The following is a review of my album, …From the Fourth Room. Click here to download and listen to it.
Having spent the entire decade of the 70’s in the entertainment industry as a record producer, radio programmer and contributor to Billboard Magazine I have listened to lots of “performers”. I have always felt that there is a distinct difference between those who perform and those who express through a gift of giving.
Jazz pianist and composer David Gurwin’s album “…From the Fourth Room” clearly falls under the latter. As I listen to each track I feel as though I’m being drawn into a place that is not unlike a guided visualization in meditation. In a very subtle way his music draws you into his psyche and embraces you.
As I journey from track to track listening to such classics as Smile, which I did not know was written by Charlie Chaplin (shame on me), You taught My Heart to Sing by Sammy Cahn and McCoy Tyner, My Foolish Heart by Victor Young and Ned Washington and The Look of Love by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, I pause as I listen to David Gurwin’s romantic heartfelt arrangements that continue the legacy of the original artists while making each song his unique expression of love.
David plays tribute to one of my all-time favorite composers Antonio Carlos Jobim with his own interpretations of Agua de Beber and Wave capturing succinctly the recognizable rhythm and carefree phrasings that are Jobim with a soft but noticeable touch that is Gurwin.
I was immediately drawn to the Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner hit On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. David’s version of this sacred Streisand classic is indeed a worthy offering in his distinctive styling. Images of Barbra singing it danced through my head as I listened and sighed.
I remember when Ruby and the Romantics first performed Our Day Will Come circa 1963. It has since been made a hit by such notable artists as the late Amy Winehouse. This Bob Hilliard/Mort Garson creation was enchanting in 1963 and it is just as enchanting 50 years later a la David Gurwin with its original rhythmic passages and a unique twist.
Other songs on this album like A Child is Born by Thad Jones, Heart and Numbers and Regrets by Don Grolnick, David Benoit’s I Remember Bill Evans and Some Other Sunset provide an over-all balance to your listening pleasure that are soothing, uplifting, memorable and “respectful to origin” arrangements.
David Gurwin introduces two of his own compositions to this compilation of love songs; What You Do To Me and Once Upon a Lifetime, thus preserving his place in such great company as the artists he provides such honest emotional tribute to in this album.
Finally a bonus track to his album entitled A Time For Love by Johnny Mendel and Paul Francis Webster. It’s placed at the end probably for good reason. This soft melody provides a platform for David’s relaxed styling that leaves you with a sweet aftertaste as if it were a fine desert to a romantic candle lit dinner at midnight on a patio high above the city overlooking a dimly lit park and the wafting sounds of horse drawn carriages passing below and the sweet smell of love in the air. Bon appétit!
This entire album is filled with a series of memorable moments that are expressions of feelings that you will want to re visit again and again.
By: William S. McCulley
