Album Notes

Love Who You Love won the BACKSTAGE BISTRO AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RECORDING! Music Critic, John Hoglund, writing in Backstage Newspaper, says Love Who You Love , “Valentine Ryder’s new CD is about at good as a jazz stylist can get!”, and, ‘definitive high quality cabaret that can’t get much better!” The NY POST writes “(Ryder’s) a first class Jazz stylist!” The Daily News writes, “This guy’s voice is as good as gold!”

Love Who You Love is the exciting new recording from jazz and swing singer Valentine Ryder. Val is returning to the New York City music scene after overcoming huge health obstacles. He is joined in this endeavor by a great band featuring Barry Levitt on piano and synthesizer, Cameron Brown on Bass, Brian Grice on Drums, Chip Fabrizi percussion, and Howard LeShaw on Sax, and boy can these guys swing! Check out the first track It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing/ Sing, Sing Sing, this track will give you an idea of how great these guy's swing!

The title song Love Who You Love is written by the Tony Award winning composers of RAGTIME, Flaherty & Ahrens. Mr. Stephen Flaherty, the Broadway composer, appears as a guest on this recording and accompanies Valentine on his composition "Love Who You Love"! There are also some other beautiful ballads that Val sings in his very own unique style. "This Is Always", "I'm Glad There Is You" and more!

Finally don't miss out on a Val's premier recording of an undiscovered Johnny Burke tune. Johnny Burke won the Academy Award for Swinging on A Star, and wrote other huge hits like Pennies From Heaven and But Beautiful! Val has recorded a brand new Johnny Burke song, called Now That We're Sure, even though Johnny Burke died decades ago. Barry Levitt Val's pianist and producer, was the musical director for the Broadway show "Swinging on A Star, The Songs of Johnny Burke"; Barry got Johnny's widow Mary Burke Kramer, to give him a lyric Johnny Burke had never had set to music, Barry Levitt wrote the tune, and Now That We're Sure is the result! Val's recording of Now That We're Sure is the first and only one! It's a great song check it out for yourself Track #13.