Good Company is a 7-member mixed Vocal Jazz ensemble sponsored by the Midland, MI Center for the Arts. They have shared the stage with such noted artists as Doc Severinsen and His Big Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. "Live at the Center" has 11 nicely-done jazz standards or jazz arrangements of pop hits, some a cappella ("When I Fall In Love," "Where Is Love," "Java Jive," a stellar "There Will Be Another You" and the patriotic medley "Lift Up Your Voice"); and some jazz-band accompanied: Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing," Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," Gordy and Robinson's Motown classic "Shop Around," and Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" are standouts. Good Company had the good sense to employ some very fine arrangers: Stephen Zegree, Kirby Shaw, Gene Puerling, Darmon Meader and others. Great song selection, top-drawer arrangements, serious vocal talent and range, an appreciative audience-it all adds up to a wonderful live jazz CD and an impressive debut for Good Company! |
