Songs In Our Hearts   -  Dewey Erney & Gerry Schroeder
				2007 | CD | Dewsong Music MUSICIANS: Dewey Erney, vocals Gerry Schroeder, piano

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QUOTES/REVIEWS

CD TRACK LISTING & MP3 SAMPLES	LENGTH

			(DISC 1)

			1.		Spoken Introduction by Ken Borgers

			2.		Accentuate The Positive   (H. Arlen / J. Mercer)	3:05

			3.		Somewhere Along The Way   (K. Adams / S. Gallop)	3:36

			4.		With A Song In My Heart   (R. Rodgers / L. Hart)	4:04

			5.		Send In The Clowns   (S. Sondheim)	4:47

			6.		Blue Skies   (I. Berlin)	4:06

			7.		Can't Get Out Of This Mood   (J. McHugh / F. Loesser)	4:27

			8.		I've Never Been In Love Before   (F. Loesser)	3:55

			9.		Misty   (E. Garner / J. Burke)	4:54

			10.		I Wished On The Moon   (R. Rainger / D. Parker)	3:41

			11.		Love Locked Out   (R. Noble / M. Kester)	3:35

			12.		One Note Samba   (A. Carlos Jobim)	3:28

			(DISC 2)

			1.		Without A Song   (Y. Youmans / W. Rose / E. Eliscu)	4:00

			2.		Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most   (T. Wolf / F. Landesman)	6:51

			3.		Softly As In A Morning Sunrise   (S. Romberg / O. Hammerstein)	3:46

			4.		I Wish I Knew   (H. Warren / M. Gordon)	5:15

			5.		Look To The Sky   (A. Carlos Jobim)	4:13

			6.		Don't Get Around Much Anymore   (D. Ellington / B. Russell)	4:59

			7.		Oh What A Beautiful Morning   (R. Rodgers / O. Hammerstein)	3:30

			8.		You Are There   (J. Mandel / D. Frishberg)	3:25

			9.		You're Nearer   (R. Rodgers / L. Hart)	2:59

			10.		Johnny One Note   (R. Rodgers / L. Hart)	3:56

			11.		That's All   (A. Brandt / B. Haymes)	5:44

SALES OPTIONS
CD BABY:  CD Baby accepts VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover & PayPal, and offers a choice of shipment options. CD Baby handles both domestic (U.S.) and international orders.				OTHER OPTIONS:  CDs may be purchased from Dewey at his gigs.

