Shades of Bey

Shades of Bey

ASIN: B00000C40J

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 1998
Jazz vocalist Andy Bey didn't hold back in 1998, but he certainly knew the power of restraint. On Shades of Bey, he covers Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, even Nick Drake's "River Man" with his trademark baritone voice and a strikingly smooth delivery. No melismas here, Bey's tunes gradually unfold with a subtlety you never find in modern vocalists anymore. A great recording, and gorgeous tunes. --Jason Verlinde

Amazon.com
As in previous recordings, Bey adds another "shade" to the genius of Billy Strayhorn with his beautiful voice-piano rendition of "Pretty Girl (The Star-Crossed Lovers)" and his spectral interpretation of "The Last Night of the Evening (Blood Count)." Bey also makes an appearance south of the border with his guitar-laced takes of "Drume Negrita (Afro-Cuban Lullaby)," and the Brazilian-blended ballad, "Like a Lover (O Cantador). Add the anthemic original "Believin' It (Half and Half)" and a heartening reading of Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time," and you have ample evidence that Andy Bey is simply the most exciting jazz singer of his generation. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Shades of Bey

Tracks:

Like A Lover (O Cantador)
Midnight Blue
Get It Straight (Straight, No Chaser)
Pretty Girl (The Starcrossed Lovers)
River Man
Dark Shadows
Believin' It (Half & Half)
Some Other Time
The Last Light Of Evening (Blood Count)
Drume Negrita (Afro-Cuban Lullaby)

Amazon.com's Best of 1998

Jazz vocalist Andy Bey didn't hold back in 1998, but he certainly knew the power of restraint. On Shades of Bey, he covers Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, even Nick Drake's "River Man" with his trademark baritone voice and a strikingly smooth delivery. No melismas here, Bey's tunes gradually unfold with a subtlety you never find in modern vocalists anymore. A great recording, and gorgeous tunes. --Jason Verlinde

Amazon.com

As in previous recordings, Bey adds another "shade" to the genius of Billy Strayhorn with his beautiful voice-piano rendition of "Pretty Girl (The Star-Crossed Lovers)" and his spectral interpretation of "The Last Night of the Evening (Blood Count)." Bey also makes an appearance south of the border with his guitar-laced takes of "Drume Negrita (Afro-Cuban Lullaby)," and the Brazilian-blended ballad, "Like a Lover (O Cantador). Add the anthemic original "Believin' It (Half and Half)" and a heartening reading of Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time," and you have ample evidence that Andy Bey is simply the most exciting jazz singer of his generation. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

A Discovery.......2000-11-01

I have not heard the complete album only two tracks but that was enough to send my head into a spin. What an extraordinary singer. So much musicality and genuine creativity in his rendition of Midnight Blue and You'd Be so Nice to Come Home to....not too mention the incredible piano motiff by Ms Geri Allen on the 'nice' track. I am over the moon in finding this hidden treasure and will be digging deep to find some more.. A fan from downunder (Australia)

A Tremendous Singer.......2000-01-03

Andy Bey delivers some of the most beautiful singing I have ever heard. His voice is so rich and full of character, it is indescribable. Buy this album; you will play it again and again.

When you thought you knew vocalists!!!!!!.......1999-04-22

I know many of you are wondering who the hell Andy Bey is, and many of you probably think he's new on the scene. Andy Bey is one of the last great voices on this planet. I consider him to be one of the few living legends, and would love to see him get the credit he truly deserves. Listening to him sing "Pretty Girl" reveals that he is in touch with what he sings about. "River Man" definitely has to be my favorite. He grabs your mind, takes you to musical journey with him to search for the river man. After listening to that track "you'll want to keep a suitcase packed,(hoping that you can go on the same journey everyday). Just ask Horace Silver about Andy Bey. He's a gift to the world!

This is jazz singing at its best!.......1999-01-03

This is the best damn jazz vocal CD since the heyday of Sarah Vaughan. Buy this, you'll never regret it.

A blending of Kevin Mahogany and Sinatra.......1998-12-05

This CD is getting a lot of air time on KBEM in Minneapolis/St. Paul. When I heard "Like a Lover", I was compeled to call in to ask who the artist was. I was one of two calling in with that question. My words to the DJ, were, "Sounds like Kevin Mahogany, Who is it?" On the basis of that one cut, I've asked family members to add this CD to their Christmas list for me. There is a Sinatra quality to Bay's phrasing and range. One day after my call to KBEM, another caller requested to hear Bay and Mahogany back to back. If this cut on this CD doesn't give you goose bumps, check your pulse.

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