Molly Ryan - Swing for Your Supper! (2013)

Featuring NYC's top musicians in the field of swing jazz including Bucky Pizzarelli, world-renowned cabaret star Maude Maggart and the jazz diva of New Orleans Ms. Banu Gibson, Molly Ryan's "crazy-good" new album packs a swingin' punch!

When I first asked "the Dans" (Barrett and Levinson) to write arrangements for my new album, they both wanted to know what kind of "feel" I wanted. I told them "I want it to swing." The masterful arrangements they created swing all by themselves. But performed by the best musicians in the world, they transcend the genre and take on a magical life that can't be defined by a single word.
The vocal duets and trios were certainly inspired by the Boswell Sisters, but are by no means an attempt to re- create what three sisters who had been singing together since early childhood did. Banu Gibson, Maude Maggart and I sung together for the first time at a rehearsal the night before the recording session. They are two of my favorite singers, and it was a real thrill to be together in the recording studio with them.
Diane Naegel may not be a household name, especially to those of you outside New York City. When Diane had a dream, she made it a reality. She conceived and edited Zelda: The Magazine of the Vintage Nouveau. Along with her husband Don Spiro, she produced a monthly event in Manhattan called Wit's End, "A Celebration of Jazz Age Lifestyle, Music and Aesthetics," featuring era-appropriate bands. Diane asked me to put together a program of songs from Hollywood films for her March 2010 Wit's End event, and requested a little-known song called My Dreams are Gone with the Wind from the 1937 film The Awful Truth. I learned it and performed it. When Diane left us in 2011 at the age of 31, the world lost a beautiful human spirit. This one's for you, Diane. Your dreams live on.
I hope you have as much fun listening to Swing for Your Supper! as I had making it. Most vocalists will tell you they prefer to sing later in the day, after their voice has had a chance to warm up. And it's an accepted fact that milk and dairy products don't mix with singing. I prefer to record in the morning and can't sing a note until I've stuffed a bagel and cream cheese down my throat. Perhaps I should have called the album Swing for Your Breakfast!
-Molly Ryan

Tracklist:

01. Say It With a Kiss
02. Where the Morning Glories Grow
03. Hushabye Mountain (feat. Maude Maggart)
04. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
05. My Heart Belongs to Daddy
06. Get Rhythm in Your Feet (And Music in Your Soul) [feat. Banu Gibson]
07. My Dreams Are Gone With the Wind
08. Sing for Your Supper (feat. Banu Gibson & Maude Maggart)
09. All God's Chillun Got Rhythm / I'm Just Wild About Harry
10. Save Your Sorrow / Look for the Silver Lining (feat. Maude Maggart)
11. Love Is Just Around the Corner
12. I'm Old Fashioned (feat. Bucky Pizzarelli)
13. Ready for the River (feat. Banu Gibson & Maude Maggart)
14. Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life
15. When My Ship Comes In
16. Was That the Human Thing to Do? (feat. Banu Gibson & Maude Maggart)
17. A Hundred Years from Today (feat. Bucky Pizzarelli)
18. Happy Endings (feat. Banu Gibson)
19. Whispers in the Dark
20. Without a Song (feat. Bucky Pizzarelli)

Personnel:

Molly Ryan - vocal on all tracks
Randy Reinhart - cornet (except on tracks 3, 10, 14, 15, 17)
Dan Barrett - trombone (except on tracks 3, 10, 12, 14, 17)
Dan Levinson - clarinet (tracks 5, 6, 7, 16, 18), tenor sax (tracks 2, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14), C-melody sax (track 3), alto sax (track 1), vocal (track 14)
Chris Flory - acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18)
Bucky Pizzarelli - acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 10, 12, 14), electric guitar (track 17)
Mark Shane - piano (except on tracks 3, 12)
Vince Giordano - bass
Kevin Dorn - drums

Guest Vocalists:

Banu Gibson (tracks 6, 8, 13, 16, 18)
Maude Maggart (tracks 3, 8, 10, 13, 16)