Silver Does Rock

Silver Does Rock

Bruce Von Stiers

There is always an artist who wants to cover someone else's song. Sometimes the rendition is great, other times not. But what happens when a song is taken from its place in a particular genre and arranged in a whole different one? You might end up with something great, a bag of mixed fruit or something terrible. Sometimes the strangest pairing makes for a good listening experience. I remember reviewing an album of Bob Dylan songs that were done as opera. Bizarre as that seems, I thought the album was pretty good.

This year there is an album that takes rock and pop songs and arranges them into big band tunes. The title of the album is Basie Rocks! It is from vocalist Deborah Silver along with The Count Basie Orchestra.

Deborah is a jazz vocalist who has hit the Billboard charts at #1 twice. She has recorded duets with Diane Schuur and Freddie Cole and has headlined at venues such as Birdland and Blues Alley.

With this new album, Deborah has joined up with The Count Basie Orchestra to provide thoroughly entertaining covers of some iconic rock and pop songs.

Deborah assembled a top tier group of artists to help on the album. They were Arturo Sandoval, Pedrito Martinez, Peter Frampton, Kurt Elling, Steve Jordan, John Clayton, Monte Croft, Trombone Shorty, Bill Frisell, George Coleman, Wycliffe Gordon and Herlin Riley. Additionally, Scotty Barnhart, director of The Count Basie Orchestra, helped out on a song.

Over the years, various artists have covered The Rolling Stones song, Paint It, Black. It is the first song on this album. Here the song is light and breezy, not hard and strong as it was originally recorded. The legendary Arturo Sandoval has an amazing trumpet solo in the song. And noted percussionist Pedrito Martinez helps on the song as well.

One of my favorite Elton John songs is Benny & The Jets. Here it is treated with a smile effecting big band sound, with fluid vocals by Deborah.

I must have played the album Frampton Comes Alive! a thousand times. One of the songs from that album is Baby, I Love Your Way. Deborah gives it a light and mellow sound. The song is made even better due to Peter Frampton himself playing guitar on it.

Tainted Love was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964 as a soul song. In 1981, the British duo Soft Cell re-imagined the song for more of a synth pop sound. For her rendition, Deborah gives it mellow tone. Not only does the song feature great vocals by Deborah, she shares them with the formidable jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. And there is Steve Jordan, currently the drummer for the Rolling Stones, on drums and Grammy winner John Clayton on bass.

When The Beatles split up, Paul McCartney formed his own band, Wings. One of the band's biggest hits was Band On The Run. Deborah gives the song a light and lyrical tone along with the band bringing a big band orchestral sound.

That is followed by A Hard Day's Night, one of most notable The Beatles songs. This rendition has a toe tapping beat and great vocals. It features vibes by Monte Croft, a multi-instrumentalist who's recorded with such artists as Gladys Knight and Branford Marsalis.

Although he was noted for his acting, such as the dad in Gremlins, Hoyt Axton was also a singer/ songwriter. He wrote Joy To The World, but the song was made famous by Three Dog Night. Deborah provides an interesting take on this song, aided by the vocals and trombone playing of Trombone Shorty. He's recorded with Mark Ronson and played with Foo Fighters and Little Big Town. Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler do backing vocals on the song.

Fly Like An Eagle is a signature Steve Miller song. Here it gives a cool big band sound. Deborah does a nice job with vocals. And the legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frizell has a fantastic solo in the song as well.

Speaking of signature songs, Old Time Rock & Roll is one of Bob Seger's most notable. On this album, it is given an almost Beale Street jazz tone. Wycliffe Gordon, who has played with Wynton Marsalis among other greats, plays trombone and does duet vocals with Deborah on this song. Also helping out on the song, playing tambourine and other instruments is Herlin Riley. Having performed with Harry Connick Jr. and Marcus Roberts, he is a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

Deborah has a nice and mellow voice for the Police song Every Breath You Take. There is a great saxophone solo by Miles Davis alum George Coleman.

The album closes with Life's Been Good. Joe Walsh has said that he wrote this song as basically a riff on his circle of friends and associates, who thought they were a bit above it all. Deborah starts out slowly and sedately with the lyrics then speed things up with an up-tempo jazz beat. She is joined on trumpet by Scotty Barnhart, the arranger and leader of the Count Basie Orchestra.

Basie Rocks! is an enjoyable album filled with songs you would not normally associate with jazz or even big band. The arrangements were well done, the orchestration and other music was terrific, and Deborah Silver's vocals were excellent.

Basie Rocks! is available at most major music outlets and streaming platforms.

To learn more about this album, visit Deborah's website at www.deborahsilvermusic.com or www.thecountbasieorchestra.com

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