Marking her tenth release on Minnehaha Music and third record in the hot club style of Django Reinhardt, vocalist Connie Evingson teams up with one of the leading groups in the hot club genre, the John Jorgenson Quintet. “I first heard the group at Djangofest Northwest,” says Evingson. “We performed together in Minneapolis a year later and had so much fun, we decided to make this record.” The legendary Jon Hendricks, age 93, makes a guest appearance on the title track (“All the Cats Join In”), singing vocalese lyrics he penned to Lester Young’s “Tickle Toe” for Lambert, Hendricks and Ross’s classic album, Sing a Song of Basie (’57). The adventurous songlist includes offerings by Lennon & McCartney (“I’ll Follow the Sun”, “World Without Love”), French singer/songwriter Keren Ann (“Jardin D’hiver”) and film composer John Williams (“Moonlight”, recorded by Sting for the film Sabrina) in addition to popular standards (“Solitude”, “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, “Black Orpheus”, “You’re Driving Me Crazy”, etc. ).

About the songs

Agua de Beber – (“Water to Drink”) There’s something infectious about this tune. I’ve always loved it and knew it had to be part of this collection. The rhythmic energy of the repeating chorus, the hopeful, optimistic quality of the melody,… Jobim was a genius. And Norman’s lyric “I need your love or I will die”, occurring at the apex of the melody, perfectly describes the urgency of someone yearning for their lover, needing their love like water for life.

Meditation – Another lyric that perfectly fits the ruminating, meditative quality of the melody and soars joyfully on the contrasting bridge – brilliant.

Slow Hot Wind – This song has such a cinematic quality. Danny Embrey wrote the haunting, mysterious line that sets the sultry desert scene and with Dave Karr’s shimmering tenor solo, you can almost see the mirage appear.

Sweet Happy Life – Three songs with lyrics by Norman Gimbel inspired me to make this record. “Sweet Happy Life”, aka “Samba de Orfeu” was the second of the three. I happened to hear Peggy Lee’s version of the song and was surprised to learn there were English language lyrics for this tune I’d heard so many times before as an instrumental. I made a note of it and decided to add it to my repertoire, having no idea that a few years later it would be the title song of my next CD.

Killing Me Softly – Roberta Flack’s version of this tune is so iconic, many people assume she wrote it. It’s hard to imagine the song without her voice and the groove of her version, but I thought it would be a fun experiment to take it someplace more moody and contemplative. Pianist Phil Aaron is a master of many styles, and the perfect choice to create a reharmonized arrangement that describes a different experience.

Canadian Sunset – This track is relatively long (6:20), but the band was swinging so hard, I didn’t have the heart to shorten it! Another cinematic lyric by Norman, the song instantly transports you to snow-covered mountains in Canada. It’s great fun to sing this tune, especially with a band like this.

Watch What Happens – Composed by Michel Legrand, this is one of two songs from the film THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG for which Norman wrote English language lyrics after the film’s release.

The Girl from Ipanema – As the second most-covered song in the world (the Beatles’ “Yesterday” being the first), it’s tempting to try to reinvent this one. But I decided to take it at a slow tempo and let the lyrics tell the story. As Norman told me, “it’s the oldest story in the world,… a guy sees a lovely girl and she just walks on by, eluding his grasp.”

Sway – This is the first in the trio of songs that brought me to the Norman Gimbel Songbook. A number of years ago, Target was doing a TV commercial for their Club Wedd wedding registry, and had me and a male vocalist each demo the song. I loved the Dean Martin recording they played for us as an example, and wondered why I hadn’t heard it before. I didn’t get the job – the guy did – but the song introduced me to Norman Gimbel!

Bluesette – When I recorded this popular Toots Thielemans tune for my CD SOME CATS KNOW with the composer himself on harmonica, I had no idea that the lyricist for the song had also written “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song”. I’m happy to have a second chance to record the tune and sing Toots’ chromatic harmonica line this time around.

How Insensitive – The guitar/clarinet instrumentation seemed apropos for the song. Simple, intimate and heartbreaking.

Take Me to Aruanda – When I heard this song on a “Best of Astrud Gilberto” compilation, I fell in love with the breezy melody and elysian lyrics and wondered why it it hasn’t been covered more often since Astrud’s recording in 1965. Actually, there were quite a few obscure gems I disovered while researching Norman’s catalog that I wanted to include in this project – maybe that’ll be Volume 2! – but I decided this one absolutely had to make the cut.

So Nice – This is #3 in the trio of songs that inspired this record. I was in Vienna, Austria on a cold winter day and ducked into the famous American Bar to warm up. Built in 1908, the place seats about 25-30 people and has a charming pre-Art Deco decor. “So Nice”, aka “Summer Samba”, was playing on the house music system, and it created a cozy, warm feeling. I thought to myself, “I’ve always loved this tune,… why isn’t it in my book ?” and made a note to add it. When I discovered that Norman Gimbel was the lyricist, I thought “OK, something’s going on here….” and decided it was time to look into his catalog.

