Name: Secret Heart
Brand: Concord Jazz
SKU: 40412
Price: 21.77 USD
Availability: InStock

Secret Heart

Rating

Album: Secret Heart
#	Song Title		Time
1)	How Could A Man Take Such A Fall	More Info...	4:13
2)	It's So Hard Living Without You	More Info...	4:52
3)	Days Of Wine And Roses	More Info...	4:44
4)	Hometown Blues	More Info...	3:19
5)	My Foolish Heart	More Info...	6:56
6)	You're Driving Me Crazy	More Info...	4:00
7)	Secret Heart	More Info...	4:59
8)	Down With Love	More Info...	3:27
9)	Swingin' Down At 10th & Main	More Info...	5:52
10)	Sweet Kentucky Ham	More Info...	4:39
11)	You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To	More Info...	3:11
12)	Body And Soul	More Info...	5:27

Album: Secret Heart
#	Song Title		Time
1)	How Could A Man Take Such A Fall	More Info...	4:13
2)	It's So Hard Living Without You	More Info...	4:52
3)	Days Of Wine And Roses	More Info...	4:44
4)	Hometown Blues	More Info...	3:19
5)	My Foolish Heart	More Info...	6:56
6)	You're Driving Me Crazy	More Info...	4:00
7)	Secret Heart	More Info...	4:59
8)	Down With Love	More Info...	3:27
9)	Swingin' Down At 10th & Main	More Info...	5:52
10)	Sweet Kentucky Ham	More Info...	4:39
11)	You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To	More Info...	3:11
12)	Body And Soul	More Info...	5:27

Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Curtis Stigers (vocals, tenor saxophone); Anthony Wilson (guitar); Gilbert Castellanos (trumpet); Larry Goldings (piano); John Clayton (bass); Jeff Hamilton (drums).
Engineers: Bernie Kirsh, Seth Presant, Joe Brown.
Recorded at Capitol Studio B, Hollywood, California on October 16 & 17, 2001. Includes liner notes by Curtis Stigers.
Personnel: Curtis Stigers (vocals, tenor saxophone); Anthony Wilson (guitar); Gilbert Castellanos (trumpet); Larry Goldings (piano); Jeff Hamilton (drums).
Audio Mixers: Gregg Field; John Burk.
Liner Note Authors: Curtis Stigers; Philip Elwood.
Recording information: Capitol Studio B, Hollywood, CA (10/16/2001-10/17/2001).
Photographer: Jimmy Katz.
Some people mistake being jazzy for actually singing jazz. Van Morrison, Anita Baker, Sade, and Sting are all jazzy, but they aren't hardcore jazz singers (which isn't to say that they are not capable of singing straight-ahead jazz -- Baker, in fact, has done it on occasion). In the early '90s, Curtis Stigers embraced jazzy pop/rock. But when his first Concord Jazz release, Baby Plays Around, came out in 2001, it was clear that he was capable of being more than just jazzy -- Baby Plays Around was definitely an album of straight-ahead acoustic jazz. And the singer continues in that direction on Secret Heart, his second Concord release. Naturally, some elitist bop snobs will view this album with suspicion -- their attitude is "once a pop singer, always a pop singer." But such thinking is silly. Stigers once again proves that he is quite capable of singing straight-ahead jazz and he demonstrates that having a pop/rock background doesn't mean that you have to stick to pop/rock all your life. As a jazz singer, Stigers isn't mind-blowing. But he's enjoyably swinging on familiar standards like "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home" and "My Foolish Heart." These songs definitely fall into the warhorse category -- they've been beaten to death over the years. But to his credit, Stigers doesn't limit himself to warhorses. He pleasantly surprises listeners by picking Dave Frishberg's "Sweet Kentucky Ham" and he successfully finds the jazz potential in Steve Earle's "Hometown Blues" and Randy Newman's "It's So Hard Living Without You." Secret Heart won't go down in history as the best vocal jazz album of 2002, but it's a respectable effort that makes one glad to see Stigers traveling in a jazz-oriented direction. ~ Alex Henderson

Professional Reviews

JazzTimes (7-8/02, p.126) - "...Proof positive that this guy is ready to join the ranks of Kurt Elling and Mark Murphy....stunning..."

Mojo (Publisher) (8/02, p.96) - "...He makes a fine, individual of job warhorse standards....his rugged, yet nuancedm bluesy delivery is so naturally suited to this material..."