Jun 17, 2013
Was I
alone in thinking that we had heard the last of the wonderful Bob
Dorough on recordings? A seminal musical figure in the life
of anyone who was a child in the 1960’s, he worked onstage with
Lenny Bruce and Allen Ginsburg; wrote and recorded with Miles Davis
(“Blue Xmas”); produced Spanky and Our Gang (“Sunday Will Never Be
the Same”); and most importantly, was the pivotal figure behind
Schoolhouse Rock! Not
only did those animated vignettes teach my generation about grammar
and math, but the hip-hop generation that followed returned to the
tracks as material to sample – check De La Soul’s use of “Three is
a Magic Number”.
And now, with Bob pushing 90 years young, we get a new CD, Bob Dorough Duets; which is exactly what its title implies – an album of all Bob Dorough compositions with Bob singing each song with a different artist. On this recording he is paired with the New York Voices, Nellie McKay, JD Walter, Heather Masse, Janis Siegel, Grace Kelly and others, on some of his most iconic songs such as “Devil May Care”, “I’m Hip” (which is my favorite), “Comin’ Home Baby”, and more. The recording also features Grace Kelly, Phil Woods and David Liebman on saxophones, Phil Markowitz on piano, and many other musicians from Bob’s ‘neighborhood.’
The
CD is a fundraising project for COTA, the Celebration of The
Arts Jazz Festival (cotajazz.org) in the Delaware Water Gap,
Pennsylvania – a local event for Mr. Dorough and his friends. The
festival also sponsors a jazz camp (campjazz.org) and youth big
band. These events are fostering young talent and keeping jazz
alive!
ALL THE PROCEEDS FROM YOUR
PURCHASE OF THIS CD GO TO THESE PROGRAMS. The cd can only be
purchased directly from the website www.BobDoroughDuets.com COTA's
mission is "to present and support the art of jazz in all its forms
and historical breadth, and to support and cultivate interest in
art through youth education, performing arts presentations,
scholarship opportunities, and community outreach throughout the
Pocono area.