THE LAST HURRAH: JAZZ AND POP SINGING AND THE ONSLAUGHT OF ROCK

IT'S HERE 9/15/16




OVERVIEWS OF THE FOLLOWING VOCALISTS

SINGERS

A: Bea Abbott, Bonnie Alden, Laurie Allyn, Anamari, April Ames, Gayle Andrews, Charlie Applewhite, Johnny April, Jean Ash, Edyth Aymes

B: Ozzie Bailey, Eugenie Baird, Don Barbour, Gwen Bari, Charlene Bartley, Fifi Barton, Jeanne Baxter, Flo Bennett, Linda Bennett, Bob Benton, Frances Bergen, Connie Berry, Bill Black, Janet Blair, Betty Blake, Shannon Bolin, Janet Brace, Carol Brent, Mary Lou Brewer, Donna Brooks, Bobby Brookes, Carol Bruce, Marian Bruce, Joyce Bryant, Mel Bryant, Kenny Burrell

C: Thelma Carpenter, Jack Carroll, Mindy Carson, Paula Castle, Babs Caulkins, Inez Cavanaugh, Karen Chandler, (The Other) Ray Charles, Sue Childs, Sandra Church, Dottie Clark, Ceil Clayton, Rocky Cole, Jill Corey, Carole Creveling, Austin Cromer, Juanita Cruse, Bill Cunningham, Irma Curry, Marlene Cord, Helen Curtis

D: Pat Dahl, Dorothy Dandridge, Vivian Dandridge, Chris Dane, Anita Darien, Bill Darnel, Cora Lee Day, Ilene Day, Yvonne DeCarlo, Nick de Francis, Nick De Lano, Sylvia de Sayles, Bob Di Neri, Kenny Dorham, Diana Dors, Norma Douglas, Donna Drake, Doris Drew, Dorothy Dunn

E: Bob Ellis, Ken Errair, Sue Evans

F: Jules Farmer, Lucien Farrar, Talya Ferro, Toni Fisher, Johnny Flamingo, Rhonda Fleming

G: Kevin Gavin, Jeannie Gayle, Ernie George, Frances Gershwin, Althea Gibson, Leo Gooden, Honi Gordon, Dori Ann Gray, Paula Greer

H: Paula Haliday, Becky Hall, Flo Handy, Bev Hanson, Rose Hardaway, Martha Lou Harp, Ann Hathaway, Bill Hawkins, Cathy Hayes, Martha Hayes, Richard Hayes, Pat Healy, Don Heller, Tommy Hendrix, Larry Hovis, Dave Howard, Dori Howard, Gene Howard, Earl Humphreys

J: Beverly Jenkins, Inez Jones, Jeri Jorden, Crystal Joy

K: Lois Kahn, Bea Kalmus, Deno Kannes, Kathy Keegan, Ken & Beverly, George Kirby, Pat Kirby, Lisa Kirk, Danny Knight, Sunny Knight, Katherine Kovar

L: Fran Lacey, Herb Lance, Vicki Lane, John LaSalle, Bill Lawrence, Sunny Lawrence, Dee Lawson, Linda Lawson, Mamie Lee, Marjorie Lee, Perri Lee, Barbara Long, Tina Louise, Cherie Lynn, Molly Lyons

M: Ann McCormack, Marie McDonald, Patty McGovern, Nancy Malcombe, Lynn Marino, Micki Marlo, Mexie Marlowe, Janice Mars, Phyllis Marshall, Norma Mendoza, Meri Ellen, Joan Merrill, Linda Merrill, Toni Merrill, Marci Miller, Debby Moore, Marilyn Moore, Shelley Moore, Terry Morel, Mary Mulligan

N: Don Nelson, Dick Noel, Pat Northrop

O: Erin O'Brien, Pat O'Day, Jerry Orbach

P: Johnny Pace, Janis Paige, Peter Palmer, Jacy Parker, Freddie Paris, Cavril Payne, Roberta Peck, Kay Penton, Jacqueline Peters, Gil Peterson, Lovelady Powell, Nicki Price

R: Renée Raff, Lorry Raine, Toni Rami, Annita Ray, Bernadine Read, Carol Reed, Gale Robbins, Rita Robbins, Tina Robin, Chet Roble, Eileen Rodgers, Eileen Romey, Frank Rosalino, Ami Rouselle, June Rudell

