Released as recently as the Friday just gone, Take My Breath Away was produced and arranged by pianist Geoffrey Keezer, impressive this year on an album with Tim Garland called Mezzo.
Recorded in New York at the Bunker studio in Brooklyn in 2024, guitarist Yotam Silberstein significant this year working with the great Ron Carter on a Jojo release as is the presence of Sarah Hanahan on alto sax to pick out a few names. The mezzo L. A. based Donatelli, 76, hails from Allentown in Pennsylvania where Keith Jarrett 5 years her senior is from, is always worth listening to. Here’s why this latest underlines that claim.
It’s an Earth, Wind & Fire atmosphere opening with ‘Go’ a song co-written by Ralph Johnson (E, W & F drummer and vocalist) and songwriter Marcel East. Philip Bailey recorded it on his 1984 solo album Chinese Wall. Sarah Hanahan on alto sax does fine soloing on this.
A behind the scenes video describing the album from the Donatelli point of view with word from Geoff Keezer is found in the promo video above
Strings introduce James Taylor’s Before This World ballad ‘You And I Again’ in the Take My Breath Away version. There’s a Taylor connection later in that a Larry Goldings tune figures. Goldings is a stalwart of the Taylor band – and he’s on straightahead OGD gem Rhombus which is album of the week on marlbank at the moment.
When two tingles intermingle
The album starts to really swing on Denise’s version of ‘(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know’ from the 1950s, a song written by Philip Springer with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh recorded by Frank Sinatra on ol’ blue eyes’ Nelson Riddle arranged 1963 album,Sinatra’s Sinatra. Keezer’s solo is excellent here and the Silberstein touches feed in beautifully.
Larry Goldings tune ‘Summer’s Gone Again’ has a melting quality. As an instrumental when it was called ‘What’s It Like To Love?’ before lyrics were added by David Batteau (co-writer of Madeleine Peyroux Bare Bones number ‘Our Lady of Pigalle‘), that Jim Hall recorded on his 1990s album Subsequently. On that treatment the lead melody was taken on first by famous Belgian the brilliant harmonica player Toots Thielemans. Ron Blake’s soprano sax solo on the ‘Take My Breath Away’ version is very lovely.
There’s a choppy vibrant start to the treatment of Stevie Wonder’s Hotter Than July song ‘As If You Read My Mind’. Vibes from Chien Chien Lu are nicely arranged for and notable early on.
Tanks on the lawn
Also on the album – the songs become more familiar as it goes on – include Jobim’s ‘This Happy Madness’ where Silberstein comes into his own. I prefer Stacey Kent’s version on The Changing Lights but this isn’t at all shabby. He sounds a bit like Romero Lubambo in this role as in a Dianne Reeves context. Reeves’ cousin George Duke’s classic ‘A Brazilian Affair’ is a real treat – Tank Gulley known for his work with Christian McBride – is perfect on drums on this. Also great is the intro to Eliane Elias’ ‘Time Alone.’
Is the best kept to last on what is a Rolls-Royce of an album? Not quite but it is the best – the Donald Brown title track ‘Take My Breath Away’ which the Milesian Kenny Garrett did a version of on Brown’s Born to Be Blue. Sarah Hanahan channels Garrett in her solo but in her own “voice” landing a little on a ‘Now’s the Time’ Bird like phrase fleetingly.
I think it is more or less compulsory to have an Irving Berlin song on a classic vocals album in the making and Donatelli does not disappoint in the beautiful duet with Keezer on ‘How Deep Is The Ocean’ at the end which draws this very satisfying album to a close. Yes, it’s up there with Whistling in the Dark and goes straight into the newly updated marlbank top vocals albums of the year list – kind reader, if remotely interested – it’s found here. Donatelli makes everything seem so effortless and natural.
