Big City Rhythms (1999)

About this title: The pairing of premier era-gone-by pianist/crooner Michael Feinstein and the legendary Maynard Ferguson Big Band is such a rousing success that it's surprising the two didn't think of it before. While the set mainly consists of whatever beautiful, offbeat standards Feinstein hasn't yet had the opportunity to record (including the sassy Bobby Troup number "Girl Talk" and the humorous Rodgers & Hart tune "Johnny One Note"), he sums up not only the spirit of this recording but of his whole retro-minded career on the clever original "Swing Is Back in Style." With the 21-piece big band simmering ... read more

Tracks:

1. Close Your Eyes [Petkere]
2. The Very Thought of You [Noble]
3. Let Me Off Uptown [Evans/Bostic]
4. Girl Talk [Hefti/Troup]
5. You Can't Lose 'Em All [Ross/Barer]
6. One Day at a Time [DeForest]
7. The Rhythm of the Blues [Feinstein/Robbins]
8. The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else) [Jones/Kahn]
9. Ev'rything You Want Is Here [Grand]
10. Johnny One Note [Rodgers/Hart]
11. Swing Is Back in Style [Feinstein/Jessel/Th]
12. Love Is Nothin' But a Racket [Previn/Comden/Green]
13. Lullaby in Rhythm [Goodman/Hirsch/Prof]
14. Medley: When Your Lover Has/The Gal That Got Away [Medley] [Swan/Arlen/Gershwin]
15. New York, New York [Bernstein/Comden/Gr]
16. How Little We Know [Carmichael/Mercer]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.