S: Sheila M. Sanders, Vera Sanford, Patricia Scot, Chaney Scott, Lizabeth Scott, Peggy Serra, Sue Sharon, Sharlene Sharp, Beverly Shaw, Serena Shaw, Corky Shayne, Reed Sherman, Yvonne Shubert, Lee Simmons, Lu Ann Simms, Danny Small, Marla Smith, Gloria Smyth, Ann Sothern, Carol Stevens, Terri Stevens, Helyne Stewart, Ralph Strain, Gene Stridel, Elaine Stritch, Inga Swenson

T: Norene Tate, Lynne Taylor, Claudia Thompson, Maureen Tomson, Constance Towers, Jean Turner

V: Joe Valino, Rudy Valentyne, Monique Van Vooren, Connie Vaughn, Gwen Verdon

W: Bruce Walton III, Ann Williams, Easy Williams, Joyce Williams, Mae Williams, Marie Wilson, Pat Windsor, Wyoma Winters, Gloria Wood, Ilene Woods, Nancy Wright, Nat Wright, Gretchen Wyler

Y: Emily Yancy, Susannah Young

Z: Darlene Zito

"THE LAST MUSICAL HURRAH:

 JAZZ AND POP SINGERS AND THE ONSLAUGHT OF ROCK"

COMING IN JULY

A

BEA ABBOTT 1958 The Too, Too Marvelous Bea Westminster SWB 7035) Abbott mini-bio in The Last Musical Hurrah: Jazz and Pop Singers and the Onslaught of Rock

TOMORROW (6/30) Laurie Allyn

                                                           

LAURIE ALLYN  1957/2006 Paradise V.S.O.P. 111 Allyn mini-bio in The Last Musical Hurrah: Jazz and Pop Singers and the Onslaught of Rock

TOMORROW (7/2 ) April Ames

__________________________________________

APRILAMES 1957 Strike a Match Gene Norman Presents GNP –32 Ames mini-bio in The Last Musical Hurrah: Jazz and Pop Singers and the Onslaught of Rock

TOMORROW (7/3) Anamari

_________________________________________

Hear here: http://tinyurl.com/h56fazc

Anamari 1964 Anamari Atlantic SD 8092 Anamari mini-bio in The Last Musical Hurrah: Jazz and Pop Singers and the Onslaught of Rock

TOMORROW (7/4) Charlie Applewhite)

                                        ________________________________________________________

Applewhite sings "Long Ago and Far Away

Charlie Applewhite 1958 Love Affair Design DLP-57 Applewhite  mini-bio in The Last Musical Hurrah: Jazz and Pop Singers and the Onslaught of Rock

TOMORROW  (7/5) Johnny April

                                   _______________________________________________________

Johnny April Sings

Hear here: http://tinyurl.com/q39jvrm

Johnny April 1959 If You Are Not Plucked You Die! Apollo Stereo 485

TOMORROW (7/6) Ozzie Bailey

                                  _________________________________________________________

Ozzie Bailey w/ Duke Ellington

TOMORR0W (7/7) Eugenie Baird

 __________________________________________________

  

Read my memoir, "Early Plastic," for free! That is to say that . . .

AFTER READING IT, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO "FEED THE KITTY," YOU CAN DO SO AT PAYPAL.COM. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. LIKE THE GREEKS ARE SO FOND OF SAYING, "LITTLE BY LITTLE, THE SACK IS FILLED. " MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT NAME IS drchilledair@yahoo.com . ANY QUESTIONS CAN ALSO BE SENT TO THAT EMAIL ADDRESS.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE INCLUDE:THE BEATLES, LENNY BRUCE, NEAL CASSADY, SALVADOR DALI, BOB DYLAN, ALLEN GINSBURG, JANIS JOPLIN, TIMOTHY LEARY, CHARLES MANSON, BETTE MIDLER, NICO. BRIAN WILSON, GORE VIDAL, ANDY WARHOL and MINNIE MOORE

GO HERE TO READ:
https://www.scribd.com/document/317529040/Early-Plastic

Bill Reed is also the author of: Rock on Film, A Fine Romance: My Lifelong Affair with Jazz Singing and Singers, Hot From Harlem: Profiles in Classic African-American Entertainment, The Leonard Reed Story: Brains as Well as Feet, Shared Air: My Six-Decade Interface With Celebrity, and the forthcoming The Last Musical Hurrah: Jazz and Pop Singers and the Onslaught of Rock

To enlarge Scribd pages, click four inward-pointing arrows icon at top right of manuscript.