Adventure – During one of my visits with Norman at his home, he handed me a piece of music from his files saying “Here’s something that might interest you”. It was a lyric that he’d written to a Jobim ballad called “Olha Maria” and it had never been recorded. (Yes, I was interested!) It’s a gorgeous tune, heard as an instrumental in the score for the movie “The Adventurers” (based on the novel by Harold Robbins). I’m thrilled to include the first recording of the song with Norman’s lyric in this collection.

I Will Wait for You – Another Michel Legrand song from THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, this one was nominated for an Oscar. I saw Legrand perform it in concert in every possible style, i.e., latin, swing, ballad, waltz, polka, march, etc. Telling the audience it’s his most requested song, he seemed to imply that perhaps he’s grown weary of it. It was an entertaining bit, but in the end, it’s a beautiful melody that people never seem to tire of.

Tristeza – (“Goodbye Sadness”) With all the Brazilian tunes on this record, it seemed only fitting to go out with a big, Carnival-style samba. There are a number of recordings of this Haroldo Lobo tune performed in Portuguese, but there aren’t many with Norman Gimble’s English-language lyric.

I’ve been in love with Dave Frishberg’s work forever. Little did I dream that one day I’d get to record an entire album of his songs—with him at the piano! When I learned that Frishberg and my musical cohort and pal, Dave Karr, were long-time friends from college days at the U of M, I thought it would be great fun to bring them together for a project. I’m forever grateful to Frishberg for coming to Minnesota—during the dead of winter—for this session. Seeing the two Daves together, friends who started our admiring each other’s work as young men and are still inspiring each other today, was really a delight and an inspiration. — Connie Evingson

On this follow up to her highly successful venture into gypsy swing ( “Gyspy in My Soul”, ’04), jazz vocalist Connie Evingson teams up with The Hot Club of Sweden to further explore the “hot club” style ala Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli.

Jazz vocalist Connie Evingson is known for taking divergent musical paths. Her eclectic catalog of recordings for Minnehaha Music covers such varied themes as Peggy Lee, the Beatles, jazz elders, and most recently, “hot club” music a là Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli (Gypsy in My Soul, ’04). Anticipating her next release, one would expect Evingson’s music to take another divergent turn. But a chance meeting with a young hot club group from Sweden inspired her to delve deeper into the Django style before moving in a new direction.

With only email for introductions and planning, Connie met The Hot Club of Sweden at Real Music Studio in Stockholm in January 2006, where they recorded 15 tunes in 2 1/2 days. The result, “Stockholm Sweetnin’ “, is both stunning and uniquely Connie. Hot Club of Sweden guitarists Gustav Lundgren and Andreas Oberg and bassist Hampus Lundgren form the core rhythm section, with brilliant solo turns by each player. Guest artists from both sides of the Atlantic add their unique voices on saxophone, clarinet, accordion and percussion, but the most distinctive voice belongs to Connie, as vocalist, arranger, and lyricist (on Oberg’s “Autumn in Kokkola”).

Of the fifteen tracks that fill Stockholm Sweetnin’, six are familiar hot club repertoire. “If I Had You,”
“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and “Out of Nowhere” were often performed by Django himself; Duke Ellington, a Django favorite, is beautifully represented by “In a Sentimental Mood,” while another ballad, “Lover Man,” features young Swedish saxman Fredrik Lindborg. “After You’ve Gone” puts the spotlight on Minnesota clarinetist, Tony Baluff. Connie offers the rarely heard lyrics on Count Basie and Eddie Durham’s “Swingin’ the Blues,” a tune she says she learned as a child from the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross record, “Sing a Song of Basie” .

Enriched by translation to gypsy swing, Quincy Jones’ “Stockholm Sweetnin’” (with lyrics by Jon Hendricks) bursts with slick guitar licks. The ’40s classic “Comes Love,” with the sultry addition of Baluff’s clarinet, also benefits from its first hot club rendition. Dan Chouinard’s accordion and Connie’s clear articulation are essential to the success of Legrand’s “Windmills of My Mind” in its hot club debut, performed here in 3/4 time. Perhaps the most unusual choice for this collection is Abbey Lincoln’s “Throw It Away,” lighter here than its usual presentation and highlighting the talented percussion of Marc Anderson.

Two tracks display Connie Evingson’s talents as a multi-lingual artist. “Bésame Mucho,” sung in Spanish, more often played as a hot club instrumental, breathes Latin color and charm, thanks in part to Joan Griffith’s introduction on Spanish acoustic guitar. “Si Tu Savais” by Georges Ulmer is another popular hot club instrumental given new life through Connie’s vocals, this time in French, transporting the listener to a small Paris café. The closing track is the beautiful original (music by Oberg, lyrics by Evingson), “Autumn in Kokkola,” evoking a coastal town in Finland where bonfires and lanterns mark the end of summer.

Connie owes her predilection for exploring diverse musical roots to the early influence of her father’s jazz record collection and the musical icons of her own generation (the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, etc.). With her three most recent releases charting on Jazzweek’s Top 50 for eight weeks each (Gypsy in My Soul reaching #8) and a nomination for JazzWeek Vocalist of the Year in 2005, Evingson has become known as an artist who takes her listeners down new musical avenues.

