Face The Music And Dance

Susannah McCorkle, who consistently brings out new meanings in the lyrics she interprets, performs 16 Irving Berlin songs (complete with verses and sometimes lesser-known stanzas) on this delightful set. There is solo space for trumpeter Gregory Gisbert, trombonist Conrad Herwig, young tenor great Chris Potter and altoist Jerry Dodgion; the arrangements by Rich DeRosa are surprisingly modern, and McCorkle is heard in prime form. Among the many highlights are a wistful rendition of "Let's Face the Music and Dance," and a sensuous "Cheek to Cheek," "Let Yourself Go," and a wonderful closer, a version of "Waiting at the End of the Road" on which the singer is accompanied only by the rhythm guitar of Al Gafa…

Nils Lofgren has a story unlike any other in rock & roll. Something of a teenage rock & roll prodigy, he first made waves when he played on Neil Young's After the Gold Rush at the tender age of 17, just around the time his D.C.-based band Grin relocated to Los Angeles in hopes of hitting the big time. Grin never became stars, but Lofgren did. His association with Young provided a launch pad for a solo career that was acclaimed and fitfully commercially successful, with the late-'70s albums Cry Tough, I Came to Dance, and Night After Night all making waves in album rock…