                           

ALERT THE MEDIA!

My recent book, "Shared Air: My Six-Decade Interface With Celebrity" is now available at Amazon Kindle for the breathtakingly low price of $4.49. How can we afford to sell it at that price? The answer: volumeVolumeVOLUME! "Shared Air" is an overview of the many noted personages with whom I've had direct contact over the years in all manner of circumstances . . . both colorful and everyday. : 

DRAMATIS PERSONAE Charles Laughton, Robert Blake, Little Jimmy Scott, Lou Levy, Nico, Severn Darden, Tim Hardin, Tim Reid, Jane HarveY, Dusty Springfield, Chris Connor, Mary Ann McCall, John F. Kennedy, Lizabeth Scott, Joe Franklin, Dan Propper, Stanley Siegel, Elizabeth Montgomery, Djuna Barnes, Myrna Loy, Billy Wilder, Shelley Winters, Chet Baker, Lucy Ann Polk, Jo Stafford, Paul Weston, Oscar Brown, Jr., Marilyn Bergman, Nat Shapiro, Fayard Nicholas, Charlie Mingus, Fred Katz, Carl Van Vechten, Frank Zappa, Salvador Dali, Dame Joan Collins, Barbara Stanwyck, Neal Cassady, Ricky Jay, Chuck Berry, Blossom Dearie, Miles Davis, Nino Tempo, Leslie Nielson, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, Gore Vidal, Ruth Olay, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Demas Dean, Bumps Blackwell, Sally Marr, Teri Garr, Richard Berry, Charles Manson, Page Cavanaugh, Paul Giamatti, Frances Nealy, Frances E. Williams, Wonderful Smith, Johnny Carson, Michel Legrand, Herb Jeffries, Dave Frishberg, Sir Ian McKellen, Van Dyke Parks, Annie Ross,Sarah Vaughan, Cynthia Harris, Jimi Hendrix, Bette Midler, Noreen Nash / Lucille Bremer , Walter Shenson / Alan Livingston / The Beatles, Yma Sumac, Don Bagley, Helen Grayco, Julie London, Spike Jones, Clayburn Pierson, Tuesday Weld, Barbara Harris

Check it out at this Amazon link:

MY CV

Bill Reed is a journalist and writer whose many articles on show business, the arts, and popular music have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including Rolling Stone, the San Francisco Examiner and International Documentary. He has also worked as a video jack-of-all-trades for the Criterion Collection, produced many jazz recordings for Japan and authored or co-authored the following books:

   FORTHCOMING

THE LAST MUSICAL HURRAH:

                        Jazz and Pop Singing and the Onslaught of Rock

FROM THE: FOREWORD

If Tony Bennett is correct when he proclaims that the genre of music focused on herein—the likes of Berlin, Porter, Kern, Gershwin—will eventually come to be seen as “the classical music of the 20th Century,” then perhaps even some of this music’s more recherché practitioners, along with the Sinatras and Fitzgeralds, could conceivably end up one day as the subject of doctoral dissertations (Burthen and Vibrato in Late-Period Babs Caulkins). The rubric under which this neo-classical music has come to be categorized in more recent times is Great American Songbook. The cause of these artists’ anonymity is spelled out in the dilemma of late fifties jazz singer Beverly Kenney who co-wrote and performed a song entitled “I Hate Rock and Roll,” and who finally committed suicide at the untimely age of twenty-eight.

Singer Jennie Smith saw the kid music boulder bearing down on “the scene” and got out while the getting was good. She retired circa ‘65. Her colleague Teddi King bravely, but barely, soldiered on until dying of lupus in 1977. Of those three examples, Beverly Kenney was clearly the most obviously done in by the tsunami of rock music. Only those artists who were well-established by the time of the rock revolution—along with the exception of Barbra Streisand—were able to remain afloat, i.e. Cole, Sinatra, Fitzgerald. . . . . . . . . . .

One among the 250 entries: 

Laurie Allyn 1957/2006 Paradise 
V.S.O.P. 111 
Born Didi Pierce, Sequim, WA. One of her first professional engagements was at the memorable Crystal Palace in St. Louis.

The twelve tracks on Laurie Allyn’s LP, arranged by Marty Paich and featuring the likes of Al Viola, Red Mitchell and Pete Candoli, were recorded in Hollywood on October 2nd, 4th and 5th, 1957. But no sooner had the record’s producer—also the owner of Mode Records— finished recording the sessions than he had the sad duty of telling Allyn that he would not be able to release her recording because Mode was folding. This was to have been Mode Records #130. Allyn went back home to Texas to tend to an ailing mother, never to perform again. And this wonderful recording sat on the shelves until the current owner of the Mode catalog decided to give it a first time issue. . .nearly fifty years after it was recorded. A perfect example of “Better late than never.” Allyn was also included in my 2006 Japanese One Shot Wonders presentation before the Tokyo Vocal Jazz Appreciation Society. 

Songs: “All I Need is You,” “You Go to My Head,” “Paradise,” “Surrey With the Fringe on Top,” “Easy Living,” “You're So Bad for Me,” “The More I See You,” “I'll Never Smile Again,” “So In Love,” “That's What a Woman is For, “Where Are You,” “Take Me In Your Arms” 

Here are the A's & B's: 

A: Bea Abbott, Bonnie Alden, Laurie Allyn, Anamari, Gayle Andrews, Johnny April, Jean Ash, Edith Aymes

B: Eugenie Baird, Don Barbour, Gwen Bari, Charlene Bartley, Fifi Barton, Jeanne Baxter, Flo Bennett, Frances Bergen, Connie Berry, Bill Black, Betty Blake, Shannon Bolin, Maureen Borden, Janet Brace, Carol Brent, Mary Lou Brewer, Donna Brooks, Bobby Brookes, Carol Bruce, Mel Bryant, Kenny Burrell (the guitarist's one vocal album)

And Scarcely a lemon in the lot!

Here's my streaming net show on the subject of One Shot Wonders.

***

PUBLISHED 2015 by CELLAR DOOR PRESS

Shared Air: My Six-Decade Interface With Celebrity is an overview of the many noted personages with whom the author has had direct contact over the years in all manner of circumstances . . . both colorful and everyday. "Dramatis Personae" include: Charles Laughton, Robert Blake, Little Jimmy Scott, Nico, Severn Darden, Tim Hardin, Dusty Springfield, Chris Connor, John F. Kennedy, Lizabeth Scott, Joe Franklin, Elizabeth Montgomery, Djuna Barnes, Myrna Loy, Billy Wilder, Shelley Winters, Chet Baker, Jo Stafford, Charlie Mingus, Carl Van Vechten, Frank Zappa, Salvador Dali, Dame Joan Collins, Barbara Stanwyck, Neal Cassady, Chuck Berry, Blossom Dearie, Miles Davis, Gore Vidal, Sally Marr, Charles Manson, Johnny Carson, Dave Frishberg, Van Dyke Parks, Annie Ross, Sarah Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Bette Midler, Walter Shenson, Tuesday Weld, Barbara Harris . . .and dozens more

***

PUBLISHED 2015 byBearManor PRESS

Legendary man-of-many-faces Leonard Reed and historic Black show business come alive through the eyes of someone who saw it all. From beginnings in medicine shows, Al Capone, speakeasies, Vaudeville, on up through The Cotton Club, The Apollo Theater, TV, and his professional partnership with boxing great Joe Louis, Reed was—in his own words—“too Black to be White, and too White to be Black.” His behind-the-scenes struggles through theatre’s most celebrated haunts are told through no-holds-barred interviews, rich research, and more than fifty rare illustrations that capture the glamour and excitement of the Golden Age of show biz and African-American golf. (also Kindle)

        ***

PUBLISHED 2009 by McFARLAND PRESS

From the early days of minstrelsy to Black Broadway, this book is the story of African American entertainment as seen through the eyes of its most famous as well as some of its most obscure practitioners. The book forms a chronological arc that moves from the beginning of African American participation in show business up through the present age. Will Marion Cook and Billy McClain are discovered in action at the very dawn of black parity in the entertainment field; six chapters later, the young Sammy Davis Jr. breaks through the invisible ceiling that has kept those before him "in their place." In between, the likes of Valaida Snow, Nora Holt, Billy Strayhorn, Hazel Scott, Dinah Washington, and others are found making contributions to the fight against racism both in and out of "the business." (also Kindle)

***

PUBLISHED 2000 by CELLAR DOOR PRESS

A memoir of growing up in the south of the 1950s and coming of age in the hippie era of the 1960s. The author is homosexual; however, the book, which deals mainly with the counter culture, should appeal to a broad spectrum of readership. The "cast of characters" includes Bette Midler, Tim Hardin, Janis Joplin, Andre Codrescu, and many more, with all of whom the author had personal relationships.

