When
Georgie Fame's name is mentioned, many people immediately think of his 1960s pop hits or his years as
Van Morrison's keyboardist. But listeners should not forget that
Fame is also a swinging jazz singer, and
Poet in New York is an appealing demonstration of what he can do in an acoustic hard bop setting.
Fame makes no concessions to pop, rock, or R&B tastes on this 2000 release, which is about as straight-ahead as it gets. Drawing on such influences as
Mark Murphy,
Jon Hendricks, and
Bob Dorough, the British vocalist gets heavily into vocalise and reminds us how expressive an interpreter of lyrics he can be. Spontaneity prevails on material that ranges from
Neal Hefti's "Girl Talk" and
Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" to
Rodgers & Hart's "Do It the Hard Way."
Fame (who is joined by tenor saxman
Bob Malach, pianist
David Hazeltine, bassist
Peter Washington, and drummer
Louis Hayes) acknowledges some of the masters of vocalise, interpreting
Hendricks' lyrics to
Horace Silver's "Doodlin'" and
King Pleasure's lyrics to
Lester Young's "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid." The improviser also does some writing of his own, providing lyrics for no less than three
Tadd Dameron pieces: "On a Misty Night," "Accentuate the Bass," and "That's the Way It Goes." Produced by
Ben Sidran,
Poet in New York is enthusiastically recommended to anyone who likes hearing
Fame as a pure, unapologetic jazz vocalist.