TOOTS THIELEMANS - One More for the Road (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

These sessions by harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans are a mixed bag of vocal and instrumental interpretations of works by Harold Arlen. Unfortunately, the project comes across as more of a crossover date, featuring several vocalists who will be of little interest to many jazz fans, while conductor Jurre Haanstra's orchestrations are rather bland and sometimes a bit syrupy. Thielemans' own solos tend to be fairly short, while his regular pianist, Kenny Werner (switching to Fender Rhodes on a few tracks), isn't utilized enough as a soloist. The best selections include "This Time the Dream's on Me," which features Till Brönner on both trumpet and vocals in a warm and unpretentious setting, a campy treatment of "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by Madeleine Peyroux, along with Trijntje Oosterhuis' warm rendition of the nearly forgotten "I Wonder What Became of Me." But several tracks don't make the cut, including Jamie Cullum's pop-infused "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)," Beth Hart's dreadful "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," and urban contemporary singer Oleta Adams' lackluster version of "Stormy Weather." This CD falls short of being an essential Toots Thielemans release. by Ken Dryden  
Tracklist:
1    Come Rain Or Come Shine 4:41
Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar – Bert Meulendijk
Trumpet – Ruud Breuls
Vocals – Lizz Wright
2    Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea 2:40
Engineer [Protools] – Jay van den Berg
Vocals – Madeleine Peyroux
3    Last Night When We Were Young 5:14
Bass – Ruud Jacobs
Piano – Hans Vroomans
Vocals – Silje Nergaard
Written-By – E.Y. Harburg
4    Ill Wind    3:55
Written-By – Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
5    One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) 5:09
Vocals – Jamie Cullum
6    I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues 3:05
Vocals – Beth Hart
7    I Wonder What Became Of Me 4:04
Bass – Ruud Jacobs
Piano – Hans Vroomans
Vocals – Trijntje Oosterhuis
8    That Old Black Magic    4:18
Written-By – Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
9    This Time The Dream's On Me 4:47
Electric Guitar – Bert Meulendijk
Electric Piano – Jurre Haanstra
Rhythm Guitar – Martijn van Iterson
Vocals, Trumpet – Till Brönner
10    Stormy Weather 5:33
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Bert Meulendijk
Electric Piano – Jurre Haanstra
Vocals – Oleta Adams
11    It's Only A Paper Moon 3:46
Vocals – Laura Fygi
12    Over The Rainbow 5:49
Bass – Stefan Lievestro
Drums – Hans Van Oosterhout
Keyboards, Piano – Mike del Ferro
Written-By – E.Y. Harburg
Credits:
Arranged By, Conductor – Jurre Haanstra
Bass – Aram Kersbergen (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 6, 8 to 11)
Drums – Marcel Serierse (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 11)
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Kenny Werner (tracks: 1, 4, 8, 11)
Guitar – Martijn van Iterson (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11)
Harmonica – Toots Thielemans
Keyboards – Jurre Haanstra (tracks: 1, 4, 10)
Percussion – Eddy Conard (tracks: 4, 8, to 10)
Piano – Kenny Werner (tracks: 2, 5, 6)
Vibraphone – Frits Landesbergen (tracks: 1, 4, 11)
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer (tracks: 1, 5, 7 to 9, 11), Ted Koehler (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 10)