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With a Song in My Heart - Gill Manly - Singer's Singer

In her 13 song programme Ms. Manly is wonderfully original. The title song (Rodgers/Hart) with its glorious verse is sung to perfection. Gill ever so dramatically pronounces every lyric line. It's an utterly breathtaking six minutes. Her vocal has many surprising emotionally long held jazz influenced stylings. There are a trio of Ellington classics as well: "Daydream" (Strayhorn/Latouche) is an artistic ballad that will remain with you for a long time. Ms Manly unearths this gem with its unfamiliar verse. And then there's "Take Love Easy" (Latouche) which will be easy on your ears. Within its attractive beat and just the slightest scat Ms. Manly solidly delivers the goods. Finally "Sittin' And A Rockin" (Strayhorn/Gaines) swings and swings hard. Another highlight is the fine ballad "I Keep Going Back To Joe's" (Fisher/Segal) introduced by Nat Cole. Guest vocalist Mark Murphy is aboard for a monumental vocal duet. The two offer a vocal lovefest. It sounds as if it had been written just for them. Now just where can I locate Joe's so that I can thank both of them?

Singer's Singer - In Tune International
12 November 2009