LINER NOTES

NOTE:  Due to space limitations in the printing of the CD, the original liner notes were greatly truncated. As mentioned on the CD package, the notes are reproduced here in their entirety.   Notes from Dewey Erney: It's April 25, 2007, and I'm sitting on the front porch of our home in Long Beach, CA. The weather is beautiful (low 70's) and I'm thinking about what a wonderful life I've had. To be lovingly married for almost 45 years and to have three children who are very close is, to me, life's crowing achievement. The icing on this very delicious cake is the musical life I've been fortunate enough to have while maintaining a good job, with all the benefits that brings (home, health, etc.). I have long ago made peace with the reality of not being aggressive about pushing myself to work every musical job in and out of town to gain celebrity and/or scrape out a living in music. Doing that is very difficult, and for the most part I've avoided the unpleasant surroundings. It's a fact that in most instances musical values and talents don't equate to popularity and celebrity, today. What I will say is that in all my club and concert appearances, and my recordings, I've always given my very best and most sincere performances that I'm capable of. I grew up in an age when vocalists knew their craft, sang in tune and interpreted lyrics. Of course, there was a lot of "cornball" stuff, too, but out of this age came singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, Peggy Lee, Jackie & Roy, The Hi-Lo's, Ella and Sarah and a few others. My approach to singing is much the same. Interpret the lyrics, tell a story, sing a good song, and make it swing. I also understand that if those people were just arriving on the scene in this "American Idol" and "Rap" age they wouldn't be heard. I'm not bitter about this, just realistic. Why fret over something you can't do anything about. In other words, at age 70, I'm happy where I am. Probably, my main reason for this joy is that I still have a "voice" to be able to sing all the wonderful songs that I love; to be able to perform with terrific musicians who are sensitive to the inherent beauty contained in the Great American Song Book. The two prime examples of this are Gerry Schroeder and Ron Escheté. Both are brilliant harmonically and that has always appealed to me; hence, my love of vocal groups like the Hi-Lo's, The Four Freshman, The Singers Unlimited; instrumental arrangers like Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Gil Evans, Claus Ogerman, and Marty Paich; and great instrumentalists like Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Miles Davis. These gentlemen all had a love of melody as well. The focus on this recording is dual--Voice and Piano--not, vocal with piano accompaniment. Gerry Schroeder's orchestrations on piano are inspiring and complete. I love placing my notes against Gerry's beautifully re-harmonized chords. He's an emotional player and I'm an emotional singer, but neither one of us performs with histrionics or pyrotechnics. I believe that both our personalities, musically and personally, lend themselves to a more subtle approach--restraint some might call it. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't swing! Our concert on October 6, 2006, at Grace First Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, was the jazz part of the concert series presented at the church each year. I must admit that it's rather bold to record a concert with only voice and piano, but I'm really happy with what Gerry and I have produced. Chuck Mitchell (Voice of the Arts Recording) is a wonderful recording and mastering engineer and he so beautifully captured the "vibe" that was happening that night. I'd like to especially thank the extremely gifted and sensitive musicianship of my friend Gerry Schroeder who, as you can hear, is so empathetic as a musical partner that he has the innate ability to expand upon the slightest nuance. In order to be able to do this, you must not only have the "ears" to hear it, but have the technical command of your instrument to "pull-it-off." And, he does. Gerry has been on eight of my recordings and I'm proud of every one of them. You never know what the future holds, but I'm secure in the knowledge that what we've been able to produce musically has a legacy that I know is top-of-the-line. Ken Borgers, the wonderful radio man with the golden voice who acted as our emcee that night, was a very special addition. Ken is also a very good friend. And, speaking for the entire jazz community, he is sorely missed on jazz radio. He's a consummate pro. Thanks also to Stan Hollon, the owner of WMR Creative Services, who manages my website, does all the graphics, layouts and photos on my recordings and is also a close friend. Special thanks to the ministers and members of Grace First Presbyterian Church for allowing us to perform and rehearse at the church. Your warmth and love are so appreciated by me. Thanks also to Mike Barone, leader of his own wonderful big band, for the lead sheet on "Love Locked Out." Credit goes to Anita O'Day for the ending phrases on "One Note Samba" and "Johnny One Note."   Notes from Gerry Schroeder: It was a Saturday night like many other Saturday nights for me, a gig at an Orange County Country Club, playing as well as could be expected for a non-caring audience of families out for a weekend meal, or golfers fresh off the course, laughing, exchanging stories and tossing back a couple of cocktails. Not very promising as a recipe for the beginning of a beautiful relationship between two musicians who had already performed together for 25 years. That night, Dewey and I were performing one after another of beautiful classic songs by Cole Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers and Hart; the best of the best in American popular song. None of the diners seemed to notice; no applause, no smiles, winks, nods were seen or heard. We were just doing a typical Country Club gig, what I like to call a "Paid Rehearsal." "We'll try this tune in a lower key," or "Let's do it as a