Amy London is known and loved in New York City jazz and Broadway circles for her effortless sound, impeccable musicianship and depth of emotion. 'When I Look In Your Eyes', her first national release as a leader, features some of the world's top jazz musicians, and reflects London's fully seasoned career which includes recordings with Roland Hanna, Barry Harris, Fred Hersch, Dr. Lonnie Smith, New York Voices, three years in the 6 Tony award winning Broadway hit 'City of Angels', (on it's Grammy nominated original cast recording as well), tours with Charles Aznavour, Tom Browne and Larry Elgart, and twenty five years of performances in the NY area, including long term engagements with the big bands of Chris Byars, Bill Conway, Loren Schoenberg and the Rainbow Room Orchestra, as well as the City Center production of 'Promises, Promises', with Martin Short.
London's selection of songs on this disc include moving renditions of rarely recorded American standards, along with some fresh crossover selections such as Laura Nyro's 'Lazy Susan' and the title track, which is pulled from the soundtrack of 'Dr. Dolittle'. Weaned on Motown and the folk rock of the 1970's (Laura Nyro/Joni Mitchell/Carole King/James Taylor etc.) and deeply trained in the jazz idiom, London is poised to be a favorite of the baby boomer generation with her accessible Ella-meets Laura Nyro style.
The sessions were recorded in a series of live takes at the famed Bennett Studios in New Jersey, with a jazz dream team. Notably, this was one of pianist John Hicks' final recordings. Also featured are fellow Motema artists Roni Ben-Hur and Rufus Reid (bass jazz legend whose career spans 4 decades w/300 recordings). Rounding out the date are veteran drummer Leroy Williams, percussion master Steve Kroon and a tight horn section formed by Chris Byars, Richie Vitale, John Mosca and Dan Greenblatt. Producer Suzi Reynolds, at the helm of recently acclaimed Motéma releases by guitarist Roni-Ben Hur and bassist Rufus Reid, delivers a flawless production.
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