When Ying Tan told me that Autumn Leaves, Jacintha’s second album for Groove Note would be a collection of Johnny Mercer songs, I felt a quickening of the pulse. Here surely would be a recital of rare sympathy: one of the most purely romantic of all lyricists interpreted by one of the most ravishingly beautiful voices to come along in jazz and popular music this last quarter century.
Few singers of standards display as much awareness of the performing traditions of the American popular song as this Singapore-born and raised jazz singer, whose first album for Groove Note paid explicit tribute to the great tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. But in her arrangement of the material and her approach, which placed primary importance upon the lyrics, the implicit acknowledgment was to Frank Sinatra, the greatest singer of the American popular song.
This new collection, however, finds her far more in the mode of a jazz singer, evoking the leading lady of the American popular song, Ella Fitzgerald.
Jacintha - Autumn Leaves - The Songs Of Johnny Mercer (UHQ-CD/MQA-CD)
The Groove Note Records team of Joe Harley (producer), Mike Ross (engineer) and Ying Tan (executive producer) join forces once again to orchestrate the second release from the label's first artist, Jacintha. Autumn Leaves is a collection of songs by Johnny Mercer.
Autumn Leaves finds Jacintha in excellent form and, once again, delivering several strong performances on many of the songs. One of the highlights of the album is the title track which finds Jacintha singing in the original French intro and first verse as well as the later Johnny Mercer English lyrics.
Groove Note weren't the only ones impressed with Jacintha's vocal prowess; she also caught the attention of Bordertown Pictures (Touchstone Pictures) and a team arrived during the recording session to capture a brand new version of the Grammy-award winning song "Here's to Life." With Jacintha featured on vocals and the backing of Kei Akagi (piano), Teddy Edwards (tenor sax), Larance Marable (drums), Joe LaBarbera (drums) and Darek Oles (bass), the musicianship on the recording is fantastic. Artie Butler, the Grammy winning composer of "Here's to Life" was also in attendance and played the Hammond B-3 organ on the track! The song was featured in the opening title sequence for the Ron Shelton-directed 2000 film Play It to the Bone, starring Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson and Lolita Davidovich.
Album: Jacintha - Autumn Leaves
Label: Groove Note - AM6071UM
Format: UHQCD, CD, Stereo, Numbered, Limited, Japanese Import
Country: Japan
Genre: Jazz
Tracklist:
1 And The Angels Sing
2 Skylark
3 One For My Baby
4 Midnight Sun
5 Autumn Leaves
6 Days Of Wine & Roses
7 I Remember You
8 Trav'lin' Light
9 Something's Gotta Give
10 Moon River
BONUS:
11 Bonus Track: Here's To Life (Soundtrack Mix)
Additional Artists: Teddy Edwards Kei Akagi Darek Oles Larance Marable Joe LaBarbera
Autumn Leaves (The Songs of Johnny Mercer)
UHQCD Features:
- Ultimate High Quality CD
- Superior Crystal Sound
- Mastered by Bernie Grundman, Using the Sony Direct Stream Digital System
- Numbered, Limited Edition
- MQA 352.8kHz Processed by MQA Labs
- XRCD-Like Luxury Digipak
- Playable on Conventional CD Players
- Record Store Day Hong Kong 2025 Release
- Made in Japan
℗ Groove Note Records. Groove Note Records is owned by Analogue Archive Pte Ltd
Released on: 1999-09-01
Composer: Prevert
Composer: Kozma
Lyricist: Johnny Mercer
Jacintha Autumn Leaves: The Songs of Johnny Mercer
The Songs of Johnny Mercer Numbered Limited Edition Japanese Import UHQCD
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to the softer photopolymer for scratch protection. The combination results in significantly reduced reflection of laser light inside the CD and an unmatched precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with standard CD players. Musically, the result is a sound image strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
Made in Japan - Jacintha - Autumn Leaves - The Songs Of Johnny Mercer.
