Dance Dance Dance

An album conceived with specific dance rhythms in mind, the Marcella Puppini-produced Dance Dance Dance sees her harmony vocal trio, the Puppini Sisters, joined by the Pasadena Roof Orchestra. The groups sixth long-player overall, it returns founding member Kate Mullins and The High Lifes Emma Smith as co-singers. With the exception of one scat-embracing original song, it consists of covers of wide-ranging tunes spanning a century (the oldest, Jacob Gades tango Jealousy, was composed in 1925, and Shallow is from the 2018 film A Star Is Born). A spirited Dixieland version of Dolly Partons 9 to 5 opens the track list and sets the tone for an album of changeable if all impeccably performed selections. 9 to 5 is one of two Charleston dances here, with the other being the original song Dance, Dance, Dance. A highlight, Dance, Dance, Dance is a bright, bubbly entry with walking bass line, punctuating brass, and rapid-fire vocals among its staccato arrangement. The song cuts back the tempo in sections reminiscent of Adler and Ross Steam Heat -- hissing vocals and all -- before launching back into faster segments of scatting and nimble rhymes like whoa, slow, flow, go, all suited to the style. Allowing for some double takes (a cha cha cha version of ABBAs Dancing Queen), the album is a fun one, with rare picks like Ba Ba Baciami Piccina (Balboa), a song from the 40s popularized by Rosemary Clooney in 1952, and a version of Deee-Lites funk-infused 1990 hit Groove Is in the Heart (boogie woogie) mixed in with oft-covered classics like Puttin on the Ritz. ~ Marcy Donelson