No One Knows

by Eric Comstock

Overview

In the late '90s and early 2000s, Eric Comstock had a reputation for being more of a cabaret/traditional pop singer than a jazz singer. But on his third album, No One Knows, he seems to be going out of his way to show what he can offer from a jazz standpoint. Comstock includes songs by Charlie Haden, Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn and Benny Carter, and he is backed by musicians who are most definitely jazz improvisers -- people like veteran tenor saxman/flutist Frank Wess (an accomplished Count Basie alumni), trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, guitarist Peter Bernstein (who has a strong Grant Green influence), pianist Eric Reed, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Matt Wilson. Even so, No One Knows doesn't cater to jazz purists 100-percent of the time. Comstock, who has been described as "Fred Astaire-ish," tends to favor a very clean, mannered, polished vocal style -- and his versions of "There Will Never Be Another You," "Imagination," "I Hear Music" and "Old Devil Moon" are closer to cabaret. But one hears a more jazz-oriented sense of swing on Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Hazel's Hips," Haden's "Easy on the Heart" and some Ellington/Strayhorn material. Comstock, thankfully, isn't one of those singers with a "warhorses-only" policy; the New York City resident includes several overdone Tin Pan Alley warhorses, but he also embraces Paul Simon's "I Do It for Love" and unearths some worthwhile Ellington and Strayhorn material that hasn't been beaten to death (including "Jump for Joy," "Grievin'" and the title track). No One Knows won't go down in history as 2005's ultimate hard bop/jazz purist album, but whether one categorizes Comstock as cabaret, traditional pop or vocal jazz -- arguably, he's all of those things -- this is a generally decent, well-executed CD that offers some likable surprises here and there. ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	04/12/2005
Label:	Harbinger Records
UPC:	0324332201226
Rank:	208072

Tracks

1. Easy on the Heart
2. To the Ends of the Earth
3. No One Knows
4. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
5. Jump for Joy
6. Small World
7. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
8. Grievin'
9. Imagination
10. I Do It for Your Love
11. Hazel's Hips
12. When Lights Are Low
13. Old Devil Moon
14. There Will Never Be Another You
15. If I Had My Druthers
16. I Hear Music

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eric Comstock   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Peter Washington   Double Bass,Bass
Eric Reed   Piano
Wycliffe Gordon   Trombone
Frank Wess   Flute,Sax (Tenor)
Peter Bernstein   Guitar
Matt Wilson   Drums

Technical Credits

A.T. Michael MacDonald   Mastering
Michael Brorby   Engineer
Tedd Firth   Arranger,Music Preparation
Stephen Sondheim   Composer
Paul Francis Webster   Composer
Benny Carter   Composer
Eric Comstock   Arranger,Producer
Mack Gordon   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Oscar Brown, Jr.   Composer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Buddy Bernier   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Johnny Burke   Composer
David Hajdu   Liner Notes
Eric Kohler   Design
Spencer Williams   Composer
Frank Loesser   Composer
Burton Lane   Composer
Paul Simon   Composer
Sid Kuller   Composer
Gene DePaul   Composer
Bob Russell   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Joe Sherman   Composer
Charlie Haden   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Jerry Brainin   Composer
Jule Styne   Composer
James Van Heusen   Composer
Billy Strayhorn   Composer
Noel Sherman   Composer