Track Listing

1. It Had To Be You
2. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
3. Ain't Misbehavin'
4. That Old Feeling
5. Baby, It's Cold Outside (w/ Jane Monheit)
6. Stardust
7. It All Depends On You
8. As Time Goes By
9. I Wonder
10. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
11. Why Was I Born
12. Let's Fall In Love
13. Our Love Is Here To Stay
14. Someone To Watch Over Me
15. Everytime We Say Goodbye
16. Remembering 'Sweets

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13575 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2001-10-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Sanitize Tom Waits's vocal cords, take some of the rasp out of Dr. John's, put some muscle into Bobby Caldwell's, combine them and you'll have an approximation of the quality of Steve Tyrell's voice. Like his popular 1999 debut, A New Standard, this is a meticulously recorded album featuring the great American songbook and some of the best jazz soloists alive, including trumpeter Clark Terry, harmonica player Toots Thielemans, and singer Jane Monheit, who plays Lucille Ball and Betty Carter against Tyrell's Red Skelton and Ray Charles on the classic duet "Baby It's Cold Outside." Tyrell complements each of his partners with the kind of empathy that makes them shine as bright as his irresistible voice. Plas Johnson's saxophone take on "That Old Feeling," for instance, is highly reminiscent of the symbiotic musical partnership that Lester Young created with Billie Holiday more than half a century ago. Also like his first record, it is the creative arrangements of guitarist Bob Mann and pianist Joe Sample that make this 16-song disc work so well. --Mark Ruffin

Customer Reviews

Tyrell Time. Steve has another HIT.
Steve Tyrell has done it once again. His debut, "A New Standard," was an incredible piece of art ('nuff said). When an artist has tremendous success with his/her freshman offering, the followup can be disappointing. Not so with this disc.

Tyrell has turned the pages back on the Standards and given us another great performance. For those jazz enthusiasts, Jane Monheit, an up-and-coming jazz vocalist in her own right, is featured on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" while trumpet master Clark Terry provides background vocals on "What a Little Moonlight Can Do." Finally, the last song on this disc is a tribute to Sweets Edison, the great trumpetist who passed shortly after appearing on Steve's first CD. This disc has a great mix of the slower, melodic standards as well as upbeat tunes. Tyrell's gravelly voice is at its peak here.

For those who enjoy big band standards and classic jazz, check out Steve Tyrell. He really does a great job of mixing the genres to present a great listening experience.

As with the last Tyrell offering, purchase one for your office, car and home. You need this music around!

STANDARD TIME: Above Standard Fare
Fans of Steve Tyrell know this: Steve Tyrell has earned his place in history. His first album, A NEW STANDARD was a perfect piece of work. This second release, STANDARD TIME, seals it.

How much excellence can one absorb? On first hearing, one is blown away by the spirit of the thing; the rhythm, the sound. What a Voice! What a Band! It's obvious that he's having a lot of fun. You know the songs. Even the youngsters are recording them, some of them very well. Steve Tryell is giving them back to us the way they ought to sound.

With the same swinging band from A NEW STANDARD--world-class players from the era of big bands and jazz joints--and more excellent songs, more brilliant arrangements, and a voice too marvelous for words, Steve Tyrell has given us more reason to dance, to smile, to listen.

He's a man of many moods, this Steve Tyrell. Listening to him sing is like watching an accomplished actor read his lines. His heart aches with "That Old Feeling," and the haunting "Stardust." He isn't maudlin about it. It's just a fact. His take on "I Wonder" is fun, and it seems to make the song more important than it ever was before. "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" will sweep you away to New Orleans, with the band having as much fun as Tyrell. The Gershwins would be proud of his sincerity on "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and his longing on "Someone To Watch Over Me.". But listen closely to "Ain't Misbehavin'." Isn't that a wink? And when Jane Monheit joins him for "Baby, It's Cold Outside" the wolf comes alive in him. Their rendition beats the old, and even the new, takes on this delightful piece.

Add this album to your shopping cart. Once it starts playing and you start grinning you may find you want to keep it playing all the time. It's a straight shot of joy.

A Jazzy Delight
Steve Tyrell is a stylish, unique singer with a gravelly, charming voice, and he delivers a song in an easy, comfortable manner; there is always a touch of humor one can sense, and a merry twinkle to the interpretation. In this aspect Tyrell is a little like singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer, but perhaps their greatest similarity is that they are both one-of-a-kind talents. The songs are a great collection, standards with heavenly melodies and terrific lyrics that take one back to a simpler time; they also lend themselves well to the jazzy, big band arrangements in this recording, giving the musicians some leeway to express their artistry.

Favorites include "That Old Feeling" (Brown/Fain), with Plas Johnson's honey mellow sax solo, and "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (Woods), which includes a vocal by Clark Terry as well as his marvelous trumpet solo. "Baby, it's Cold Outside" (Loesser), a classic recorded in 1949 by Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting (and many more like Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan), is here given a delicious rendition with Jane Monheit.

No small part of what makes this CD a total winner is the superb musicianship from a stellar group of instrumentalists that are tops in their field:
Bob Mann, arrangements and guitar
Kenny Asher, Joe Sample, and Alan Pasqua, piano
Clark Terry, trumpet
Bob Cranshaw, Bob Magnusson, and Chuck Berghoffer, bass
Allan Schwartzberg, John Guerin, drums
Plas Johnson, sax
"Toots" Thielemans, harmonica
Jane Monheit, vocals on "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
The final track is the last recording by Harry "Sweets" Edison, who passed on in 1999, and his trumpet solo is sweet indeed.
Even those that don't care for Tyrell's voice and style will appreciate the extraordinary artistry of the bright and polished musicianship. Sound is excellent and total playing time is 56'02.