5.0 out of 5 stars Julia Shines, June 17, 2009
By Phil Stout -
Don’t let the title of singer Julia Rich’s CD fool you. “Moonshine In Nashville” is not a country CD! Ms. Rich pays a vocal tribute to her hometown with the title song, but the rest of this wonderful collection of pop oldies is pure vintage enjoyment! From “I’m Putting All My Eggs In One Basket”… to “You Turned The Tables On Me” … to “When My Sugar Walks Down The Street”… and Lennon & McCartney’s “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You,” this is one melodic group of titles! And I haven’t even mentioned my favorite “No Love, No Nothin” the ’40s Alice Faye hit. Although this CD’s title conjures up a moonlit southern evening, Julia Rich is the star. Read the rest of this entry »
I wanted to get back to you with my “picks” from your CD. First of all, I really like this recording – it’s got a different flavor. Nice contrast for a 4th CD – so congratulations anyway on having 4 for 4!
“Julia Rich shows an allegiance to the big band forms of the ’40’s and ’50’s but also proves to be a very intelligent songwriter who can come up with a lot of witty tunes about love and life, such as ‘If I Spoke French’ and ‘Boyfriends.’ Her smooth, elegant voice sounds best on slow, languid tempos with Larry O’Brien’s smooth, Tommy Dorsey-like trombone or Rickey Woodard’s deep tenor behind her. Her tries at other styles are worthy as well. There’s the perky calypso beat of ‘Hula Girls,’ the jazzy brassiness of ‘Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead,’ a solemn version of ‘The Tennessee Waltz’ and a bossa nova treatment of the Beatles on ‘I Will.’ 
“For her second album, Julia Rich sinks her musical teeth into an assorted program of standards, a Beatles tune, and seven of her works, one of which she wrote with Benita Hill, whose tunes have been recorded by the cover boy of country music: Garth Brooks. The Rich/Hill collaboration, ‘Raining In Rio,’ resembles country music not one whit. Instead, it’s romantic with George Tidwell’s flugelhorn playing an important role in extending it beyond merely presentable. In addition to original material, there are other significant differences between this album and Rich’s initial effort. On ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ she is jazzier, helped along with first-rate jazz musicians. 
“A beautiful new album so carefully crafted. Julia has clearly learned much from her experience as the ‘band singer’ with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and her respect for these songs is so effectively communicated. Pure, straightforward, unadorned jazz-inflected popular singing. The world needs many more singers approaching these songs with the feeling and love expressed here.”
On Sunday, July 6, 2008, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Larry O’Brien, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, directed by Buddy Morrow, faced off in the Battle of the Bands to culminate the Montreal Jazz Festival. The rumble ensued at the Place des Arts and was witnessed by two sold-out houses totaling 6,000 energized fans.
On Friday, May 5, Dick Gerhart died in Boca Raton, Florida. Dick was leader of the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1983 to 1988, road manager for 10 years before that, and sideman for his first 5 years with the band. During his time as a GMO sideman, he served under leaders Buddy De Franco, Peanuts Hucko, Buddy Morrow, Jimmy Henderson, and Larry O’Brien. Dick had a fat tenor saxophone sound and they called him “Zoot,” after Zoot Sims.
