surrender and win

featuring matt baker on piano

This time I'm thrilled to have Matt Baker working his special magic on piano. Matt and I met at the Noosa Jazz Festival 2001 (Australia) where we had the opportunity to perform together and I immediately thought it would be great to do my next CD with him. I'm very glad this came to pass and am so grateful to him for his immense talent and his help in many areas like arrangements and musical direction.

Matt's career in Jazz has taken him many places. His music has taken him twice over to the Jazz capital of the world, New York, as well as over to New Zealand for a series of performances. Back home he has performed in Jazz Festivals and concerts all around Australia.

Matt has his own CD I Got It Bad and has played with Australian Jazz legend John Morrison and extensively throughout Australia. He has also studied in New York with some of the great pianists - Herbie Hancock, Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller, Jacky Terrasson, Ralph Sutton, and Ella Fitzgerald's life-long accompanist Paul Smith.

I'm also pleased to have my usual wonderful professionals behind me. Frank Gibson doing his smooth thing on drums, Andy Brown on bass and Roger Manins grooving on sax. New to this album Neil Watson doing a beautiful job in guitar especially just the two of us on Darn that dream.

If you have heard my first CD Just do it(the title track of which I wrote about the scary process of my overcoming fears of doing anything in front of an audience) and the second Do it again you will know I like ballads and standards. All or nothing at all and Cocktails for two are taken real slow, but in particular I like finding unusual material that even crusty old jazz players may not have heard of. There are the usual assortment of these on this album, one being You'll see, from which I chose the phrase Surrender and win as the Title for this album (I figured I had 'done' the Do it title theme from my first 2 albums.) Detour ahead is another lovely ballad that I sung for a while not really knowing what it was about I just knew I loved it!. Of course its about a relationship that goes RIGHT!!! which makes a nice change. I'm in a minor key today another relatively unknown tune rounds off the album in a wild blues style. I found this in the library one day and thought the title was me and it turned out to be a beauty. I love it when that happens!

I also like 'colla voce' introductions. I think they make listening to and also singing songs more interesting and keeps the audience guessing as to the song's title. I had the craziest dream is an example of this. There's one in Soon but its tucked into the middle section 'a tempo'.

I have also been known to change the occasional word in tunes to suit myself. I figure I'm not contracted to any record label and am just doing my thing in a small quiet way down here at the bottom of the world. However, I regularly get emails from people far and wide who have heard my CD's in restaurants in Auckland or Noosa or maybe vineyards in Hawkes Bay or Marlborough who want me to send them copies, which is great, but I guess its possible sometime to get an irate email from some jazz heavyweight chastising me for my 'lyrical liberties'. So I think I'll get in first and apologise to the listener/reader and lyricist Harry Ruby for fiddling with the lyrics of Give me a simpler life. I preferred not to use the line "Farmers wife' and my good friend and Kiwi sailing icon Penny Whiting had a great phrase she uses in relation to life 'see how the mop flops'; which I decided to use instead as, someone who's willing to 'flop with the mop of life'. A philosophy I try to live by each day with varying success. In Cocktails for two I also changed the phrase 'as we enjoy a cigarette' to 'red sunset' as I'm not fond of cigarettes!!.

Making this CD was really enjoyable and thanks to Jeremy, Nick and Martyn at York St Studios for their skill and enthusiasm and for creating a great atmosphere to be in for a few days, pin ball and espresso machine included.

surrender and win

1. give me the simple life Lyrics Harry Ruby, Music Rube Bloom 3.38
2. you'll see W&M Carroll Coates 5.12
3. at long last love Cole Porter 2.55
4. cocktails for two Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnson 4.55
5. stormy weather Music Harold Arlen, Lyrics Ted Koehler 4.57
6. detour ahead W&M Lou Carter, Herb Ellis John Frigo 6.12
7. i had the craziest dream Music Harry Warren, Lyrics Mack Gordo 4.57
8. darn that dream Lyrics Eddie DeLang, Music Jimmy Van Heusen 4.33
9. soon George & Ira Gershwin 3.33
10. all or nothing at all Jack Lawrence, Arthur Altman 3.10
11. destination moon Marvin Fisher, Roy Alfed 3.08
12. i'm in a minor key today Charlotte Steinhart, Jules Ruhen 5.08

Briar Ross Vocals
Matt Baker Piano
Andy Brown Bass
Frank Gibson Drums
Roger Manins Sax
Neil Watson Guitar
Musical director and arranger Matt Baker
Producer Matt Baker

Recorded, mixed and mastered York St Studios,
Parnell Auckland NZ 13th & 14th April 2002
Engineered Nick Abbott
Mastering Engineer Martyn Alexander

Self Promotion Promotions
c/o Briar Ross, 53b Sentinel Rd, Herne Bay
Auckland, New Zealand Tel/Fax 64 9 3600 308
Mob 021 954 792, www.briarross.com
email briarross@xtra.co.nz

Reviews

And just to prove that NZ has a multitude of diverse talent Briar Ross
brings us her highly professional and internationally flavoured "Surrender
and Win". Briar can swing it like Ella in her version of "Give Me The Simple
Life", or torch it with "Stormy Weather" and croon with "In a Minor Key
Today". Her voice is brought to the front and not buried in the mix but the
accompaniment of Matt Baker on piano, Andy Brown on bass, Frank Gibson ondrums, Roger manins on sax and Neil Watson on guitar are the perfect
compliment to these songs. Briar Ross is a jolly fine jazz listen from an
largely undiscovered gem
Roger Marbeck

click on the titles to download a mp3 sample of the song (or right click on the title and select "Save Link As")