I am aware that the traditional phrase is “moved to tears” but when listening to Hannah Gill’s new album, Spooky Jazz Vol 3, I was on many occasions moved to smiles. The musicianship, the personality, the wit, and the inspired song choices shine as both a recording and a palliative. Someone watching me listen to it out in public with my earbuds out might well have thought I was listening to a comedic podcast.
As with Gill’s Everybody Loves a Lover, which I reviewed favorably in 2023, she once again displays the stylish alchemy of blending the sound of a ’30s big band singer with the energy and sophistication (and irony) of a 21st century songstress. While the repertoire is more limited and focused than her previous album, the vocal artistry and distinctive phrasing is even more impressive, utilizing a deeper, richer sound than previously. The release date and the song choices (not to mention the title!) scream out Halloween, but Spooky Jazz Vol 3 needn’t be relegated to the month of October, any more than horror films, Hitchcock movies, and Stephen King books would be. The album is irrepressible fun no matter the time of year thanks to Gill and her fantastically talented musicians.
As that title indicates, this is the third in a series of mysterious, silly, supernatural, campy, and “scary” song choices from the Great American Songbook that began with 2020’s pandemic inspired Spooky Jazz EP, and its follow-up, 2024’s Spooky Jazz Vol 2. The fantastic musical accompaniment is driven by the powerful yet lighthearted piano of Gordon Webster and the trumpet and captivating arrangements by Danny Jonokuchi, but each musician is given their share of stunning, evocative solos. Each of them is a stand-out with Gabe Terracciano (violin), Ricky Alexander (clarinet, tenor sax), Justin Poindexter (guitar), Philip Ambuel (bass), Ben Zweig (drums) and Sasha Papernik (accordion on “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”).
The repertoire could not be better—from classics like “Old Devil Moon” (Burton Lane, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, from Finian’s Rainbow) here given a bouncing, bluesy, sexy spin that flies, to “The Richest Guy in the Graveyard” (Leonard Feather, Frank Hedges) recorded by Dinah Washington in 1949 and allowing Gill to wail like a master of bump and grind blues with pointed lyrics that could have been written for this project. The Helen Forest 1939 hit “Moon Ray” (Artie Shaw, Arthur Quenzer, Paul Madison) with a bit of film noir shadowed mystery allows a softer, torchier side to the singer’s sound to come to the fore. A wildly syncopated “As Long as You Live (You’ll Be Dead If You Die)” (Bernie Hanighen, Johnny Mercer from the film, The Chump) lets her cut loose with rock & roll abandon while staying true to the song.
Ray Noble’s “I’m Gonna Haunt You” pulls out the vocal stops for a callback to the Andrews Sisters’ jumpin ‘n’ jivin’ style. The “spookiest” number on the album is “My Friend the Ghost” (Floyd Huddleston, Robert Colby) with its easy, percussive swing intertwined with “scary movie” music and its mystical, otherworldly story. Betty Hutton’s “He’s a Demon, He’s a Devil, He’s a Doll” (Harold Spina, Don Raye) is a perfect choice for spooky jazz, and Gill doesn’t disappoint in her dive into Hutton-land without missing a beat. A hauntingly evocative “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (Harry Warrren, Al Dubin, from Moulin Rouge) allows the singer to remove her tongue ever so gently from her cheek and it really pays off with a dramatically effective vocal. The set closes with a Hannah Gill original, “Wolves in the Tree Line,” a slow, brooding, burning blues about revenge and, perhaps, murder.
Every track works, every musician shines, and singer Hannah Gill is more a star than ever.
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Hannah Gill’s Spooky Jazz Vol. 3 produced by Scott Asen for Turtle Bay Records.
Gerry Geddes, critic for BistroAwards.com, is an award-winning director, writer, teacher, performer, lyricist, and a contributor to the podcast Troubadours and Raconteurs. He conceived and directed the acclaimed musical revues Monday in the Dark with George (Bistro and MAC Award winner), Put on Your Saturday Suit—Words & Music by Jimmy Webb, and Gerry Geddes & Company (in its five-year residency at Pangea). He has directed singers André De Shields, Darius de Haas, Helen Baldassare, and Lisa Viggiano. He has been active in the cabaret world for over five decades and has produced numerous CDs; his lyrics have been performed and recorded here and in Europe. Gerry’s workshop, The Art of Vocal Performance, is regularly offered to singers of all levels. His memoir of life in NYC, Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?, was recently published and is available at barnesandnoble.com. He is currently at work on his first novel.