bossa nova." We really hadn't worked together on a gig as a duo before, but to us that night it was obvious that something very special was occurring musically. We could feel the ebb and flow of each other's musical thoughts before they became audible; it was eerie. So at the end of the night, when Dewey suggested that perhaps we should do an album together as a duo, because our performance felt and sounded so good, I was eminently willing, as Dewey had worked with all of the finest jazz pianists in Southern California, and I was honored to be considered. The result of that night's gig turned out to be one of my proudest moments as a musician, our first CD together, Shades of Love. We rehearsed for several months until we'd picked out the songs that we hoped to record. Dewey also signed on one of the finest recording engineers in Southern California, Jim Mooney, and he, in turn, found a state-of-the-art recording studio near San Diego that had a gorgeous sounding grand piano I could use. The finished product was just what we'd hoped for; it sounded great. It was all that we had hoped for, and more. And, luckily, it was not to be the last. Since that first recording, Dewey and I have performed together in dozens of jazz venues all over California, concertizing from Carmel to San Diego, and all points in between. But, nowhere have the audiences been as knowledgeable and responsive as those in Dewey's very own church, Grace First Presbyterian Church of Long Beach, where this two-CD set was recorded during a live concert. To me, it's our Carnegie Hall, with naturally resonant acoustics and a beautiful Yamaha grand piano, where we feel welcome from the moment we enter the church, and where the feeling continues until the final applause has died away. This local audience really appreciates what Dewey and I offer; they like the material, they like the distinct sound we produce as a duo, and they enjoy the rapport he and I share when we perform. The end result is similar to performing at a major concert venue. The audience is totally engrossed, sitting silently in rapt attention, enjoying each note, appreciating our efforts, waiting for the appropriate moment to applaud, with knowing nods and smiles. These people know what Dewey can successfully do time and time again, and it appears they're never disappointed. What a great venue for performers to spread their wings and fly. My favorite hall! This live recording is from our most recent performance at Grace First Presbyterian Church. Dewey, as always, picked the original list of material, more than we'd need or use, but all deserving of inclusion in some way, and then he and I rehearsed and experimented for months, going over them in various ways to find the best approach, and finally weeding out the least successful versions. This two-CD recording contains the final survivors. As usual, each is beautifully crafted in both words and music, an example of what was possible when art and inspiration were equal to sales potential. One has to go back to the 19th century when Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Hugo Wolf were setting the poetry of Goethe, Schiller and Heine, to find such quality material for gifted vocalists to perform. It is my distinct impression that Dewey Erney is the last bastion of quality when Southern Californian male jazz singers are mentioned. Can you name another one? Nope, me either. His material is simply put, the creme de la creme of the classic American songbook, our greatest composers of the popular song. You know their names by now; Porter, Gershwin, Berlin, Kern, Rodgers, Mercer, Van Heusen, LeGrand, Ellington, Arlen, who, along with their lyricist partners Hart, Hammerstein, Mercer (again), Ira Gershwin, and dozens of others, have set the "Standards of Excellence" that, it seems to those of us who follow such things, will never be equaled. Dewey pretty much knows them all; knows the melodies, knows the lyrics, and knows the verse in front of the song that changes the mood from stage conversation to singing. What a gift to the listeners left on this earth to admire such things. And, Dewey has never flinched from his passionate defense of great songs, sung well. I've told Dewey many times how working with him in this context, just voice and piano, has been pure joy for me. In our arrangements, notes for the piano are seldom written out. Often, there are just chord symbols and "road maps," "go here, go there," "back to the bridge," "after letter A, jump to the coda," etc. So, when we rehearse, I get to basically "write an arrangement" of the song, unless there is an arrangement written previously by someone else. But, my favorite devise has always been for Dewey to leave me the song in the correct key for his voice range, and then I get to live with that song for a few weeks, going over it, reshaping it, altering the chord changes, or changing the rhythms. Then we'll try it out again, and see if it's worth the reworking of this song. If we agree, it becomes a unique view of that song, and one that will now be "our arrangement." And, as much as I love accompanying Dewey, I love creating these arrangements with him just as much. Often Dewey will come up with an idea that starts me on another path, i.e. "With a Song in My Heart" in 3/4 instead of 4/4, and "I've Never Been in Love Before" done as a bossa nova, are just two examples. It is quite a partnership. The trust between musicians in a group is a wondrous experience, and one which Dewey and I have developed in spades over the years. You will notice that Dewey will stray from the original melody in certain ways, because he hears it, and feels like it's a good idea. And, he knows that I will use his idea as jump-start to another idea or series of ideas. An arrangement within an arrangement. What fun. If you're watching the two of us, you'll see the occasional smile that occurs during a song when an unexpected musical event comes out really well, and we look over and let the other know, "Hey, that was cool!"

QUOTES / REVIEWS

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