Title - My Shining Hour
Artist - Paul Kendall
On his second ZOHO release, jazz saxophonist Paul Kendall switched from tenor to baritone sax, showcasing tunes from the Great American Songbook.
My Shining Hour is an hour of jazz for the world to hear and enjoy: It is a collection of my favorite songs, mostly written between 1940 and 1960, Paul explains.
It is intended as a companion project to my first ZOHO CD release Whisper Not (ZOHO ZM 202401) where I was heading a swinging organ trio and playing tenor sax. For this album, I chose a quartet setting grouped around pianist George Grund who has been a Lehigh Valley, PA staple. He is one of the best players I have met since moving out here, and I tapped him for this recording.
1. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
2. All Of You
3. Everything Happens To Me
4. My Shining Hour
5. Joy Spring
6. Invitation
7. If You Could See Me Now
8. Once I Loved
9. Confirmation
10. Desafinado
11. Tangerine
12. Hi Fly
13. I Hear A Rhapsody
14. It Could Happen To You
The album opens on the fervently-charged You Stepped Out Of A Dream and the free-flowing Cole Porter classic All Of You and then proceeds to bring us the most perfect baritone ballad Everything Happens To Me, the furtive finger-snapper My Shining Hour (Paul’s favorite take of the session), intricate melodies then combine on Joy Spring, before we are brought forth the 6/8 groove that provides the heartbeat for Invitation and the flirtatious If You Could See Me Now.
Along next is the languishing Once I Loved and the spirited Confirmation and they are in turn backed by the embracing warmth found within Desafinado, the robustly rhythmic Tangerine, the dutiful Hi Fly, the recording rounding out on the flavorful I Hear A Rhapsody, coming to a close on the sheer sculpted elegance that bleeds through on It Could Happen To You.
Official Purchase Link
Paul Kendall @ YouTube