  ***

PUBLISHED 1982 by G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS

In the early '50's critics attacked Blackboard Jungle and Rock Around the Clock as “lewd immoral and disgusting.” Now [1982], 30 years later, ROCK ON FILM explores the far-reaching impact of rock films on all our lives. (co-authored by David Ehrenstein)     

***

PUBLISHED by SCRIBD 2009 (Kindle only)

A Fine Romance: My Lifelong Affair With Jazz Singers and Singing is a distillation of some of the many articles on vocal jazz that the author has written. The content covers a wide variety of artists from ultra-obscure "One Shot Wonders" to the legendary. Chapters include: Sue Raney, Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone, Irene Kral, Nat King Cole, Chris Connor, Kay Thompson, Pinky Winters, Susannah McCorkle, and Judy Garland.

BINGO CROSBYANA

Here at Landfill Press, poster (22 x 28) on the wall for the first solo Bing Crosby film, I Surrender Dear.

TAMA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS

Just flew in from Japan, and boy . . .

TODAY IS BIRTHDAY OF ALAN LIVINGSTON (1917-2009)

In 2001 I wrote a long career article in Japan's Record Collectors magazine about former Capitol Records head, Livingston. I interviewed him in the Hollywood domicile that he shared with his wife, actress Nancy Olson (Sunset Boulevard). Here's some of what he told me about his association, beginning in 1950, with singer Yma Sumac.
***
"I can tell you a story. I had a man who was head of the New York office. He said somebody brought me in this woman, a Peruvian Indian, who had a 4 l/2 octave range. She has an amazing voice quality. She doesn't speak any English. I don't know what to do with her. He sent me some tapes. There was no music on them, nothing that you could put your finger on. Somebody tired to do something with her on another label, but nothing had happened. She came to California and I met with her and her husband, Moises Vivanco, who was a musician and a guitar player. He spoke English. I said, I'd like to try something with her and we made a deal. I hired the composer/arranger Les Baxter. And I said, 'I want you to work with me and her and see if we can come up with something that will be appealing.' She couldn't read music, we didn't know where to start. We had her sing all the various things she did which had no form of any kind. Les sat down and wrote a score based on what she was singing. Then I went into the studio with them and an orchestra and we began recording the whole thing live and literally we were dealing with pieces of tape that were [hold out his hands one foot from each other] this long. We'd get something, then say okay, then go from there. (Sumac continued in "Shared Air: My Six Decade Interface With Celebrity"

HOT OFF THE PRESS! "SHARED AIR" !!!!!!!! by BILL REED

My Latest: see here

MICHAEL DEES' RAVE REVIEWS KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON

MICHAEL DEES

THE DREAM I DREAMED

REVIEWS

April 18, 2015

Midwest Record by Chris Spector

“Giving out a set of all originals, Dees will have you scratching your head wondering where he’s been hiding all this time…Solid stuff throughout, this is real deal classy stuff that never fails to impress.  Well done.”

JAZZED MEDIAMICHAEL DEES/Dream I Dreamed: An old school jazz vocalist that’s made a good life over the last 40+ years makes one of his rare steps to the fore and shows he’s had the goods up his sleeve all along.  With a look that could stereotype him as a Sinatra manqué, the only thing the two have in common is white hair and swing.  Giving out a set of all originals, Dees will have you scratching your head wondering where he’s been hiding all this time, especially if you’ve got that jazz vocal jones.  Solid stuff throughout, this is real deal classy stuff that never fails to impress. Well done.

www.midwestrecord.com

April 24, 2015

Jazz Profiles by Steve Cerra

“Michael Dees is an accomplished artist who has been honing his art for almost half a century and it shows on The Dream I Dreamed.”

http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2015/04/michael-dees-dream-i-dreamed.html

