Monte Procopio: A Swingin' Time

By Keith Hannaleck

• Artist: Monte Procopio
• Title: A Swingin' Time
• Genre: Jazz
• Label: Independent
• Website: www.monteprocopio.com
• Purchase this CD: Amazon

First Monte Procopio was Swingin' With Style now he is having A Swingin’ Time. It looks like swingin’ is his thing. Monte is staying with the same formula on his second album performing timeless classics again. Michael Buble has penetrated the charts with his tribute to the jazz classics, Michael Bolton recorded his own cover album recently, and Tony Bennett is 80 and still rolling right along covering the timeless classics. Many have tried with varying degrees of success but few can do it to make it a memorable experience, stirring emotions and making one feel they are reliving special moments in time. Procopio is one such artist that compels to keep reaching for his CD to hear it again. Now more than ever artists are reaching back to the past to reignite or start a career covering these great tunes.

Monte offers 14 classic tracks on this CD and it finds him in a good place once again. I think he has improved upon his delivery since the last release. He is smoother and sings with even more emotion than he did before, which makes each track sound like they were meant for him to sing all along. Some of the best cuts for these ears were “The Best Is Yet To Come,” “Route 66” and “It Had To Be You.” Admittedly, those are personal favorites but just the same, he does them all so well! I particularly enjoyed the bright horn sections in these tracks and noticed how beautifully the rhythm section kept everything in time so well.

Having a strong musical backing for your voice is indispensable and once again, the music is spot on and better than ever, and it goes without saying how the production aspects went from a B to A, the difference between his debut CD and this one is quite noticeable. The musicianship is beyond reproach on all of these tracks and Grammy Award winning arranger Robert M. Freedman does a fantastic job putting this together to make the magic happen again for Monte and Company. It is always the goal to improve upon your last effort and with A Swingin’ Time this artist has done just that.

Monte is creating his own personal legacy that will continue to build on the solid foundation already laid down with two solid albums. It looks like singing classic jazz tracks were built for his vocal style and passion for great music. No other genre embraces timeless compositions as jazz does and I know one name that I cannot forget now, his name is Monte Procopio.

Reviewed - November 6, 2006

Tracks:

01. All Or Nothing At All (4:27)
02. The Best Is Yet To Come (4:41)
03. That Old Black Magic (4:11)
04. The Very Thought Of You (4:40)
05. Sway (4:37)
06. Route 66 (4:46)
07. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) (4:08)
08. Someone To Watch Over Me (5:12)
09. More (3:47)
10. Night And Day (4:22)
11. Nature Boy (5:35)
12. It Had To Be You (2:54)
13. Witchcraft (3:55)
14. Smile (2:39)

Credits:

Robert M. Freedman: Piano
Warren L. Jones III: Bass
Todd Chuba: Drums
Clarke Rigsby: Guitar
Hugh Lovelady: Alto Saxophone
Bryon Ruth: Tenor Saxophone
Lucas Pino: Tenor Saxophone
Jerry Donato: Baritone Saxophone (Tenor Saxophone Solo on song 6)
Fred Forney: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Dave Coolidge: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Tom Miles: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Bill Foy: Trombone
Steve McAllister: Trombone
Joe Corral: Alto Flute, Alto Flute Solo (song 11)
Christina Steffen: Alto Flute  (song 11)
Dom Moio: Percussion (songs 5, 9)

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