My friend and occasional collaborator Dave Palmer produced an album last year. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it, but life has totally gotten in the way of my blogging on a regular basis. Anyway, it is a fine, fine album. In case you don’t know, Cy Coleman, is often quoted as “the youngest member of the elite group of Great American Songbook composers”. He’s responsible for well known standards such as “Witchcraft,” “The Best Is Yet To Come,” “Big Spender” and “The Rules Of The Road” made timeless by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Barbara Streisand, Dusty Springfield, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee (for example). Ella Fitzgerald won a Grammy for her performance of “The Best Is Yet To Come.”

The album, “The Best Is Yet To Come: The Songs of Cy Coleman”, was released September 15, 2009 on New West Records. It’s also on iTunes and various other internet sites. In his inimitable fashion, he completely re-arranged and produced the songs, making them fresh and at times, avant garde and unpredictable. Then, Dave chose to have different female artists perform songs. The production and new arrangements revived the lyrics and created a new indescribable genre in my opinion. It’s also some of the best singing I’ve ever heard.

Fiona Apple contributes two songs (her first new music in five years), alongside other artists such as Missy Higgins, Madeleine Peyroux, Jill Sobule, Nikka Costa, Sara Watkins and Patty Griffin, who sings The Best Is Yet To Come. It’s unlike any version you’ve ever heard of the song, and it’s Patty as you’ve never heard her before. This is what I’m talking about. Who would ever think of Patty Griffin to sing a song that is known predominantly as a jazz standard? It’s brilliant and it creates something unexpected. Something fresh.

Michael Perfitt recorded most of it, and various notable musicians played on it such as Jay Bellerose, Aaron Sterling, Mark Goldenberg, Benmont Tench, Lisa Coleman, to name a few, and of course Dave.

The Best Is Yet To Come, does the original songbook genre justice. I’m not talking about jazz as a broad stroke genre, I’m talking about vocal jazz, The Great American Songbook standard jazz. Know what I mean? This is how I want to hear it. Squeeze new life out of well known songs. Wake them up. Use instrumentation that is not typical. Anyway, you get the idea. It’s great. Really good for the ears and the soul.

Check it out!