Various Artists
New York For Lovers
Verve

Various Artists
Paris For Lovers
Verve

I love these "theme" cds. Recordings are supposed to tell a story and create a mood anyway, right? Here are two that do exactly that. How many chances are you going to have these days to find a disc with Johnny Hodges, (Who is naturally luscious) juxtaposed with Roland Kirk and Nina Simone? Louis Armstrong is the only American who could sing "La vie en rose" and make it sound more authentic than any Chausson by the banks of the Seine. It may not be "our" Paree, as Bogie would say, but the music does it's job of seducing you into that romantic mood.

The New York release evokes all of the images that are associated with the big apple. Torme' reflects its loneliness, Ella and Louis its sentimentality, and Morganna King its harshness. The City must be the town of the tenors, because Webster, Getz, Jacquet and Rollins all chip in to evoke smokey images of the Town That Never Sleeps. Any disc with these guys, (And Blossum Dearie to boot) deserves a fair shake.


-George W. Harris