This project was a joy to record. Mark and I had been planning to do a studio CD (which would become Too Hot for Words) but when Hans and Sabine Nagel-Heyer asked if they could record our Hamburg show for a live CD, we realized that we’d need some more material. So we worked up a whole other series of songs specifically for the tour of Germany. The all-star band was really “on” that night, with spectacular solo and ensemble playing by Ed Polcer, Allan Vaché, Tom Artin, Phil Flanigan & Ed Metz Jr., bringing Mark’s musical arrangements to life. And did I mention the piano? Terrific. For me, it was one of the most exciting nights ever.
My memory of the trip to Germany is, however, bittersweet. Two days after the Hamburg concert, my father fell ill, and worsened over the course of the week. I left for home well before the tour ended, getting there just in time to give him a kiss and say goodbye. It’s incredible, isn’t it, how our joys and sorrows can be so inextricably entwined? So With Thee I Swingholds a special place in my heart, since it always makes me think of Dad, how much we loved each other, and how he would have loved that CD!
“This live recording at the Hanse-Merkur Auditorium in Hamburg, Germany, just one more example of the universal language of jazz; be it traditional, swing, bop or whatever: good music always pleases. Mark Shane on piano leads the march down the road, now add the vibrant jazz voice of Terry Blaine and you have an excellent CD to add to your library.”
— H. Edwin Smith, Allegro
TRACKS:
I’ve Got A Feeling I’m Falling
What A Little Moonlight Can Do
I’m Glad There Is You
Harlem On My Mind
I Got Rhythm
Why Don’t You Do Right
It’s A Wonderful World
I Don’t Know If I’m Comin’ Or Goin’
Jeepers Creepers
Medley: Dream/Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Getting Some Fun Out Of Life
Carolina Shout
They Say That Falling In Love
With Thee I Swing
Oh Daddy
Mama Don’t Allow
Released December 1997 (Nagel Heyer, NHR-040CD)
Mark Shane, Piano
Terry Blaine, Vocals
Ed Polcer, Cornet
Tom Artin, Trombone
Allan Vaché, Clarinet, Tenor Sax
Phil Flanigan, Bass
Ed Metz Jr., Drums
Recorded live at the Hanse-Merkur Auditorium
in Hamburg, Germany on October 11, 1997
Produced by Sabine and Hans Nagel-Heyer
Arrangements by Mark Shane
Recorded by Ben Ahrens and Bernd Schultze
Mixed at Blue Noise Studio, Hamburg, October 21-24, 1997 by Ben Ahrens
Digital Mastering: Achim Eisner, Sonopress, Gutersloh
Cover Photo courtesy of Mark Shane and Terry Blaine
Booklet Photos by Herbert Flugge
Cover: woellergestaltung, Hamburg
Liner Notes: Mark Shane