Album Review: Old Friends from Mark Winkler and David Benoit

Album:  Old Friends
Artist:  Mark Winkler and David Benoit
Label:  Café Pacific Records
Website:  http://markwinklermusic.com
http://facebook.com/mark.winkler.10

Blues crooner and lyricist Mark Winkler joins his friend pianist-composer David Benoit to record a nostalgic collection of timeless jazz standards interspersed with original tunes for their latest release Old Friends.  Produced by Barbara Brighton, the recording displays the duo's melodic sensibilities and easy repartee.  Their camaraderie is natural, instinctually carrying each other through the melancholic moods and the counter cheerful ones alike.

The meandering reflections portrayed in the title track, written by Paul Simon, are penetrative as Winkler's vocals nuzzle the lyrics, ruminating thoughtfully, "old friends / sat on the park bench like bookends / newspaper blown through the grass... old friends / winter companions / the old men / lost in their overcoats / waiting for the sun / the sounds of the city / sifting through trees / settles like dust / on the shoulders of the old friends / can you imagine us years from today / sharing a park bench quietly / terribly strange to be seventy."  Stefanie Fife's wandering cello wails gently stroke across the melody like a caressing breeze as Winkler's versing puts a lasting image in the audience's mind and touches their heart.

A blend of Randy Newman's brassy timbres and Marvin Gaye's bluesy vocalese, Winkler treats the lyrics with a sensitive touch that mesmerizes audiences.  The solemn mood of "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" is affectionately translated in Winkler's vocals as Benoit plays the keys with a prayer-like sonorous.  The catchy swinging tempo keeling Bob Dorough's signature number "I've Got Just About Everything" brandishes a Jimmy Van Heusen-esque perkiness that captivates audiences, countered by the melancholic mood of Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse's iconic tune "Two For The Road," which induces an introspective state of mind.

Old Friends is an album that people can fall in love with, finding themselves in the lyrics, particularly in Winkler's sensitive depiction of the verses.  There is a good balance between showing raw emotion and kneading sheer elegance into the compositions, offering an endeavor that audiences will appreciate.

Musicians:

Mark Winkler - vocals

David Benoit - piano

Gabe Davis - bass

Clayton Cameron - drums

Pat Kelley - guitar

Kevin Winard - percussion

Stefanie Fife - cello