Phil Collins Big Band - A Hot Night In Paris
with Phil Collins on drums
featuring Gerald Albright on alto saxophone
The CD features songs taken from the Big Band Tour in 1998. It was
recorded in 'Le Grand Rex', Paris, France on July 21st 1998. The only
song that was not recorded in Paris is 'Pick Up The Pieces' which was
recorded in Montreux, Switzerland on July 14th 1998.
The hits of Phil Collins and Genesis given the Big Band treatment with
varying degrees of success. Some tracks work extremely well, Against
All Odds (One of Phil's better songs) sounds suberb as a laid back late
night sax outing and the funky Average White Band cover, Pick Up the
Pieces never sounded better.
Superbly recorded live in Paris
In the latter half of the '90s, Phil Collins' career hit a bit of a
sales slump, and instead of shamelessly chasing after another number
one single, he decided to change pace and try something different.
Returning to the drums, he assembled the Phil Collins Big Band,
reviving the sound of such idols as Buddy Rich and Sonny Payne, but
largely sticking with his original material. After a brief European
tour in 1996 (which happened to feature Quincy Jones as conductor and
Tony Bennett as vocalist), he created a new version of the band
featuring several accomplished jazz and studio musicians in support --
notably alto saxophonist Gerald Albright, but also guitarist Daryl
Stuermer, tenor saxophonist James Carter, pianists George Duke and Brad
Cole, among many others, in varying roles. That band toured America and
Europe in 1998, and it's the one featured on the 10-song, 70-minute
live album A Hot Night in Paris. Initially, it may be disarming for
long-time fans (and detractors) to hear "Sussudio, " "That's All" and
"Against All Odds" blaring forth in brash, brassy arrangements, and it
is true that the melodies can occasionally sound thin in this context,
but once that first reaction passes, A Hot Night in Paris is actually
entertaining. Collins doesn't try anything new with the big band form
-- he just updates it with his own songs, including the Genesis
chestnut "The Los Endos Suite, " along with covers of Miles Davis'
"Milestones" and the Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces." As
such, it's the sort of record that will inevitably irk purists, since
it's targeted right at mainstream jazz audiences, ones that aren't
really familiar with big band music but have a vague idea of what it
sounds like, but anyone whose standards aren't quite as exacting will
likely be pleasantly surprised with A Hot Night in Paris. When the band
just plays -- which is quite often, since the themes are stated quickly
enough so they're recognized, then they disappear -- this is swinging,
accomplished music that's unpretentious and fun. It's never more than
simply entertaining, but that's all it needs to be -- it's more
enjoyable than any record Collins has put out in over a decade, and it
suggests that this is a dignified and charming way for him to mature.