Pages from an Imaginary Life

by Andy Bey

Overview

Coming off his Grammy-nominated 2013 album, The World According to Andy Bey, vocalist/pianist Andy Bey delivers the equally compelling 2014 release Pages from an Imaginary Life. As with its predecessor, Pages finds the jazz iconoclast returning to his roots with a set of American Popular Song standards done in a ruminative, stripped-down style. This is Bey, alone at the piano, delving deeply into the harmony, melody, and lyrics of each song. But don't let the spare setting fool you. Bey is a master of interpretation. In his seventies at the time of recording, and having performed over the years in a variety of settings from leading his own swinging vocal trio, to working with hard bop pioneer Horace Silver, to exploring the avant-garde with Archie Shepp, Bey has aged into a jazz oracle who doesn't so much perform songs as conjure them from somewhere in the mystical ether of his psyche. Famously blessed with a distinctive, sonorous baritone warble, Bey's voice has only ripened over the years to a warm, burnished, woody resonance; a sound perfectly suited for these poignant, romantic songs. In his hands, songs like "My Foolish Heart," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," and "Everything I Have Is Yours," take on new hues of gorgeous devastation. And yet, there's still something hopeful, swinging, and urbane about Bey's performances, and songs like "Lover Come Back to Me" and "Take the 'A' Train," are, as with all of the music on Pages from an Imaginary Life, joyous, earthy celebrations of life and love. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	09/09/2014
Label:	Highnote Records
UPC:	0632375726621
Rank:	105969

Tracks

1. My Foolish Heart
2. How Long Has This Been Going On?
3. Jealousy
4. I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues
5. Love for Sale
6. Worried Life Blues
7. Bad Luck May Be Good Luck
8. Lover Come Back to Me
9. Good Morning Heartache
10. Dog Eat Dog
11. Humor Keeps Us Alive
12. Take the 'A' Train
13. Everything I Have is Yours
14. All That Glitter's Not Gold
15. All Roads Lead Back to You

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Andy Bey   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals

Technical Credits

Big Maceo Merriweather   Composer
Joe Fields   Executive Producer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Ned Washington   Composer
Billy Strayhorn   Composer
David Stoller   Assistant
Harold Adamson   Composer
Dan Fisher   Composer
Sigmund Romberg   Composer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Eric Comstock   Liner Notes
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Ervin Drake   Composer
Katsuhiko Naito   Mixing,Engineer,Mastering
Victor Young   Composer
Alan Nahigian   Photography
Keiji Obata   Design
Allen Roy   Composer
Burton Lane   Composer
Andy Bey   Composer,Producer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Irene Higginbotham   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer