No
one really knows for sure where the expression “everything old is new
again” originated, but a younger generation certainly embodies that
aphorism with their embrace of a musical style that went out of vogue
more than 50 years before most of them were born. In the 1990s,
groups like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy spearheaded
a musical movement that came to be known as the Swing-Era Revival, a
movement that is still inspiring young musicians today.
HANNAH
GILL is a
vocalist whose debut album, EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER,
comprises eleven swing-era tunes that were composed from the 1920s
through the 1950s. She is joined on the album by a band of top-notch
East Coast musicians who share Gill’s passion for the danceable
rhythms and melodic riffs that characterize this music. Joining Gill
are trumpeter DANNY JONOKUCHI (who leads his own 17-piece big band and co-wrote the
arrangements for this album), saxophonist and clarinetist RYAN
WEISHEIT, trombonist SAM CHESS, guitarist GREG
RUGGERIO, pianist GORDON WEBSTER (a fixture in the global
Lindy Hop scene), bassist TAL RONEN, and drummer
BEN ZWEIG.
Still
a young woman, Gill’s voice is warm and mature with a deep-rooted
feeling for jazz. Although she cites Blossom Dearie, Anita O’Day, and
especially Ella Fitzgerald (she has a tattoo of Ella on her ankle) as
her main inspirations, her vocals are also inflected with blues and
soul. She stays true to the original music but brings it into the 21st
century.
Gill
spent countless hours listening to music on YouTube and sharing ideas
with friends to choose the songs for this project. She says, “I
divided the album into two types of songs. For anyone listening to
the album on vinyl, Side A (or the first 6 tunes on CD) is about love
makers, while Side B (the remaining 5 songs) is about heart
breakers.”
Gill’s
natural vocal talents were apparent at an early age. She grew up on
the eastern shore of Maryland but has been honing her chops on the
New York City jazz and Lindy Hop scene for the last eight years. Her
penchant for the stage was seen all through middle school as she
participated in numerous theatrical productions and talent shows. Her
initial foray to NYC came about on her 16th birthday, when her father
brought her to the city to watch a show at Summerstage. It was there
that they met guitarist Brad Hammonds, whose father was Hannah’s
co-worker. Hammonds, who had been performing for over 20 years,
invited Hannah to record vocals on his next album, and thereafter
they decided to work together.
At
the age of 18, having decided to defer a college degree and pursue
her passion for music instead, she moved to New York by herself and
partnered with Hammonds to form “Hannah Gill & The Hours.”
Forming a band that ranged from a duo to an eight-piece, they
released two EP’s, The Water, and Lost In Words, whilst
touring nationally in support of the projects. In 2020, during the
pandemic, Hannah decided to pursue her own solo career, and
self-released another EP of her original music, called Songs From
Quarantine.
All
the while, as Hannah played with The Hours, she was featured at local
gigs in NYC, where she met Glen Crytzer and Gordon Webster, both of
whom are established band leaders in the Lindy Hop scene. She also
became a permanent member of Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox, a
band that re-arranges pop hits as jazz tunes. With PMJ, Hannah toured
the world twice over, playing sold out shows from the Sydney Opera
House to L’Olympia in Paris.
Her
love for and knowledge of jazz led her to record her Spooky Jazz
EP, a collection of classic swing-era standards that showcase the
spookier size of jazz, which was released on Halloween in 2020.
EVERYBODY
LOVES A LOVER
is being released on Turtle Bay Records, spearheaded by Scott Asen, a
devotee of swing-era music. Asen, a career businessman and a true
jazz lover, began Turtle Bay Records to showcase the best
contemporary jazz artists playing the best tunes of yesteryear. Asen
first heard Gill sing at one of his house parties for jazz
aficionados, where he invites local musicians to perform. He then
went on to see her at a host of other venues in the city and decided
to offer her a record deal for an album on his newly formed label.
Some
of the songs are a nod to Hannah’s favorite singers. The 1931 song
“Moonlight Saving Time” was sung by Blossom Dearie, while “I Fell in
Love with a Dream” was written by Ella Fitzgerald for her 1939 album Betcha
Nickel. Gill also culled songs from the oeuvres of Nat King Cole
and Doris Day. “What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry” was written by
Walter Donaldson and Abe Lyman in 1926 and rejuvenated by The Nat
Cole Trio in 1946, while “This Will Make You Laugh” was written by
Irene Higginbotham and first released by the Trio in 1941. Doris Day
sang ”Put ‘Em in a Box” by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn in the 1948 movie
Romance on the High Seas, and “Everybody Loves a Lover,” the
title track, was a hit single for her in 1958.
Other
classic songs include “You Were Only Fooling,” “You’re Getting to Be
a Habit with Me,” “Lullaby of the Leaves,” and “Autumn Leaves.” Gill
closes the album with a rollicking version of “It’s a Sin to Tell a
Lie.”
With
Gill’s weekly gigs and her performances with the XIV Burlesque
Theater Company in Brooklyn several nights a week, you might say her
career is in full swing these days. The refreshing arrangements, the
outstanding musicianship, and, of course, Gill’s alluring vocals make
EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER a compelling debut album and a
refreshing addition to the movement.
# # #
EVERYBODY
LOVES A LOVER will be released on September 8, 2023 on Turtle Bay
Records and will be available on CD.
Online:
Hannahgillmusic.com
Facebook.com/HannahGillMusic
@hannahgillmusic
turtlebayrecords.com
YouTube:
@turtlebayrecords9686
IG: @turtlebayrecords
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