.