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The Swingin's Mutual!

George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson - The Swingin's Mutual! Audio CD

A fair review of the George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson "The Swingin's Mutual!" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson reviews here, or go back to the George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson tabs.

Band: George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson
Title: The Swingin's Mutual!
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-02-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: On Green Dolphin Street - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 2: Oh! Look at Me Now - George Shearing 3: Nearness of You - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 4: You Are There - George Shearing 5: Born to Be Blue - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 6: Blue Lou - George Shearing 7: Lullaby of Birdland - George Shearing 8: All Night Long - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 9: Inspiration - George Shearing 10: Things We Did Last Summer - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 11: Don't Call Me - George Shearing 12: Let's Live Again - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 13: Stablemates - George Shearing 14: Ghost of Yesterday - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 15: I Remember Clifford - George Shearing 16: Gentleman Friend - George Shearing, Nancy Wilson 17: Evansville - George Shearing 18: Whisper Not - George Shearing 19: Wait Till You See Her - George Shearing 20: Silk - George Shearing

Fabulous vintage Shearing with Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson is at her peak in 1961, with plenty of space for the band to stretch out. This is a superlative album featuring Shearing arrangements and tasteful playing accompaniment. The only better recording of her jazz combo singing is the side she recorded with Cannonball and brother Nat, also around the same time. She must have been a very generous selfless singing star to "lay out" and let the bands go on several of the tracks. How many top vocalists would share the musical spotlight that way? Worth owning and listening to many times over.

Timeless
I loved it then, I love it now. I had this music as an LP in the 1960's.

Nancy, George and more artists still weave their magic spell...

"On Green Dolphin Street" is an elegant number; Nancy's voice is as clear as a bell and the George Shearing Quintet highlights that awesome piano playing that George Shearing was always so famous for doing. The Swingin's Mutual! is a wonderful album by the great Nancy Wilson who sings alongside The George Shearing Quintet--and what a great sound they produce! This is music at its very best and fans of both Nancy Wilson and George Shearing will be thrilled with this album. "Oh! Look At Me Now" has another fine musical arrangement and when Nancy comes in this number truly takes flight! Similarly "The Nearness Of You" stuns me with its beauty; they sing and play this number to perfection--and beyond! "The Nearness Of You" gets a slightly slower tempo than I'm used to hearing but make no mistake about it--it all works very well. "Lullaby Of Birdland" is one of my favorite songs of all time; and when these fine artists perform it there's nothing lacking--it's all THAT good.

"All Night Long" features Nancy Wilson's vocals squarely front and center--right where they belong! "All Night Long" is a fine number that Nancy aces easily. "The Things We Did Last Summer" also shines brightly and Nancy Wilson sings this alongside The George Shearing Quintet. Nancy sings this with panache and I'm very impressed. She could take a tune and make it look so easy--but it really wasn't. Nancy used her remarkable talents to deliver songs flawlessly every time.

"Let's Live Again" has a lush musical arrangement that fits in perfectly with Nancy Wilson's vocals; the number is very strong and it is easily a major highlight of this CD. "Ghost Of Yesterday" is equally impressive; and there's a most touching tribute when the Quintet performs "I Remember Clifford;" "I Remember Clifford" touches me with its beauty and its somewhat melancholy flavor about this great musician who was taken from us all too early. "Whisper Not" is equally wonderful; George plays that piano like the master he always was and still remains; and the percussion enhances the natural beauty of this number.

"Wait Till You See Her" gets the royal treatment from all of these artists who perform this flawlessly; and the CD ends strong with "Silk. " "Silk" is a fine tune and I predict you'll like it very, very much.

Overall, this album has terrific numbers proving that when Nancy Wilson and The George Shearing Quintet worked together there was magic in the air. I highly recommend this album for their fans.
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More is less.
On each of her opportunities she sparkles, but no more so than on Hoagy's "The Nearness of You," a rather bland tune that I frankly had gotten tired of playing and listening to. At first glance, a CD with twenty tracks might appear to represent a great value, even if Nancy Wilson sings on only eight of them (which is two more numbers than she gets on the celebrated recording she made with Cannonball Adderley). Unlike some of her later studio recordings, there's nothing "mannered" about Nancy's singing on any of these tunes. She's playful, inventive, spirited--the life of the program.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the formulaic, mannered sound of Shearing's Quintet. Most of the instrumentals are just over two minutes long--piano, vibes, guitar play melody, George improvises for part of the second chorus, then piano, vibes, guitar once again overkill the melody.

Shearing is a supremely talented musician--he possesses an unmistakable, consistent, lambent tone; flawless technique; undeniable harmonic and melodic imagination. It's not hard to understand why his appearance at a jazz club in Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" led to Dean Moriarity's exclaiming, "God is in house!" Dean had no doubt heard him under optimal circumstances.

So have I--in concert at Carnegie Hall, at Newport with the Adderley Brothers, in a live performance at Joliet prison, and in concert with Mel Torme. But I've also heard and seen him sleepwalk, which was par for the course for him on all of his Capitol dates (of which this is one). Come to think of it, he's putting out much the same sort of innocuous, predictable stuff 50 years later on Telarc records. I can understand what drives artists to carve out a place for themselves, but having once enjoyed commercial success what's the point of remaining a totem? High time to shake things up a bit, George. What have you got to lose?.

A classic, must have album
The smooth sounds of the classic Shearing quintent, combined with the soulful singing of Nancy Wilson are a match made in heaven. Something must have gotten screwed up with Amazon's database, because this album was definitely reviewed many times before - and for good reason, it is an all time jazz and vocal classic. I have listened to this album hundreds of times and like all truly great albums, you never get tired of it. Check out the amazing blues of All Night Long, for example, to see how the sounds of these two great artists combine to create an unforgettable sound. If you are not familiar with either artist, this album is a great start. But whatever you do, just buy it!.

You can see a complete list of all George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson discography, or go back to the George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.