TRACK LISTING
1 But Not for Me 4:22
(George & Ira Gershwin)
2 On a Misty Night/The Gypsy [feat. Amy London, Christian McBride] 5:11 [Note This may change to only On a Misty Night]
(Tadd Dameron/Georgie Fame/Billy Reid)
3 How I Love You (Let Me Count the Reasons) [feat. Dylan Pramuk] 6:21
(Dexter Gordon/Dylan Pramuk)
4 Lucky to Be Me [feat. Sheila Jordan] 4:39
(Leonard Bernstien/Betty Comden/Adolf Green/Dylan Pramuk)
5 Why'd You Do Me the Way You Did? [feat. Amy London] 4:52
(Steve Schmidt/Mark Murphy/Amy London)
6 Day Dream 3:57
(Billy Strayhorn)
7 Cuando Te Vea [feat. Holli Ross, Christian McBride] 5:10
(Tito Puente/Holli Ross)
8 Baby, You Should Know It [feat. Bob Dorough] 4:28
(Ben Tucker/Bob Dorough)
9 Our Spring Song 4:40
(Pete McGuinness/Amy London)
10 Rusty Dusty Blues [feat. Dylan Pramuk] 3:27
(J. Mayo Williams)
11 Infant Eyes 7:36
(Wayne Shorter/Doug Carn)
12 My Shining Hour [feat. Pete McGuinness] 4:08
(Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer)
Total Time. 63:18
RELEASE INFORMATION
Special Pre-Order Available on Bandcamp! Stay tuned for the first single out this Friday 9/18!
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Motéma Music is honored to announce Party of Four, the sophomore release from renowned vocal jazz quartet The Royal Bopsters, which streets November 13, 2020. This twelve-track venture, which follows up their critically acclaimed 2015 debut, celebrates both the proud history and the bright future of vocal jazz. A hard-swinging amalgam of vocal virtuosity, electrifying group chemistry, and masterful arranging, Party of Four displays the group’s stunning facility to swing deeply and sing passionately while navigating incredibly precise four-part harmonies.
A master class in the art of vocal jazz and vocalese, Party of Four demonstrates the dazzling possibilities of four voices coming together as one. Bopsters Amy London, Dylan Pramuk, Pete McGuinness, and the late Holli Ross (to whom the album is dedicated) are joined by guest lead vocalists, NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan (91 years young) who delivers a delightful rendition of “Lucky to Be Me” and NEA Jazz Master Bob Dorough, whose humorous recording of his classic “Baby, You Should Know It” became one of his final recordings when he sadly passed in 2018. GRAMMY®-winning bassist and jazz personality Christian McBride also guests on bass for two strong tracks.
Party of Four follows up The Royal Bopsters’ debut release – The Royal Bopsters Project – which was an unprecedented vocal jazz summit featuring five of history’s most celebrated vocal bop innovators and monarchs: Mark Murphy, Jon Hendricks, Sheila Jordan, Bob Dorough and Annie Ross. The album was proclaimed “Extraordinary.” by Downbeat (4.5 stars), “A priceless landmark” by Jazz Times (Best Albums of 2015), and “A magnum opus of jazz and song” by WBGO Radio. Party of Four, with liner notes by WBGO’s Michael Bourne, builds on that solid foundation and is poised to become one of the defining jazz vocal albums of the year.
Cited as “expert practitioners of vocalese” in The New Yorker, The Royal Bopsters celebrated their first release with a star-studded, sold-out week-long residency at New York’s iconic Birdland Jazz Club with guests Annie Ross, John Hendricks and Bob Dorough. Darmon Meader, of the New York Voices, sang tenor on the first album, and then soon after the Birdland show Pete McGuinness, a three-time GRAMMY®-nominated arranger, stepped into the tenor chair for the group. Party of Four – the title penned by Holli Ross – began to take shape as Pete and Dylan brought additional arrangements to the group in 2016. The new music shone, and seeds were planted for the ensemble’s sensational second chapter. NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, who began her career singing with Charlie Parker, and who now, with the passing of Annie Ross this July, has become the reigning Queen Matriarch of Vocal Bop, has commented “The Bopsters are my favorite vocal group.” The love is mutual, and The Bopsters include Sheila as a guest in their live shows wherever possible. Dorough, who is most famous for writing Schoolhouse Rock, also guested frequently until his sudden death in 2018. He and Annie, as well as Mark Murphy, are all much loved and sorely missed by the Bopsters.
Each Royal Bopster is a renowned jazz educator, and collectively they instruct at the entire gamut of excellent jazz programs in the NYC area: The New School (London was a founder of the program), NYU, William Paterson, Manhattan School of Music, Montclair State, City College, Hofstra and Jazz House Kids (where London & Pramuk teach and co-created their Vocal Academy). The group’s vast collective knowledge of the history and technique of the artform of vocal jazz shines through on every note.
Party of Four offers audiences a jubilant recognition of multiple generations of architects and proud purveyors of the vocal jazz art form. Dedicated to Bopster Holli Wasser Ross, the album is a resounding celebration of life, rhythm, harmony and tradition at a time when the world can definitely use a little cheering up.
The album will be released on November 13th to coincide with the weekend of Holli Ross’s 64th birthday on November 16th and Sheila Jordan’s birthday November 18. Two singles will be released before the album; “But Not for Me” on September 18th, and “Cuando Te Vea” with lyrics and lead vocals by Holli Ross, on October 16th.
This album is dedicated to our beloved alto Holli Ross (1956–2020).
Heartfelt thanks to Judith Humenick, Janis Wilkins, Dave Kowalski, Michael Bourne, Lydia Liebman, Will Gorman, Frank & Yvonne DeMiero, Jana Herzen, Anne Amann, Paul V. Nunes, Karl Guthrie and the late, great Mary Ann Topper. We are deeply grateful to the amazing musicians that contributed their gifts to this recording, and send lots of love to our families: Sofia, Anna, Hannah, Dan, Kandi, Deb, Ron, Ed, Joan, Bill, Steph, Ian, Sean, Ann, Erin and Parker.
– Royal Bopsters, May 2020