April 24, 2015

AXS by Paula Edelstein

“Overall, all of the original compositions tell a story of Michael Dees’ exceptional prowess as a singer/songwriter. With The Dream I Dreamed, he achieves the level of artistry he introduced on his Capitol Records recordings and "One Single Rose."

http://www.axs.com/the-dream-i-dreamed-by-michael-dees-now-available-on-the-jazzed-media--50530

April 29, 2015

Music Man Blog by Robert Nicosia

"Multi-talented Michael Dees wrote all 14 songs on the CD, and his compositions are nothing short of brilliant. Michael writes in the finest tradition of the "Great American Songbook". His melodies are powerful and his lyrics are alive and full of passion...songwriting doesn't get any better than this!"

http://www.musicmanblog.com/2015/04/cd-review-michael-dees-dream-i-dreamed.html

April 30, 2015

Jersey Jazz by Joe Lang (June issue)

“The Dream I Dreamed is a damned fine vocal album.”

MICHAEL DEES recorded a few albums in the 1960s and played gigs around the country, most notably on the Playboy Clubs circuit.  By the 1970s, he turned his attention to singing on soundtracks, and writing and recording advertising jingles.  In recent years, he has been doing more live gigs, and now has released his first album since 2001, The Dream I Dreamed (Jazzed Media – 1071).  The program is comprised of 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dees.  The songs are very much in the tradition of mainstream pop standards, and are well sung by Dees.  He has a trio of Terry Trotter on piano, Chuck Berghofer on bass and Steve Schaeffer on drums, with occasional contributions by several reed and brass players.  This is no mere vanity album.  Dees is a fine singer who reads lyrics well, and knows what swing is all about.  He has written serviceable songs that he puts over convincingly.  The Dream I Dreamed is a damned fine vocal album, the kind that used to come along regularly, but is the exception in today’s music market.  It is a refreshing collection that deserves a wide audience.  (www.JazzedMedia.com)

May 11, 2015

Bebop Spoken Here by Debra M.

“The collection is definitely worth a listen for fans of the afore-mentioned mature, male jazz vocalists, and for those young pretenders seeking to master the craft.”

http://lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com/2015/05/cd-review-michael-dees-dream-i-dreamed.html

May 18, 2015

By Rex Reed

“The new Michael Dees recording revives my faith in the kind of style and artistry that has all but faded from the quality of life we used to know, and rarely leaves my sound system even for bathroom breaks.  What a fresh-air revelation in the polluted ozone!” ~ Rex Reed

May 24, 2015

Jazz Mostly by Bruce Crowther

“Although Michael displays maturity with his interpretation of the lyrics he sings (here his own – elsewhere those of others), his lithe and fresh vocal sound is something many will love and certainly belies whatever age it might say on his passport.”

http://jazzmostly.com/jazz-cd-reviews-late-may-2015

MICHAEL DEES The Dream I Dreamed (Jazzed Media JM 1071)

Although only recently becoming a familiar name to all who love to hear good songs well sung, Michael Dees has been around for a long time and heard by unknowing millions. During these many years in the business, dating back to the late 1960s, he was often heard singing on film and television soundtracks. He sang What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life on the soundtrack of the 1969 film, The Happy Ending, and the title song for the 1970 film, A Walk In The Spring Rain; he appeared on The Steve Allen Show; and he recorded albums for Dot Records and Capitol Records, the latter including 1968’s Talk To Me Baby. In later decades, Michael was heard on the soundtrack of Sabrina (1995) and he provided the singing voice, performing One For My Baby And One More For The Road, for actor Ray Liotta who played the role of Frank Sinatra in The Rat Pack (1998).m dees cd He also recorded a fine album in 2002 for Mack Records, One Single Rose, but that was a dozen or so years ago and since then only those lucky enough to catch him live at jazz and supper clubs in and around Los Angeles and Palm Springs (where he now lives) have heard him. Now, there is a new album, recorded in late 2014, that shows another facet of this remarkable artist’s talent. Although his past performances have found Michael singing the great standards, he is also an accomplished songwriter and that particular talent is on vivid display on The Dream I Dreamed, all the songs on which are his compositions. And good songs they are, too, ranging through romantic ballads, I Miss You, Where Love Goes, I’m Home, and the especially attractive I Stay, to gently bouncing swingers, In A Moment, So Crazy For You, Back In New Orleans. Michael is accompanied by front-rank studio and jazz musicians: pianist Terry Trotter, bassist Chuck Berghofer, and drummer Steve Schaeffer, with guest trumpeters Steve Huffsteter and Sal Marquez, tenor saxophonists Chuck Manning, Bob Sheppard and Doug Webb, and percussionist Don Williams. Although Michael displays maturity with his interpretation of the lyrics he sings (here his own – elsewhere those of others), his lithe and fresh vocal sound is something many will love and certainly belies whatever age it might say on his passport.

