Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Winkler: Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Win...

Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Winkler: Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Winkler: West Coast Cool

By Edward Blanco
August 24, 2013
View read count

Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Winkler: Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Winkler: West Coast Cool

In 2010, veteran Los Angeles singer/lyricist

Mark Winkler

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Winkler joined forces with the

" data-original-title="" title="">The Manhattan Transfer's lead singer, multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Cheryl Bentyne, playing the music of the '50s and '60s commonly known as West Coast Jazz at venues throughout California and elsewhere. West Coast Cool is this remarkable duo's music-only version of their live show, turning its passion for the music into a vocal tribute of one of the most important styles in jazz history.

Defining the style may not be so clear, but general agreement concludes that it developed around the sounds coming out of the Los Angeles and San Francisco jazz scenes at the time, and was a bit mellower than the hard bop beats and rhythms of the East Coast, emerging as the cooler side of jazz. Winkler and Bentyne explore the music of

Bobby Troup

piano
1918 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Troup,

Neal Hefti

trumpet
1922 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Neal Hefti, Frank Loesser and others in bringing the cool style front and center, supported by a seasoned cast of musicians as they present a collection of duets on eighteen songs compressed into fourteen tracks of gorgeous medleys, several Winkler originals and a blend of cover tunes.

The date opens up with a medley of

Paul Desmond

saxophone, alto
1924 - 1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Desmond's classic "Take 5," with the singers voicing Lola Brubeck's lyrics (

Dave Brubeck

piano
1920 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Brubeck's widow), then merging the piece with Winkler and

Rich Eames

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Rich Eames' "Drinks On The Patio." Pianist Eames is part of the ensemble that performs on eleven of the pieces and arranges most of the tracks. Other superb medleys find the vocalists merging portions of well-known tunes like Troup's "Route 66" with

Nat King Cole

piano and vocals
1919 - 1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Nat King Cole's "Straighten Up And Fly Right," and "Talk Of The Town" with the Hefti/Troup standard (and Winkler favorite), "Girl Talk."

Of the several solo pieces, Bentyne's sweet vocals marvel on "An Occasional Man" and on "All About Ronnie," while Winkler distinguishes himself on Loesser/Jimmy McHugh's exuberant "Let's Get Lost" and on the

Marilyn Harris

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Marilyn Harris love ballad, "In A Lonely Place." The swing is on with several songs including "Hungry Man," featuring the great

Bob Sheppard

saxophone, tenor
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Bob Sheppard on tenor saxophone making his own substantial statement, while

Tamir Hendelman

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Tamir Hendelman's arrangement of

Steve Allen

composer / conductor
1921 - 2000

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Allen's buoyant "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big" makes quite a splash.

The set ends appropriately with a taste of how the duo sounds in one of its many shows, with a live recording of another Harris/Winkler collaboration, "Cool." It's a swinging finale and final homage to the cool West Coast jazz sound of the past, re-imagined and resurrected by the smooth and vibrant vocals of Winkler and Bentyne, who together take that oft-used phrase "dynamic duo," to a much higher level.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Take 5/Drinks On The Patio; The Occasional Man; Let��s Get Lost; Talk Of The Town/Girl Talk; West Coast Cool; Something Cool; Route 66/Alright, Okay, You Win/Straighten Up And Fly Right; Senor Blues; Lemon Twist; This Could Be The Start Of Something Big; Hungry Man; All About Ronnie/Trouble Is A Man; In A Lonely Place; Cool.

Personnel

Cheryl Bentyne

vocals

Cheryl Bentyne: vocals; Mark Winkler: vocals; Rich Eames: piano (1, 2, 4-8, 10); Tim Emmons: bass (1, 2, 4-8, 10); Dave Tull: drums (1, 2, 4- 8, 10); Bob Sheppard: saxophones, flute (1, 2, 4-8, 10, 11); Nolan Shahead: trumpet (3); Anthony Wilson: guitar (9); Joe Bragg: Hammond B3 organ (9); Mark Ferber: drums (9); John Mayer: piano (11); Kevin Axt: bass (11); Ron McCurdy: drums (11); Eli Brueggeman: piano: (14); George Koller: bass (14); Mark Kelso: drums (14).

Album information

Title: Cheryl Bentyne / Mark Winkler: West Coast Cool | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Summit Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Fortress of the Sun
< Previous

Leon Russell and Southside Johnny &T...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.