One of the first male jazz singers to explore bebop, Jackie
Paris has been an underground legend for decades, only recording
on a very infrequent basis. However, as this recently released
late-1999 recording shows, his vocal chops are still in prime
form. The set (available from www.jackieparis.com) is a bit
unusual for the singer is heard accompanying himself on guitar,
with the only other musician being bassist Mike Richmond. Since
Paris had never recorded on guitar before, the project is somewhat
surprising but quite successful. Mostly sticking to ballads,
Paris shows that he is still a fine (if vastly underrated) singer,
with the better selections including “But Beautiful,” “’Tis
Autumn,” “This Is Always” and “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” Paris
had been accompanying his vocal students on guitar for years
and he sounds quite comfortable doing the same for himself.
This very welcome release is easily recommended to fans of warm
jazz-influenced vocalists. Hopefully Jackie Paris will have
opportunities to record more often in the future.
