DENNIS DAY – ALL THINGS IN TIME

“Day is impressive in his ability to go from deep, brooding ballads

to joyful, flamboyant, up-tempo numbers – pulling off each tune as effectively as the next.”

(Cathy Gruefelder, Jazz Improv New York)

PERFORMERS:

Dennis Day (vocals), John DiMartino (piano), Lisle Atkinson (bass), Earl Grice (drums), Danny Mixon (piano), Willie Marinez (percussion), Stefon Harris (African marimbas), John Miller (piano), Eric Lemon (bass), Jason Curry (alto sax), Joey Morant (trumpet), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Cleve Guyton (alto sax), Melvin Sparks (guitar), James Zollar (trumpet)

DESCRIPTION:

Dennis Day’s All Things in Time offers an invigorating global musical foray, fusing jazz, blues, be-bop, and ballads from the Great American Song Book into a timeless vocal/instrumental classic interpreted by a world-class ensemble. This is seasoned jazz that touches the listener’s full emotional range. Rhythmically and lyrically, Dennis Day’s voice exudes unusual warmth and intimacy, leaving his own indelible stamp and evoking repeated listening. Contemporized for the current millennium, All Things in Time is a smooth, driven album that unabashedly demonstrates why the human voice is still first among jazz instruments and why ensemble jazz remains immensely appealing.

Author and jazz critic Herb Boyd writes, “When a vocalist is confident enough to record songs so strongly associated with icons of the genre, like Joe Williams, Nat King Cole, Johnny Hartman and Sammy Davis Jr., you question the bravado and wait to listen to the result of such audacity….What stands out most about this Harlem-based singer is his versatility. Day’s pleasant baritone, with dollops of second-tenor silkiness is as warm and inviting on ballads as it is bouncy and exciting on the up-tempo tunes.” The listener traverses Brazil, tasting its musical delights, then moves on to an original jazz lullaby inspired by the African continent, and then to the Mississippi Delta, London, and those evergreens of Tin Pan Alley.

Day is skillfully accompanied on this CD by John DiMartino and Danny Mixon on piano,  Lisle Atkinson and Eric Lemon on bass, Earl Grice on drums, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Joey Morant and James Zollar on trumpet, Cleave Guyton on flute, Willie Martinez on percussions, and Stefon Harris on marimbas.  With arrangements to satisfy every musical palette among traditional straight-ahead aficionados and novices alike, All Things In Time is a thoroughly enjoyable contemporary romp down memory lane.

BACKGROUND:

Dennis Day’s performances span four decades. His neighborhood church in his native East Chicago, Indiana, nurtured his earliest musical efforts. Later, he spread his silky tenor lead into area dance halls, talent shows, school sock hops, and numerous R&B venues in Gary and South Chicago. Early recognition came when Day’s R&B vocal quintet the Valiants, along with local sensations The Jackson 5, were signed to the Steeltown Records label in Gary and recording sessions began.

In 1964, Day left Indiana, and his steel mill job, to enter Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he toured with the University Choir, appearing at the Philadelphia Academy of Music accompanied by the Eugene Ormandy’s Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. He recalls the experience fondly: “Wow, there I was – one year removed from my sooty steel-toed boots and welder’s goggles, being cued to sing a tenor duet in one of the world’s great concert halls. It was surreal!”

Day soon became a much sought-after demo artist on Nashville’s storied Music Row. During this period he formed Dino and the Dynamics (later AKA the Jades), and gained national exposure with the sultry ballad, “My Loss, Your Gain,” produced by the legendary Ted Jarrett. The recording is currently available as part of a special-edition 22-song historical compilation: Music City Soul – Nashville’s Black Cats, distributed by Kent Records (UK).

During the 1980’s Day turned his focus to jazz, making a string of appearances with Grammy nominees the Blackbyrds, before forming his own Dennis Llewellyn Day Trio. In 1984 Day made his New York debut at the Presbyterian Jazz Society. He was one of six vocalists selected to headline in Marion Cowan’s Jazz Vocalist Workshop series at the Blue Note, and later was among a handful of male vocalists, including Jon Hendricks and Tony Bennett, privileged to pay homage to the late Billy Eckstein, appearing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra rhythm section. Day has conceived and produced major musical/dramatic works, including “The Dream Concert” (a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King), “Jazzstoria,” and “From Doo-Wop to Jazz” at St. Peter’s Church in New York City. In 2007 Day was a finalist in Jazz Mobile’s Best of the Best Vocal Competition.

Day has performed in Europe, Moscow, and Cuba. His music is experienced globally on YouTube and MySpace and his performances are seen locally on Time Warner Cable channels. He continues to hone his skills, studying with such greats as Dr. Richard Harper, Nancy Moreno, Miles Griffith, and the late Jackie Paris.

Over the years, Day has performed with Billy Cox, Dorothy Donegan, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Jon Faddis, Phyllis Hyman, Lonnie Liston Smith, Noel Pointer, Harold Ousley, Eddie Chamblee, Ray Blue, Richard Wayans, Jesse Harris, Ernie Hayes, Paul Ramsey, and Eddie Henderson. His own recordings include Art Porter, Jr., TK Blue, Nick Corlione, Lawrence Hanks, and Terry Morrisett, in addition to the all-star ensemble on his latest release All Things in Time.

TRACK INFORMATION:

SUGGESTED TRACKS FOR AIR PLAY:

1,3,4,8,9

DENNIS DAY DISCOGRAPHY:

2008 – All Things in Time

2006 – Sunday Morning Sunshine

1999 – For Only You

1998 – Music City Soul From Nashville’s Black Cats (Track: “My Loss Your Gain,” The Jades)