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Sharel Cassity: Manhattan Romance

Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993

Jimmy Heath
saxophone, tenor1926 - 2020

Roy Hargrove
trumpet1969 - 2018
On Manhattan Romance, Cassity's alto and soprano are, understandably, featured heavily. The depth and proficiency of the album is also based on the typically stellar support of

Cyrus Chestnut
pianob.1963

Rufus Reid
bass, acousticb.1944

Lewis Nash
drumsb.1958
Four of the slower songs originated in cultures outside the United States, but have long been enormously popular worldwide. Cassity offers an intense treatment of the gentle "Bésame Mucho" (reportedly the most popular Mexican song worldwide). She also covers the poignant "Historia De Un Amor," by Panamanian songwriter Carlos Eleta Almaran, written for a 1956 Mexican movie, and Michel Legrand's 1964 "I Will Wait For You," from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Luiz Bonfa
guitar, acoustic1922 - 2001
Of the up-tempo songs, an engaging standout is the classic, spritely "Gingerbread Boy," written by Jimmy Heath, a valued mentor for Cassity. She takes advantage of opportunities to extend, as does Chestnut, who sets the tempo; bass and drums are prominently featured as well. Harold Arlen's "Over the Rainbow" is refreshingly not done as a ballad, but instead with Cassity's pleasing soprano smoothly stretching out.

Cole Porter
composer / conductor1891 - 1964
Track Listing
Besame Mucho; Gingerbread Boy; Historia De UN Amor; My Funny Valentine: Over the Rainbow; I Will Wait For You; Black Orpheus; So In Love.
Personnel
Sharel Cassity
saxophoneSharel Cassity: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Cyrus Chestnut: piano; Rufus Reid: bass; Lewis Nash: drums
Album information
Title: Manhattan Romance | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Venus Records
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