These sessions by harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans are a mixed bag of vocal and instrumental interpretations of works by Harold Arlen. Unfortunately, the project comes across as more of a crossover date, featuring several vocalists who will be of little interest to many jazz fans, while conductor Jurre Haanstra's orchestrations are rather bland and sometimes a bit syrupy. Thielemans' own solos tend to be fairly short, while his regular pianist, Kenny Werner (switching to Fender Rhodes on a few tracks), isn't utilized enough as a soloist. The best selections include "This Time the Dream's on Me," which features Till Brönner on both trumpet and vocals in a warm and unpretentious setting, a campy treatment of "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by Madeleine Peyroux, along with Trijntje Oosterhuis' warm rendition of the nearly forgotten "I Wonder What Became of Me." But several tracks don't make the cut, including Jamie Cullum's pop-infused "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)," Beth Hart's dreadful "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," and urban contemporary singer Oleta Adams' lackluster version of "Stormy Weather." This CD falls short of being an essential Toots Thielemans release.
One More for the Road
Toots Thielemans
Share on
One More for the Road Review
by Ken Dryden
Track Listing
| Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toots Thielemans feat: Lizz Wright | 04:41 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 2 | Toots Thielemans feat: Madeleine Peyroux | 02:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 3 | Toots Thielemans feat: Silje Nergaard | 05:14 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 4 | Toots Thielemans | 03:55 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 5 | Toots Thielemans feat: Jamie Cullum | 05:09 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 6 | Toots Thielemans feat: Beth Hart | 03:05 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 7 | Toots Thielemans feat: Trijntje Oosterhuis | 04:04 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 8 | Toots Thielemans | 04:18 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 9 | Toots Thielemans | 04:47 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 10 | Toots Thielemans feat: Oleta Adams | 05:33 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 11 | Toots Thielemans feat: Laura Fygi | 03:46 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 12 | Toots Thielemans | 05:49 | SpotifyAmazon |
