A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing

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A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing
Studio album by
Vince Guaraldi
ReleasedOctober 1957
RecordedApril 16, 1957 (1957-04-16)
StudioFantasy Recording Studios, San Francisco, California
GenreJazz
Length34:40
LabelFantasy (US)
Vocalion (UK)
Vince Guaraldi chronology
Vince Guaraldi Trio
(1956) 		A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing
(1957) 		Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
(1962)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
[3]

A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing is the second studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio), released in the US by Fantasy Records in October 1957.

Background

A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing exhibits the trio's growth from the safer jazz style played in their self-titled album

Vince Guaraldi Trio. Guaraldi employed the same musicians as he did for his debut album; guitarist Eddie Duran and bassist Dean Reilly. Guaraldi began exploring his personal style on the piano with these tracks before becoming commonly recognized and as a great jazz pianist for his latin style in his following album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962).[4]

Critical reception

DownBeat praised the album's soothing tone, noting, in part, that "Guaraldi is serenely wistful in his interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's title song, is surely relaxed in the lightly swinging 'Softly.' He delightfully colors the impressionistic 'Yesterdays.' 'Like a Rose' is accorded a treatment almost elegiac in its poetic quietude."[5]

Guaraldi historian and author Derrick Bang ranks the album as one of the pianist's "prettiest," adding that it is "gentle and lyrical, as befits a collective theme that revolves around flora and changing seasons."[2] AllMusic critic Scott Yanow said the album is one of Guaraldi's "better sets", adding that the pianist "plays...tastefully and with light swing, making this a program that is equally successful as both cool jazz and background music."[1]

Track listing

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing"Billy Strayhorn5:37
2."Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise"
3:28
3."Yesterdays"Jerome Kern4:00
4."Like a Mighty Rose" (aka "Room at the Bottom"[2])Vince Guaraldi4:30
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Looking for a Boy"
4:06
2."Autumn Leaves"Joseph Kosma4:22
3."Lonely Girl"Bobby Troup3:23
4."Willow Weep for Me"Ann Ronell5:14
Total length:34:40

Personnel

Vince Guaraldi Trio
Additional

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalogue number
United States April 1958 Fantasy
LP
 3357
United Kingdom Unknown Vocalion Mono LP LAE569
Australia Unknown Vogue Productions Mono LP LAEA-569
United States 1986 Fantasy Mono cassette F-3257
United States 1986 Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics Mono LP OJC-235, F-3257
United States 1994 Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics Mono CD OJCCD-235-2, F-3257
Europe 2006 Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics Mono CD 00025218623520

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD: A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0
    .
  4. ^ "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" Archived December 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Fantasy Records. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "Album Review: Vince Guaraldi — A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing". DownBeat. June 26, 1958. pp. 27–28.
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