Sweet And Low Down - Jackie Cain & Roy Kral

 

Wingin' With The Wind

Sweet And Low Down

Jackie Cain And Roy Kral

Barney Kessel appears through the courtesy of Contemporary Records

Cover Photo: William Claxton

Columbia Records CS 8260

1960

Piano - Roy Kral

Bass - Al McKibbon

Drums - Frank Butler

Guitar - Barney Kessel (appears through the courtesy of Contemporary Records)

Vibraphone - Larry Bunker

Alto Sax and Flute - Anthony Ortega

From the back cover: In jazz, as in borsht, there are circuits, and one jazz circuit which would be envied by all jazz players if they knew it is the Jackie & Roy circuit. It is made up of four principal points, namely San Francisco, Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas, and the Krals slip from one place to another all year long, resting at home base in Las Vegas in between appearances at the other three, Jazzmen who think life is easy if they snare four weeks in Chicago for Boston should try the Karl circuit once. There the scenery swings like the music.

Jackie and Roy are to be envied for more than geography. They are compatible. Which is why these records offer a thoroughly unique jazz sound. Vocal and instrumental arrangements are inseparable. Both are written by Roy and "felt" as well as performed. The Krals, were among the first to integrate vocal sounds with instrumental in jazz. Their accomplishment is still unique chiefly, I think, because they both like instrumental jazz, because they perform as jazz players. (Roy, in fact, does play piano throughout this album.)

In this album, as is their custom, the Krals have chosen their material from the masters. Three of the songs are by the Gershwins, including the title song, a thirty-five-year-old gem many of you will be hearing for the first time here. 'S Wonderful and They Can't Take That Away From Me are fresh all over again dressed in this delightful sound. In addition, Jackie and Roy sing Fred Fischer's familiar Chicago, which is, inf fact, Roy's home town, Rodgers and Hart's Mountain Greenery, Vincent Youmans' Hallelujah!, and Roy's original Wingin' With The Wind. Jackie solos on Cole Porter's Experiment, Living Berlin's Cheek To Cheek, and a wonderful piece called Fun Life from The Nervous Set (Original Cast recording available on OL 5430/OS 2018) by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman.

This first Columbia album by Jackie and Roy was recorded on the Oral circuit in Los Angeles. It is a pleasure to welcome them to Columbia's jazz catalog, for Jackie and Roy Karl make music and marriage sound so good. – Irving Townsend

Sweet And Low Down

'S Wonderful

Cheek To Cheek

They Can't Take That Away From Me

Hallelujah!

Chicago

Mountain Greenery

Experiment

Fun Life

Wingin' With The Wind