Andy And The Bey Sisters – ‘Round Midnight (1965/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Andy And The Bey Sisters – ‘Round Midnight (1965/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 33:29 minutes | 342 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Prestige

Andy Bey remains what he was back when this album first took shape—the most recognized, and perhaps the most recognizable, member of the Bey family. A fearsomely gifted singer, he boasts spectacular range all but disguised by the warmth and immediacy of his vocal instrument…Because of his prominence in the trio, Andy and the Bey Sisters often falls into the category of origin bands—the trio that launched Andy Bey’s career…But think of it primarily as a vocal group that, at its best, helped establish the intertwined heights conjoined voices might attain. —Neil Tesser [from new liner notes]

Criminally unsung pianist and singer Andy Bey had the most visible career after he and his sisters Salome and Geraldine Bey broke up their performing trio after an 11-year run in 1967, but this family singing ensemble was far more than just the act that launched Andy, and he wasn’t really the focus of the group. All three siblings were highlighted equally in the trio, and their harmonies together were the ethereal kind that can only happen in a family where all involved have grown up hearing each other’s voices and phrasing every single day. The Bey trio recorded very little together, unfortunately, just a single album for RCA in 1961 and two albums for Prestige, Now! Hear!, released in 1964, and this one, ‘Round Midnight, from 1965. Part gospel, part muted R&B, part stylized blues, the Bey trio was also very much a jazz outfit, due in no small part to Andy’s underappreciated piano playing and the presence of bop veterans like Milt Hinton on bass, Osie Johnson on drums, and Kenny Burrell (who appears on about half of the tracks here) on guitar. In essence, the Bey trio sounded like a thinned-out and more jazzy, gauzy version of the Staple Singers. Highlights from this set are a wonderfully balanced version of Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” a stirring take on Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child,” the ever expanding and ascending “Feeling Good,” and a fine rendition of the title track, Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnight,” which has never been the easiest song in the world to sing effectively, but the trio nails it here in what might have been deemed a definitive version if it had actually been heard by more than a handful of people. ~~AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett

Tracklist:

01. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Love Medley: Love Is Just Around The Corner / I Love You / Love You Madly (06:20)
02. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – God Bless The Child (03:39)
03. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Squeeze Me (03:42)
04. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Tammy (02:16)
05. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Hallelujah, I Love Her So (02:26)
06. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Everybody Loves My Baby (02:42)
07. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – ‘Round Midnight (03:30)
08. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Solitude (02:50)
09. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Feeling Good (02:59)
10. Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey, Andy Bey, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson – Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (03:02)

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