Given Walt Disney's fondness for jazz music dating back to the late 1920s and early '30s, it's no surprise that many artists in subsequent decades recorded interpretations of popular songs associated with his film's soundtracks. Some of the songs, such as "Some Day My Prince Will Come," from 1937's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became Great American Songbook standards thanks to jazz artists using the tune as a platform for lyricism and improvisation. The embrace of Disney's musical legacy continues with a compilation of newly recorded songs, Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody Wants to Be a Cat, which is available today. The album is the first to feature bassist, vocalist and composer, Esperanza Spalding, following her 2011 Grammy win.
Esperanza Spalding recently took home a Grammy Award in the category of "Best New Artist" at the 2011 awards ceremony on Sunday night. Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody Wants To Be A Cat, is the first album to feature Spalding since her win and presents listener's with the artist's personal rendition of "Chim Chim Cheree," the classic Mary Poppins tune. Spalding explains her choice of recording the song: "I've always been haunted by this song since I first saw Mary Poppins as a child. It has been such a treat to re-visit this music as an adult and explore the magic of the melody. The melody of 'Chim Chim Ceree' is sweet and lilting, yet has a bitter tinge of melancholy. ...Finding a way to add to this song without burying the magic of it's simplicity was challenging."
Produced by Jason Olaine and engineered by Joe Ferla, the vibrant 13-song collection features sublime performances by a who's who of contemporary jazz stars and up-and-comers. In addition to Esperanza Spalding, the disc includes The Bad Plus trio, saxophonist Joshua Redman, trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Mark Rapp, pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel and Gilad Hekselman, violinist Regina Carter, and vocalists Dianne Reeves, Roberta Gambarini and Nikki Yanofsky. One of the first artists to sign on to the project, the dean of jazz piano Dave Brubeck, who recently turned 90 years old, delivers two tracks, including "Some Day My Prince Will Come" and "Alice in Wonderland," a trio date featuring Gambarini on vocals.
The title of the album comes from the song "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat," from The Aristocats, which is given an upbeat, grooving treatment by Hargrove's quintet. The song serves as the fitting leadoff track. Hargrove states, "Those songs that are in the Disney repertoire are very catchy. 'Everybody Wants To Be A Cat' was in the Jungle Book, which was my favorite as a kid. It has a nice bounce to it. The melody and the way it goes-- the kind of New Orleans feel that is has, that second line-- it's already jazz! It swings. It's fun, that tune's fun. It kind of plays itself."
The genesis of Disney Jazz Volume 1 began two years ago when Olaine was asked to assemble today's best and brightest musicians to render a Disney classic in whatever arrangement and style they chose. Olaine was given an astounding 600 songs to work with, ranging from legendary films (animated classic gems such as Lady and the Tramp and feature films like Mary Poppins) to scores for newer animated hits including Toy Story and The Lion King.
Writing in the album liner notes, Ashley Kahn praises the top-drawer prowess of the performers: "It's exceedingly rare that one finds this range of talent on one jazz album. If one desired an accurate measure of today's scene in all its flavors and formats, here it is on one disc."
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