Sittin' on a Rainbow

• Artist: Mike Palter & Lynne Jackson
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1996
• Genre: Jazz

Review

Working together for several years, the team of Lynne Jackson & Mike Palter have worked all over the world as a performing team as well as involving themselves in notable causes. One of the more notable was to convince the Grammy Awards to include more jazz on the live TV portion of the awards show. There still isn't that much, but it's better than no jazz at all. One of their oft-made observations about modern pop is that it's loud, unromantic, and not melodic, with lyrics that are generally unintelligible. Calling themselves Dodos (after the extinct flightless bird), the duo has put together an album of songs that resonate with melody, romance, and fun, drawing on the musical products of such major contributors to the Great American Songbook as Harold Arlen, Jule Styne, and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The two know the music they are performing, are stylish without being idiosyncratic, and are good musicians. But most of all, they understand the importance of musicality, as well as the need to select the right material and present it in such a way as to assure that the attention of the listener will be raptly held, including allowing the listener to understand the lyrics. There is a certain amount of showmanship that comes through on this CD, as if they are performing right in the living room. You hear this on such cuts as "I've Got the World on a String" and on Irving Berlin's rarely heard "You Can Have Him." In addition to the vocalizing chores, they do a fair part of their accompaniment with Jackson on piano and Palter on bass. Paul Schmeling provides relief on piano on selected cuts. This is an album of mostly familiar material done with élan and flair, and is recommended. ~ Dave Nathan, All Music Guide