Out today is ‘The Jazz Age’ by Bryan Ferry. It is a previously little known fact that these days the famously suave former leader of Roxy Music has in recent times become such a devotee of jazz that he maintains his own orchestra. Wouldn’t we all if we could dahlings, wouldn’t it be fabulous? When I first heard a hint of this, I was expecting something experimental or avant-garde, maybe something that Charlie Parker or John Coltrane might dig. Au contraire, this is trad jazz, the sort of thing that Glenn Miller or George Melly would have been familiar with.
It is played absolutely straight, beautifully executed and is clearly a labour of love. That is works is sign of the strength of the original writing. How it works for you personally will probably depend on just how devoted you were to the originals. If you’d like a reminder of those, head over to Ferry’s website http://www.bryanferry.com/ where you can stream all of the originals as well as try out a couple of the new ones.
Tracklist
Do The Strand
Love Is The Drug
Don’t Stop The Dance
Just Like You
Avalon
The Bogus Man
Slave To Love
This Is Tomorrow
The Only Face
I Thought
Reason Or Rhyme
Virginia Plain
This Island Earth
