Exquisite Curation.
5
By carrield
With Jazz and Other Four Letter Words, Mark Winkler puts Jazz in the same four-letter category as Love, and Hope, and all that’s Good. His newest release works on a body like the best of jazz always does, given this voice and these lyrics and such sublime choices in players putting out that pervasive everything’s-gonna-be-great vibe. The opening, My Idea of a Good Time, is my idea of a new classic for the canon. (I can’t stop playing it.) Great material, knockout arrangements, and players that never stray from being in the moment, because oh my lord how they do groove. Can’t ask for more, but! There is: Mr. Winkler’s ability to lift and cocoon the listener solidly into another time and place and keep them in that world for the duration is what we always hoped the return of the cocktail would do for us. His silky, caressing baritone; the romance (I Chose the Moon); his chemistry — continually deepening in its humor and affection — with Manhattan Transfer’s Cheryl Bentyne; the joy in every note; and his sheer artistry conspire to the full package that’s much more reliable for the purpose. Buy it on CD, your ears will thank you for springing for the full audio file.
