MUSIC REVIEW BY George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Old School vocalist Paul Marinaro takes a double disc release to prove that you can never have enough Duke Ellington. The takes on 25 tunes from The Duke's songbook, mixing and matching arrangements from small group to jazz orchestra with and without strings from classy charts penned out by the likes of J ohn Clayton, Alan Broadbent and Chuck Israels,to name just a few.
Marinaro acts each part well, going the role of a hep cat on easy swingers like "I'm Beginning To See The Light", swaggering on "I'm Just A Lucky So and So" and going soft with guitarist Mike Allemana on "(In My Solitude)". Tom Vaitsas piano sets a mood on "Azure" and the strings from a moody fram for Marinaro on "Don't You Know I Car (or Don't You Care I Know)".
Marinaro goes urgent and dark on "Caravan" and wanderlust for "Day Dream", with playing on "Just Squeeze Me" as if the tune were a yo-yo. This guy gives respect to the Duke, but makes it his own.
Marinaro acts each part well, going the role of a hep cat on easy swingers like "I'm Beginning To See The Light", swaggering on "I'm Just A Lucky So and So" and going soft with guitarist Mike Allemana on "(In My Solitude)". Tom Vaitsas piano sets a mood on "Azure" and the strings from a moody fram for Marinaro on "Don't You Know I Car (or Don't You Care I Know)".
Marinaro goes urgent and dark on "Caravan" and wanderlust for "Day Dream", with playing on "Just Squeeze Me" as if the tune were a yo-yo. This guy gives respect to the Duke, but makes it his own.