Track Listings
| 1. Things Are Looking Up |
| 2. Doncha Go 'Way Mad |
| 3. Lullaby of the Leaves (instrumental) |
| 4. Cry Me a River |
| 5. Waiting at the End of the Road |
| 6. My Babe |
| 7. I Just Couldn't Take It Baby |
| 8. Visitation (instrumental) |
| 9. Too Many Tears |
| 10. Hey There |
| 11. He Ain't Got Rhythm |
| 12. If I Were a Bell |
| 13. It's a Wonderful World (instrumental) |
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Much of the music currently promoted as jazz, whether instrumental or vocal, relies on self-dramatizing gestures: shouts and whispers, squeaks and honks, dizzying speeds, flurries of notes, empty virtuosity that soon grows tedious. Hanna and Phil aren't self-defined stars who demand the spotlight in their performances; they are musicians whose first obligation is to the song and to melodic improvisation. Rather than act out a lyric, Hanna may treat it with near-conversational informality, the result natural yet slyly persuasive. In her initial choruses, she sets out the song as a great melodist might - perhaps Johnny Hodges or Bobby Hackett - shining her light from behind the notes rather than overpowering them. Revisiting the music for a second chorus, she is freer but never self-indulgent, embellishing phrases, subtly improvising by placing a word over an unexpected note, stretching one phrase, delaying another. Her approach points up the beauties of first-rate material and hides the limitations of lesser songs, making the familiar seem fresh. Phil's rich sound, solid beat, and choice of notes are in the great tradition that stretches from Pops Foster to Paul Chambers. Jazz bassists still appear next-to-last in the solo order, but Phil makes the instrument sing, never treating it as an oversized guitar with an oddly deep voice. At fast tempos, he is agile but each note is precisely articulated. Although Phil is entirely at home with bebop, he offers all the support any rhythm section needs with a strong yet fluid 4 / 4 pulse. Like Hanna, he is concise, making a half-chorus more meaningful than another bassist's lengthy excursions. For these sessions, Hanna and Phil surrounded themselves with fine, sympathetic musicians.
Things Are Looking Up,Hanna Richardson & Phil Flanigan,La-La,When Hanna Richardson grabs hold of a jazz standard her smooth voice turns it into something you yearn to slip into, like your favorite silk night-out shirt.
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