Review: Best of Van Morrison Volume 3

Katrina Alvarez over at Wiredset sent me the new album "The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3" for review. Thanks!

Van Morrison has had a long career and the songs from this double cd spans the years from 1993 until present. The album has an eclectic mix of music styles.

For me, the initial interest was to hear what Van Morrisons collaborations with blues artists like John Lee Hooker, BB King and Jimmy Witherspoon sounded like.

The album mostly contain what I would classify as soul songs (they somewhat remind me of Sam Cooke songs) mixed up with modern blues songs. A common musical theme through the album is the the use of Hammond B3 organ.

From a jazz (and dance) perspective there are only two songs on the album that are interesting: Moondance and Centerpiece. I've heard Moondance played at dances before and here is an uptempo version of the song. Centerpiece is the most jazzy song on the album and here Van Morrison is joined by singer Annie Ross. Annie Ross was a member of the vocal jazz group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Centerpiece was written by Jon Hendricks and it's my favorite song from the album.

This album is a little bit a departure from the cds I usually write about so be sure to listen to the songs at Amazon before you buy it. If you already are a Van Morrison fan, I think you will like this "best of collection".

Have you listened to "The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3"? What do you think of it? Tell me.

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross sings vocalese

Vocalese is a certain kind of vocal jazz. It's similar to scatting but when you scat you use nonsense words or syllables to imitate the instruments where in vocalese you use lyrics to imitate. The masters of vocalese where the vocal group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross consisting of Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross.

Look at this video clip of them sing "Every day I have the blues".

They have taken the arrangement from Count Basie and instead of trumpet, trombone and saxophone they are now singing those lines. The phrasing is still the same as the instrument players would have done it but it's just song.

I can really recommend their album "Sing a Song of Basie" where they do vocalese versions of Count Basie arrangements. They sing songs like "One O'clock Jump", "It's Sand, Man" and "Down For Double". Highly recommended if you like vocal jazz.

What do you think of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross singing "Every day I have the blues"? Tell me.