June 2, 2015

Blogcritics by Jack Goodstein

“Whether it is the swinging opener, “In a Moment,” the Dixieland shout-out “Back in New Orleans,” or the yearning ballad that gives the album its title, these are songs that call to mind another era.”

http://blogcritics.org/music-reviews-jazz-singers-times-four-rebecca-dumaine-michael-dees-steve-cromity-joanna-wallfisch/

MICHAEL DEES / THE DREAM I DREAMED

“Michael Dees has been around. The singer is a seasoned pro. He has the kind of voice that made a legend of Frank Sinatra, but while Sinatra is a household name, Dees has a name few outside the business have ever heard of. And that is unfortunate – the man can sing. It may be that he came along at the wrong time. It may be that his retro sound is out of step with the directions contemporary music has music taken. Whatever the reason, it is shameful that he isn’t better known.

His new album The Dream I Dreamed, only his second release since the 2001 One Single Rose, might do the job if given half a chance. The 14-tune set of original songs highlights both his vocal stylings and his traditional songwriting. His songs, while they lack the kind of familiarity that makes the old standards warm the hearts of the sentimental among us, have the vibe of past decades. Whether it is the swinging opener, “In a Moment,” the Dixieland shout-out “Back in New Orleans,” or the yearning ballad that gives the album its title, these are songs that call to mind another era. That will be their glory for some audiences, and their feet of clay for others.”

June 4, 2015

Interview with Cyrus Webb on Blogtalkradio

June 12, 2015

Lajazz.com by Dee Dee McNeil

http://www.lajazz.com/blog19.cfm?ID=473038

Michael Dees - The Dream I Dreamed
Michael Dees, vocals: Terry Trotter, piano; Chuck Berghofer, bass; Steve Schaeffer, drums; Steve Huffsteter, trumpet & flugelhorn; Chuck Manning, tenor sax; Sal Marquez, trumpet; Bob Sheppard, tenor sax & clarinet; Doug Webb, tenor sax; Don Williams, percussion.

I put this CD on my player for the third time. Michael Dees is smooth, sexy and addictive. Not only is he an outstanding vocalist, comparably a cross between Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, but he is a magnificent composer. Dees knows how to craft a song, both melodically and lyrically. When he sings his original compositions, he puts unequivocal emotion and excitement into the music, using both appropriate intonation and emotional gusto. Back in the 1960's Michael Dees was voted "Best New Male Singer" at the International Popular Song Festival in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a recording deal with Capitol Records. They released two albums featuring Dees, and he began to get a reputation as a singer who could best represent a songwriter's work. Alan & Marilyn Bergman agreed, enjoying his memorable interpretation of their songs. When television, commercials and movie soundtrack people got wind of him, Dees began making a lucrative living, even singing as the voice of Frank Sinatra in the HBO "Rat Pack" movie. He was sought out as a soundtrack vocalist and sang, wrote and/or produced numerous jingles for radio and TV.

Now, in the prime of his creativity, Dees offers us a richly produced and composed compact disc of beautiful, original songs, with nearly an hour of expressively delivered stories of love and loss. Dees vocal acrobatics and expressively sung compositions bring great joy and entertainment. Here are a lovely bouquet of songs offered generously, that should be recorded over and over again by the best in the business.

June 15, 2015

Jazz History Online by Thomas Cunniffe

http://www.jazzhistoryonline.com/One_For_The_Men.html

“Fans of the Sinatra school and those interested in the continuing evolution of the Great American Songbook will enjoy this album.”

