You Taught My Heart to Sing

Tenor saxophonist Houston Person teams up with pianist Bill Charlap on this ten-track collection of standards, You Taught My Heart to Sing. Both musicians have released individual albums paying homage to the great songwriters of the '30s and '40s -- George Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin -- but this is the first time they teamed up in the studio together. Along with such tried and true chestnuts as "S'Wonderful," "Sweet Lorraine," and "Namely You," the duo brings a few originals into the musical fold as well as contemporary romantic standards such as "Where Is the Love." Recorded in the cozy confines of Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood, NJ, the mood is relaxed yet not moribund, nor does the duo succumb to adding weepy strings or sappy horn arrangements. Person and Charlap don't break any new ground with this recording; rather they continue to showcase their combined enduring passion for ballads. ~ Al Campbell