...a fearsomely good drummer.
Legendary drummer Les DeMerle returns with a fiery Hot Club spirit on the second volume of his Gypsy Rendezvous series. Along with the Maui-based and Django-inspired group Gypsy Pacific and the sublime vocals of Bonnie Eisele, DeMerle leads a joyous musical romp as the group takes the energy of Reinhardt and Grappelli up a notch on reworked jazz staples such as "Limehouse Blues" and "Too Close for Comfort," or American Songbook classics including "Squeeze Me" and "Time After Time." Recorded in Maui during a Hawaiian tour, Gypsy Rendezvous, Volume Two is another jaunt through swinging musical territories with DeMerle's appropriately named band.
Track Listing:
1. Little Coquette 2:40
2. Too Close For Comfort 3:09
3. Everything Happens To Me 3:52
4. La Vie En Rose 4:37
5. Limehouse Blues 2:27
6. Time After Time 4:16
7. Squeeze Me 4:35
8. All About Love 3:49
9. Nuages 5:49
10. The Snake 3:28
11. Makin' Whoopee 4:55
12. Upside Down/Flor De Lis 3:49
13. Little Jazz Bird 3:09
14. What a Wonderful World 5:05
15. One For Big Sid 2:23
Performers:
Les DeMerle - Drums and vocals
Bonnie Eisele - Vocals, percussion
Gypsy Pacific:
Willie Wainwright - Violin
Tom Conway - Guitar
Phil Benoit - Guitar
Marcus Johnson - Bass
Special Guests:
Sal Godinez - Piano (2)
David Choy - Soprano Sax (8)
Keith Davis - Piano (12,13)
Paul Martin - Bass (12,13)
Production Info:
Produced by Les DeMerle & Bonnie Eisele
for Music Unlimited Productions, Amelia Island , Florida
Recorded February 4 - 9, 2008
at Ulu Loa Studio, Haiku, Maui, Hawaii
Engineered by Jake Rohrer
Mixed by Jake Rohrer, Les DeMerle & Bonnie Eisele
Cover photograph by Caroline Blochlinger
Les photograph (pg 3) by Caroline Blochlinger
Design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Gypsy Rendezvous, Vol. 2
All Music Guide (Adam Greenberg)
Les DeMerle and his wife, vocalist Bonnie Eisele, released a previous album of Gypsy jazz-inspired pieces back in 2009 that showed some hints of greatness when DeMerle and Eisele were able to combine effectively with their Gypsy jazz counterparts, and a bit of musical confusion when they weren't able to meet in the middle. Here, the two factions w ...
