One of the senior entrants in last year’s Monk vocal competition, Indianapolis’ own Everett Greene’s bottomless baritone voice brings the kind of sound to jazz song that the music hasn’t experienced in many moons. Reminiscent of Eckstine, Greene brings a kind of Billy meets pathos-free Paul Robeson depth to the music. The setting here is small group-producer Houston Person on tenor sax, the singer’s best friend Norman Simmons on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Kenny Washington-but the sound of Everett Greene bathed in a big band or an orchestral setting should be investigated on record, and soon. Greene, known for leaving ’em swooning in his wake, renders a love song with great feeling and a sense of whimsy that is rewarding.
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