Freddie King : Diggin Deep
Genre: Jazz
Catalogue Number: KR00074
Label: Kande Records
Released: 2006
Leading Scottish jazz singer. Formerly in the Monos.
Vocalist Freddie King is an innovator, rather than an imitator. He is a musician’s singer. Someone who can bend the bars with accomplished ease. A man whose timing is impeccable. A jazzman through and through.
But while Freddie has a reputation for being somewhat off-the-wall, this new CD shows another side of the singer. There is no scat singing, no boplicity and none of the vocal mayhem for which he is so well known. In essence, you get ten timeless ballads to which he brings his quintessentially rich timbre, astonishing range and masterly control. This is a very different King - a sensitive and vulnerable King.
And he has chosen his sidemen with care. Pianist Paul Harrison, for instance, who is one of the jazz giants in this city, gives a quite understated performance; and it is what he doesn’t do that makes it all work. Likewise, the emotive playing of Lachlan McColl on guitar and Jimmy Wood on alto sax, brings real lyrical quality to this album.
You will also hear the great New York tenorman Frank Perowsky, flautist Dave Heath, plus some of the finest brushwork in the business from drummer Dave Swanson.
To have all of these superb musicians on one disc would be a record producer’s dream, but when you add the voice of Freddie King, you’ve got yourself a winner.
Numbers include: Lush Life, Solitude, and Over the Rainbow. However, Freddie’s rendering of the poignant Jimmy van Heusen number But Beautiful is precisely that. He doesn’t just sing the lyrics, you feel that he actually believes every word. He puts his soul into each line; and he does exactly what it says on the sleeve.
If there is any justice in this world, the album should position King firmly on the international stage. And not a moment before time. Pat Quinn
Tracklist
- But Beautiful
- Moody's Mood for Love
- The Touch of your Lips
- I Cover the Waterfront
- Lush Life
- You are too Beautiful
- Solitude
- Yesterday When I was Young
- I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco
- Over the Rainbow
View directory entry for Freddie King
