The recording studio was filled with an easy camaraderie, and the musicians were eager to begin. Mutual respect is the heart of all creative endeavors and this was evident in the actions and attitudes of the musicians and recording engineers. This was music as team sports - you rely on the efforts and skills of the individual players to deliver the finest performance.
Maurice Coyle sipped a cup of coffee, and tossed ideas and laughter back and forth with Peggy Monaghan, the producer, and Charlie Hewitt, the engineer. Coyle was quick to offer ideas about the session, but just as eager to listen to them. In the booth, his voice was smooth as warm silk and filled with confidence and excitement.
The session musicians were impressive. Two pianists played on the project, Tom Bargelski and Melissa Bledsoe Fischer. Bargelski was the epitome of taste and timing, and a master of open spaces, allowing Coyle's vocals to shine. Fischer played with cool, intricate improvisations punctuated by explosive chords. Dirk Westfall provided a sweeping bass line with a solid foundation of rhythm. The drums were either the sensuous brushwork of John Damberg or the unshakable, but sensitive playing of Vinnie Palazzotto.
The best jazz is born in the heart and experienced through the body. Vital Signs is that kind of music - the very best.
Maurice Coyle leads two lives. He is both an accomplished vocalist, who inherited his love of jazz from his father, and an Alaskan doctor. Vital signs is his second recording to lovingly explore a selection of his favorite tunes from the golden age of songwriting.
Building on the success of Just What the Doctor Ordered, Dr.Maurice Coyle returns with a second round of treatments for the ballad-deprived listener. Vital Signs is filled with the same rich vocals that made Dr. Coyle's first CD so welcome. Here are jazz ballads at their best, performed by someone completely in love with and dedicated to this beautiful music. Dr. Coyle donates his proceeds from the sale of Vital Signs and Just What the Doctor Ordered to Alaska Providence Children's Hospital.
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