JAM: October/November 2001 Issue: For the Record

Myra Taylor
MY NIGHT TO DREAM
Analogue Productions Originals
APO 2017

Personnel: Myra Taylor, vocals; Allan Monroe, piano; Eddie Saunders, tenor saxophone; Sonny Kenner, guitar; Lester "Duck" Warner, trombone, trumpet; Gerald Spaits, bass; Todd Strait, drums

Tracks: The Spider and the Fly; Take It Easy Greasy; Straighten Up and Fly Right; Still Blue Water; Lady Be Good; Sunny Side of the Street; This Is My Night To Dream; Hey There; Since I Fell For You; Just Give Me a Man; Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean); I Don't Want To Set the World On Fire

Recorded July 5-6, 2000 at Blue Heaven Studios, Salina, KS; David Baker, engineer.

Everything is first rate about this session from Analogue Productions documenting Myra Taylor's return to the studio after fifty years.

Ms. Taylor's selections showcase songs she first recorded in the 1940s, wrapped around standards and novelties that are well-suited to her style, and featuring a sextet of Kansas City's finest. The direct-to-two-track recording, engineered by David Baker, is perfectly balanced, and the packaging -- including pictures of posters from Taylor's early career with Harlan Leonard's Rockets, and an exhaustive history (penned by Chuck Haddix) of a remarkable career that has taken her around the world -- is first-rate.

Myra Taylor's voice is warm, clear, and in good pitch, with minimal vibrato. On "Lady Be Good," she shows she can scat with the best. And she wrings plenty of emotion out of "Still Blue Water."

On "Sunny Side Of the Street," she does one chorus "straight," then pays tribute to Louis Armstrong. The title song is a ballad feature, and on "Mama" there is a nice 'n bluesy vocal.

On "I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire," Taylor finally gets to record the song at the ballad tempo Eddie Durham intended when Taylor first recorded it with Leonard in 1940. The producer of that session insisted on doing the tune at a tempo more suitable for dancers, and the record flopped. Soon thereafter, the Ink Spots recorded it right and had the huge hit.

Taylor's band provides vocal as well as instrumental support on this CD. Group vocals on the 1947 Taylor hit "The Spider and the Fly" set a tone of good fun; and there is some unique harmonizing on "Straighten Up and Fly Right." Duck Warner, in typical form, adds another warm vocal on Taylor's "Hey There."

Band members are also given ample solo space. Warner's plunger trumpet is a highlight of "Sunny Side," and his trombone on "Still Blue Water" complements Ms. Taylor's story. Saxophonist Eddie Saunders is lyrical throughout, and the late Sonny Kenner's singing guitar is particularly notable on "Since I Fell For You." Pianist Allan Monroe has a two-handed style that is a perfect fit, especially with his backing on "Still Blue Water;" bassist Gerald Spaits has an outing on "Lady Be Good," and Todd Strait sets perfect tempos with all the right accents throughout the disk. His groove on "Sunny Side Of the Street" really sets things up, and the sound of the drums is captured perfectly by David Baker.

Congratulations all the way around to those involved with this outstanding production.

-- Roger Atkinson

RETURN TO OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2001 MAIN INDEX

© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		Myra Taylor MY NIGHT TO DREAM Analogue Productions Originals APO 2017 Personnel: Myra Taylor, vocals; Allan Monroe, piano; Eddie Saunders, tenor saxophone; Sonny Kenner, guitar; Lester "Duck" Warner, trombone, trumpet; Gerald Spaits, bass; Todd Strait, drums Tracks: The Spider and the Fly; Take It Easy Greasy; Straighten Up and Fly Right; Still Blue Water; Lady Be Good; Sunny Side of the Street; This Is My Night To Dream; Hey There; Since I Fell For You; Just Give Me a Man; Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean); I Don't Want To Set the World On Fire Recorded July 5-6, 2000 at Blue Heaven Studios, Salina, KS; David Baker, engineer. Everything is first rate about this session from Analogue Productions documenting Myra Taylor's return to the studio after fifty years. Ms. Taylor's selections showcase songs she first recorded in the 1940s, wrapped around standards and novelties that are well-suited to her style, and featuring a sextet of Kansas City's finest. The direct-to-two-track recording, engineered by David Baker, is perfectly balanced, and the packaging -- including pictures of posters from Taylor's early career with Harlan Leonard's Rockets, and an exhaustive history (penned by Chuck Haddix) of a remarkable career that has taken her around the world -- is first-rate. Myra Taylor's voice is warm, clear, and in good pitch, with minimal vibrato. On "Lady Be Good," she shows she can scat with the best. And she wrings plenty of emotion out of "Still Blue Water." On "Sunny Side Of the Street," she does one chorus "straight," then pays tribute to Louis Armstrong. The title song is a ballad feature, and on "Mama" there is a nice 'n bluesy vocal. On "I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire," Taylor finally gets to record the song at the ballad tempo Eddie Durham intended when Taylor first recorded it with Leonard in 1940. The producer of that session insisted on doing the tune at a tempo more suitable for dancers, and the record flopped. Soon thereafter, the Ink Spots recorded it right and had the huge hit. Taylor's band provides vocal as well as instrumental support on this CD. Group vocals on the 1947 Taylor hit "The Spider and the Fly" set a tone of good fun; and there is some unique harmonizing on "Straighten Up and Fly Right." Duck Warner, in typical form, adds another warm vocal on Taylor's "Hey There." Band members are also given ample solo space. Warner's plunger trumpet is a highlight of "Sunny Side," and his trombone on "Still Blue Water" complements Ms. Taylor's story. Saxophonist Eddie Saunders is lyrical throughout, and the late Sonny Kenner's singing guitar is particularly notable on "Since I Fell For You." Pianist Allan Monroe has a two-handed style that is a perfect fit, especially with his backing on "Still Blue Water;" bassist Gerald Spaits has an outing on "Lady Be Good," and Todd Strait sets perfect tempos with all the right accents throughout the disk. His groove on "Sunny Side Of the Street" really sets things up, and the sound of the drums is captured perfectly by David Baker. Congratulations all the way around to those involved with this outstanding production. -- Roger Atkinson RETURN TO OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2001 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.