 |
 Title – ‘Glitter & Grits’Artist – Deborah Silver For those not in the know, when a legend and icon like Quincy Jones raves about an artist by saying, “… her strong and sultry vocals are seductive and soul-soothing. Her talent and beauty are equally extraordinary. One listen and you know she is the real deal,” you can be sure music fans everywhere will take notice and wonder just who that artist is! In this case, that would be Mississippi-born Deborah Silver, back to follow up her chart-topping album, The Gold Standards. Produced by Steve Tyrell with arrangements by Alan Broadbent, it reached #1 on Billboard’s Traditional Jazz Albums chart while also landing at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart; and in the #2 spot on the Jazz Albums chart. And so, here on the just-released Glitter & Grits, her new album produced by industry legend Ray Benson, it also features musicians from his 10x GRAMMY award-winning band, Asleep at the Wheel. 1. ‘I Got Rhythm’ (3:26) (G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin) Opening with Gershwin’s high tempo jazz standard ‘I Got Rhythm,’ she follows that neatly with an upbeat ‘That Old Black Magic’ (which was originally written for the 1942 film Star Spangled Rhythm), the popular 1935 song ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter,’ and then we get the lush lullaby ‘After You’ve Gone’ and the simply magnificent 1913 song (done here as a duet) that introduced a popular dance of the same name, ‘Ballin’ The Jack’ (feat. Ray Benson). Next up is the delightful and airy ‘Almost Like Being In Love’ (written for the score of the 1947 musical, Brigadoon), the joyous melodies of a track that echoes themes of a Christian evangelical revivalist meeting, ‘Get Happy,’ with the 1944 gem ‘Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive’ along next, which is itself backed by another Gershwin track, ‘Embraceable You’ (which was actually written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East Is West). Rounding out this divine new album, we first get a well-known standard with Dixieland and traditional jazz bands, the upbeat ‘Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home,’ which is followed by Duke Ellington’s free flowing ballad ‘Don’t Get Around Much Anymore’ (feat. Mickey Raphael on Harmonica), and then the album comes to a close on the gentle finger-snap rhythm of ‘Fly Me To The Moon,’ and the train track bounce, whistle sounding ambiance of ‘Deep In The Heart Of Texas’ (once again, feat. Mickey Raphael on Harmonica). In closing, Glitter & Grits reinforces Silver’s immense versatility, as she takes us on a journey through genres ranging from jazz to country and Americana while also exposing a new audience to an array of Great American Songbook classics and more. The unique Western swing style brings these songs to life in a dynamic and uplifting way. Players & Instruments |
