Album Notes

We are pleased to announce the Off Broadway opening of our hit Jazz Noir musical, "Play It Cool' Off Broadway at the Acorn Theatre in early September. This CD has most of the songs in the NY production and features the Original Los Angeles Cast and musicians doing 19 songs from the show. As you know, this production has gotten great reviews wherever it's played-- in LA and in NY at NAMT and NYMF. The CD is a limited edition “collectors copy”--we’ve only got 1,000 of them-- so hurry before they're gone! It features the work of award-winning lyricist Mark Winkler (Naked Boys Singing!, Bark! and Too Old for the Chorus) writing with such stellar composers as David Benoit, Dan Siegel and Phillip Swann (Lee Anne Womack, Ray Charles, Clay Aikens).It is reminiscent of "City of Angels","Wild Party" and "Gun Metal Blues."

Los Angeles Times Critic’s Choice!
"An accomplished, kaleidoscopic songbook. Tart, tuneful and trenchant in unexpected ways. “Play It Cool” generates sizzling heat, and not just for Blue Note devotees.”

Nominated for Glaad Award as Best Musical twice
Nominated for Ovation Awards- Best Musical, Best Actress
and Best Music Director!
Nominated for LA Weekly Awards for Best Female Performance-Jessica Sheridan and Best Ensemble!
Nominated for LADCC Award for best music director- Louis Durra!

Backstage West Critic’s Pick!
"A scintillating jazz musical! The amalgam of swinging jazz ditties, comic numbers and torch songs results in a superb score, brought to shimmering life courtesy of music director-arranger Louis Durra and musicians Big Al Gruskoff and Adam Alesi…..a first rate cast of actor-singers."

LA Weekly, Go!
"We get solid jazz from five fine actor-singers who deliver lyricist Mark Winkler’s music in a delightful evening."

Variety
"Impressive tuner…rich in noir-esque ambience. Jessica Sheridan exhibits impressive vocal chops (“In My Drag,””Jazz is a Special Taste”). Katie Campbell’s
clear-toned, pitch-perfect outings on “Whatever It Takes” and “Another Night” is evocative of such Jazz legends as Anita O’Day and June Christy.”

Top Ten Cast Recording of 2006!
"Once again, one lyricist collaborating various composers comes up with a winner. Mark Winkler's Play It Cool is a musical that takes film noir as its ambience. It's set in Hollywood, and had a run in Los Angeles recently. I very much enjoyed the CD's group of well-written, well-sung songs celebrating jazz music and indicating a story. But it wasn't until I saw a staged reading of the show that I fully appreciated it. (The reading starred the likely New York lead, Lea DeLaria, who has a solo album by the same name, but it's unrelated.) The show is about gays and lesbians in the repressive 1950s where expressions of same-sex affection had to be guarded.

The L.A. cast is impressive, and the wail of a saxophone and the snap of a finger instantly bring you into the musical's world, and then the smoky, silky, moody atmosphere takes over. It may have "cool" in the title, and appropriately so, but some of the music is hot and sizzling."

Rob Lester
Talking Broadway.com