Artist :: Chris Cortez
Album :: Hold It Right There
Label :: Blue Bamboo Music
Year :: 2003
Review by :: Mike Cook
This record is a delight with 13 standards sung and played by Chris Cortez, a man who knows the limitations of his excellent voice and doesn’t try to strain it to reach notes outside his range. It’s the kind of disc you can put on your player and listen to over and over again – mainly because he knows how to put over a song without damaging his vocal chords.
Mixed in with the well known numbers are two songs which made a fortune for rock’n’rollers and Frankie Laine – All Right, Ok, You Win and Way Down Yonder In New Orleans.
The rest, as said, are real gems and it’s a disc worth searching out. Trouble is, it seems to be over in a flash although it plays for just more than 49 minutes. Chris plays guitar as well as singing and he is backed by a group of fabulous musicians, mainly four but on one or two tracks it becomes a septet.
Chris, who is an IT and digital wizard when he’s not working, which isn’t often, has his own website at www. Bluebamboo.com and it’s worth checking out.
So is this record which should add to his coffers in a big way.
Musicians: Chris Cortez - Guitar, Vocals, Tommy Sciple - Bass, Jeff Mills - Drums, Jay Webb - Trumpet, Dean Fransen - Piano, LaArry Panella - Tenor, alto sax, clarinet
Tracklisting: Hold It Right There, Lullaby Of Birdland, Ain’t Misbehavin’, All Right, Ok, You Win, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, Jordu, Tico Tico, Stormy Weather, Cloudburst, Benny’s From Heaven, Way Down Yonder In New Orleans, Red Top, The Best Is Yet To Come.