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Under My Skin

Under My Skin

Mark Lambert

Label: Challenge Records
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917328325
barcode
Catalog number: CR 73283
Releasedate: 24-04-09
Mark Lambert: voice, electric & acoustic guitars, percussion | The Vana Trio: Vana Gierig: piano | Mattew Parrish: acoustic bass | Alvester Garnett: drums

Special Guests
: Vinicius Barros: percussionThe Avenue C Orchestra

This project came about from my lifelong love of the Great American Songbook. Vana and I wanted to take classic standards that we love, and put them into a fresh light - the way we feel them now. So, besides the element of swing, we wove Brazilian, Indian and Arabic influences into the fabric of the various songs.
We decided on the Cole Porter classic, “I love Paris,” and since I had just spent some time in that magical city at the height of its ethnic suburban unrest, I decided to include that same ethnic element of modern-day Parisian sub-culture into the arrangement.
Vana’s exquisite arrangement of “Tenderly” merges a classical straight eighth-note piano introduction into a swinging bass line in a most arresting fashion. Recurring at the end of the song, it creates a ‘tender,’ dreamlike state.
Our minimalist, bossa-nova approach to “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning,” and our radical re-harmonization of the Cream classic “Sunshine of Your Love” (our one nod to a popular song outside of the tradition) I am particularly proud of.
Finally, our teamwork in creating the multi-faceted, Brazilian influenced arrangement of the title track, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” in my view truly represents the labor of love this project was for Vana and I, alongside our partner, Manfred Knoop.