MICHAEL DEES: “THE DREAM I DREAMED” (Jazzed Media 1071)
In Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical 1979 film, “All That Jazz”, the Fosse character Joe Gideon is mounting a new Broadway musical. He is saddled with “Take Off With Us”, a simply awful airplane-themed ditty loaded with innocuous sexual references. The Fosse/Gideon choreography starts as a typical bouncy showstopper, but then the group goes into a fantasy sequence called “Air-Rotica”. The now semi-nude dancers are split into three couples: straight, gay and lesbian. The backers are shocked and the composer puts his head in his hands and mutters, “Now Sinatra will never record it”. The deliberately bad “Take Off With Us” never had a chance with Ol’ Blue Eyes, but Frank Sinatra might well have recorded many of the original songs on Michael Dees’ new CD, “The Dream I Dreamed”. The opening track, “In a Moment” is loaded with energy, engaging lyrics, and a great set of changes forDoug Webb’s tenor sax solo. Dees’ vocal delivery is straight out of Sinatra with lots of machismo, and a little touch of lounge-lizard growl. The similarities are even more pronounced on the ballad “Look at Me” where Dees evokes the late-night feel of Sinatra’s “Wee Small Hours” album. Dees has superb diction, and for the most part, exceptional pitch control (the exception is “I Miss You”, but despite the wobbly delivery, the composition is so good that I’m sure other singers will be eager to cover it). And unlike most singer-composers, Dees is quite willing to depart from his original melodies to create new melodic variations. Dees is backed by a superb band, including Terry Trotter (piano), Chuck Berghofer(bass), Steve Schaeffer (drums), with appearances by saxophonists Doug Webb, Chuck Manning and Bob Sheppard, trumpeters Sal Marquez and Steve Huffsteter, and percussionist Don Williams. Like these instrumentalists, Dees has logged many hours in the Hollywood recording studios. His jazz discography has been rather spotty, with a handful of LPs in the mid-60s, and a 2001 CD for Mack Avenue. But as one of his new songs states “You were a long time comin’, but you were worth the wait”. Fans of the Sinatra school and those interested in the continuing evolution of the Great American Songbook will enjoy this album. 

July 3, 2015

JazzWeekly by George Harris

http://www.jazzweekly.com/2015/07/croonersgloria-reuben-perchance-to-dream-peter-oprisko-lost-in-a-kiss/

Michael Dees ups the ante here as he not only sings but writes the songs here. He teams up with a simpatico rhythm team of Terry Trotter/p, Chuck Berghofer/b and Steve Schaeffer/dr along with guest saxes, trumpets and percussion. He’s able to deliver vocal  clarity and style on high energy tunes such as “A Long Time Comin’” as well as a clever “So Crazy For You” that includes an excitedly outside tenor solo by Chuck Manning.  He sways with the blues on ”Back In New Orleans” with Bob Sheppard’s clarinet but is also able to sound intimate in a trio setting on “I Miss You” and gets shadowy on “Where Love Goes.” He sounds street wise on the soulful bopper “Am I Supposed to Care?” along with Steve Huffsteter’s trumpet and goes gloriously despairing on “Look At Me.” This guy sounds like he means it!

July 21, 2015

By Nick Mondello, All About Jazz

“…throughout the recording Dees shows he is a superior interpreter of lyric and has a marvelous grasp on the interplay between word, note, volume and delivery ("I Miss You"). Where's there's love lost, you hear the yearning in his voice ("I Stay"). On his up-tempo material ("In a Moment," "So Crazy for You," "Truly Love") Dees swings…”

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-dream-i-dreamed-michael-wayne-deese-jazzed-media-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php

August 2, 2015

By Maria Miaoulis of Celebrity Café.

“With The Dream I Dreamed, this seasoned vet has proven why he’s continued to thrive in the music world all these years. Just like wine, Michael Dees’ artistry only gets better with age.”

http://thecelebritycafe.com/reviews/2015/08/michael-dees-dream-i-dreamed-album-review

September 11, 2015

O’s Place Jazz Newsletter by D. Oscar Groomes

“This quarter we reviewed a lot of cabaret vocalists and a few crooners but none as distinct as Michael Dees. He is a polished veteran that knows how to swing and more importantly, he knows how to sing (vs. speak) the lyrics. Listening to Dees soar on "Look At Me", we enjoy his range and dynamics, a sample of what we hear throughout the session. The icing on the cake is that Michael brings all new, original material. Terry Trotter (p), Chuck Berghofer (b) and Steve Schaeffer's (d) are a solid rhythm section anchors a first rate band that features guest artists on brass and percussion. The result is a performance that you'll want to repeat!”