“This collection makes me proud to be from Minneapolis! I can’t put this lovely album away…[“Stockholm Sweetnin’ “] is high quality popular music that is both entertaining and intelligent!” — Bruce Swedien, Producer and Recording Engineer for Quincy Jones, Dinah Washington, George Benson, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and others

“I like being musically surprised. Connie’s albums are always surprisingly different and expectedly delightful.” — Michael Bourne, “Singers Unlimited” (WBGO, Newark, NJ)

“Her performances carry the aroma of red wine and filterless cigarettes, sensual, slightly decadent, and thoroughly wonderful.” –C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

Hot Club Swing in the style of Django Reinhardt (aka “gypsy jazz”) with vocals. Backed by three different Hot Club groups: Pearl Django (Seattle), Parisota Hot Club (Minneapolis) and Clearwater Hot Club (Grand Rapids). Features Django originals.

While working in Seattle with bass player Rick Leppanen a few years ago, I was introduced to his group Pearl Django and the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt. I fell in love with the instrumentation and the Gypsy influence in the music, and although I realized The Hot Club genre was primarily an instrumental one, I was dying to sing with them. Thankfully, Pearl Django gave me a chance, as did Robb Henry and the Parisota Hot Club and Sam Miltich’s group, Clearwater Hot Club. Before long, I was in Hot Club Heaven! Hence this CD.

“With her own delicious sense of swing, silken
phrasing and sense of adventure, Evingson really
nails Django’s spirit on ‘Gypsy’, rummaging
through his songbook (often with added lyrics) and
other tunes that fit the mood, from Ellington’s
‘Caravan’ to Sting’s ‘Until’ ….” – Rick Mason, City Pages

Vocal jazz. Fresh, unusual treatments of 13 songs by Lennon and McCartney. Everything from sitar to accordian is found in these tasteful and fun arrangements that put a new spin on songs you thought you knew.

“Let it Be Jazz – Connie Evingson Sings the Beatles” features really fresh, unusual treatments of 13 songs by Lennon and McCartney. Everything from sitar to accordian (!) is found in these tasteful and fun arrangements that put a new spin on songs you thought you knew! For reviews, go to Connie’s website, www.connieevingson.com and click on the Press Kit page.

Named one of the “12 CD’s of Christmas 2003” by Jazziz magazine! Holiday classics and lesser-known songs of the season, performed in a swinging jazz style. Unique arrangements, including the original and entertaining “Nutcracker Petite Suite”.

Vocal Jazz – classic yet original interpretations of popular and lesser-known standards.

The CD is a tribute to jazz ‘elders’, and features guest artists Toots Thielemans, Doc Severinsen, Ray Brown, Jack McDuff, Al Grey and others.

Highlights of the record include Toots Thielemans on his own composition, ‘Bluesette’, Ray Brown on the title track ‘Some Cats Know’, and Doc Severinsen on ”Round Midnight’ and ‘I’ve Got the World on a String’.

Jazz vocalist CONNIE EVINGSON is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

She has appeared with her trio in clubs and concert halls across the U.S., in Europe and Japan, and has been a guest soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinsen, and the Plymouth Music Series with Bobby McFerrin.

She is the creator of the original stage production, Fever, A Tribute to Peggy Lee , which she has performed at theatres in Minneapolis and Seattle, and excerpted at New York’s Town Hall.

Her theatrical credits include Lady in the Dark with the Plymouth Music Series, 2-Gether at Illusion Theatre, and The King and I, South Pacific and The Pearl Fishers with the Minnesota Opera Company.

Her voice is often heard on radio and TV commercials, and she is the host of Singers and Standards on KBEM, the Twin Cities’ premier jazz radio station.

She is featured on Jazziz Magazine’s Vocals on Fire CD, and has released three CD’s on Minnehaha Music, I Have Dreamed, Fever , A Tribute to Peggy Lee, and Some Cats Know.

Evingson has been a member of the vocal jazz ensemble Moore By Four since 1986, with whom she has toured the U.S., Europe and Japan, appeared on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, and shared the stage with Harry Connick, Jr., the late Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Dizzy Gillespie.

Connie was among the top 15 contestants in the 1998 Thelonius Monk Vocal Competition and received the McKnight Artist Fellowship Award in 2000.

Jazz Vocalist CONNIE EVINGSON appears in theaters, concert halls and nightclubs across the U.S., in Europe and Japan.  She has been a guest soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Vocalessence Music Series and Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion. She appears regularly at the nationally renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, where she resides.   She has been featured on the Smithsonian’s Jazz Singers radio series, NPR’s Fresh Air, and is on numerous compilation discs including Jazziz Magazine’s Vocals on Fire and New Sirens of Song along with Diana Krall, Stacy Kent, Janis Siegel and others.   Her 8 CDs on Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the U.S. and Canada and can be heard on radio stations worldwide.  In 2005, she was nominated for JazzWeek Vocalist of the Year Award alongside artists Tierney Sutton, Madeline Peyroux, Stacey Kent and Curt Stigers.