Album Review: Not Quite Yet from Paul Marinaro

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Album:  Not Quite Yet
Artist:  Paul Marinaro
Website:  www.paulmarinaro.com

In the vane of great jazz vocalists like Engelbert Humperdinck, Johnny Mathis and Tom Jones, singer-songwriter Paul Marinaro charms and captivates his audience on his latest release Not Quite Yet.  The collection presents Marinaro's emotive voicing as he performs a handful of jazz standards and pop/rock covers.

The album opens with a swinging Mel Tormé standard “Born to be Blue,” trimmed in brisk bopping beats with Marinaro's vocal strolls giving the track a persuasive character.  Turning sensual and dreamy on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa-nova gem “Someone to Light Up My Life," about the quest for new love after a breakup, Marinaro's vocals have a mesmerizing sway that continue through "Make Me Rainbows," from the 1967 Dick Van Dyke film Fitzwilly, composed by John Williams with lyrics by Alan and the late Marilyn Bergman, and contoured in a smooth rhythmic pulse.

His treatment of David Bowie's "5:15 The Angels Have Gone" is handled with a tenderness that is penetrative. The somber aura of the melody halo Marinaro's vocals in a shimmering glow that change to a torchlight glimmer in the ballad “Remind Me,” penned by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.  Marinaro's bluesy swagger on “No One Ever Tells You,” co-written by Hub Atwood, the father of his friend, singer Eden Atwood for Frank Sinatra, is reminiscent of soulful vocalists like Otis Redding and Robert Cray.

The nocturnal ambience of "The Island" bathes Marinaro's timbres in a smooth glistening sonorous as his vocal inflections arch and ebb gently, rumbling softly.  Contrastively, the sprightly rhythmic beats of "On A Wonderful Day Like Today" beam with a sunny luster that is infectious, switching to a dulcet serenade in "That's All," as Marinaro alludes, "All I have are these arms to enfold you / And the love time can never destroy / if you're wondering what I'm asking in return dear / you'll be glad to know that my demands are small / just say it's me that you'll adore / from now and ever more that's all / that's all."  The samba imbued arrangement of "Searching" shows another facet of Marinaro's meaningful repertoire.

His exploration of jazz, swing, blues, samba, soul, and classic pop/rock brings out his emotive voicing.  With a penchant for storytelling, Marinaro charms and captivates audiences, displaying a command in his performance that is mesmerizing.

Musicians:
Paul Marinaro - vocals
Mike Allemana - guitar
Tom Vaitsas - piano
John Tate - bass
George Fludas - drums
Marques Carroll - trumpet
Raphael Crawford - trombone
Chris Madsen - tenor saxophone
Greg Ward - alto saxophone
Rajiv Halim - clarinet
Jim Gailloreto - flute

KAIA String Quartet:
Victoria Moreira - violin
Naomi Culp - violin
Amanda Grimm - viola
Hope DeCelle - cello


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