A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing

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A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing
A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing.jpeg
Studio album by
Vince Guaraldi
ReleasedOctober 1957
RecordedApril 16, 1957 (1957-04-16)
StudioFantasy Recording Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre Jazz
Length34:40
Label Fantasy (US)
Vocalion (UK)
Vince Guaraldi chronology
Vince Guaraldi Trio
(1956)		A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing
(1957)		 Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
(1962)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Five Cents PleaseStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]

A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing is the second studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio), released in the US by Fantasy Records in October 1957.

Contents

Background

A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing exhibits the trio's growth from the safer jazz style played in their self-titled album Vince Guaraldi Trio . Guaraldi employed the same musicians as he did for his debut album; guitarist Eddie Duran and bassist Dean Reilly. Guaraldi began exploring his personal style on the piano with these tracks before becoming commonly recognized and as a great jazz pianist for his latin style in his following album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962). [4]

Critical reception

DownBeat praised the album's soothing tone, noting, in part, that "Guaraldi is serenely wistful in his interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's title song, is surely relaxed in the lightly swinging 'Softly.' He delightfully colors the impressionistic 'Yesterdays.' 'Like a Rose' is accorded a treatment almost elegiac in its poetic quietude." [5]

Guaraldi historian and author Derrick Bang ranks the album as one of the pianist's "prettiest," adding that it is "gentle and lyrical, as befits a collective theme that revolves around flora and changing seasons." [2] AllMusic critic Scott Yanow said the album is one of Guaraldi's "better sets", adding that the pianist "plays...tastefully and with light swing, making this a program that is equally successful as both cool jazz and background music." [1]

Track listing

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" Billy Strayhorn 5:37
2."Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise"
3:28
3."Yesterdays"
4:00
4."Like a Mighty Rose" (aka "Room at the Bottom" [2] ) Vince Guaraldi 4:30
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Looking for a Boy"
4:06
2."Autumn Leaves"
4:22
3."Lonely Girl" Bobby Troup 3:23
4."Willow Weep for Me" Ann Ronell 5:14
Total length:34:40

Personnel

Vince Guaraldi Trio
Additional

Release history

CountryDateLabelFormatCatalogue number
United StatesApril 1958 Fantasy Mono LP 3357
United KingdomUnknown Vocalion Mono LPLAE569
AustraliaUnknownVogue ProductionsMono LPLAEA-569
United States1986FantasyMono cassette F-3257
United States1986Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics Mono LPOJC-235, F-3257
United States1994Fantasy/Original Jazz ClassicsMono CD OJCCD-235-2, F-3257
Europe2006Fantasy/Original Jazz ClassicsMono CD00025218623520

References

  1. 1 2 Yanow, Scott. "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing". AllMusic . Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD: A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 614. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  4. ↑ "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" Archived December 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , Fantasy Records. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Album Review: Vince Guaraldi — A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing". DownBeat. June 26, 1958. pp. 27–28.
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