Paris Underground

Paris Underground

Track Listings

1. Perdido

2. Toll-Free Lili

3. We Sleep to Dream

4. Paris Underground

5. The Boulevard

6. Someone to Watch Over Me

7. Four on Six

8. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You

9. Tenderly

10. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

11. Paris Nights

12. Bring on the Night

13. We Sleep to Dream (outro)

Editorial Reviews
Michael Nelson, WPFW-FM, Washington, D.C.
"Outstanding work that they're doing in music."

Product Description
Paris Underground has both jazz and popular standards as well as contemporary selections. The music evokes a Paris where American expatriate jazz musicians performed their unique brand of American music in concert halls, night clubs, and cafes of the left bank in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Not only does Paris Underground pay homage with an updated twist to the jazz and popular standards of yesterday, but it embraces the modern, diverse styles that are the lifeblood of the current Paris music scene.

Song List

1. "Perdido" opens Paris Underground with a swinging Duke Ellington orchestra standard. Ellington's several Parisian concert tours left an indelible mark on European jazz.
2. "Toll-Free Lili" is a contemporary original selection that begins with a short conversation between a couple of Parisian immigrants about whether there is a toll for Lili. In the background is the sound of Paris traffic accompanied by North African drums. Suddenly, you're tooling along the ersatz Avenue de Lili .
3. "We Sleep to Dream" takes the listener down below to the Metro, the land of underground rail transport and buskers - musicians who earn their living performing in the underground metro stations, or outside of sidewalk cafes. At the end we hear the ring of a couple of francs as they are tossed into a cup.

4. "Paris Underground", the title track takes you on an urgent journey of lost and found as the train enters the station. It has a distinctive techno/urban flavor.
5. "The Boulevard" is an existential moment experienced on the Champs Elysee by kindred spirits who see each other for the first time.

6. "Someone to Watch Over Me" is a beloved Gershwin standard and one of many Gershwin songs that have been transformed into a jazz standard.
7. "Four on Six"is a Wes Montgomery piece that swings. It is a loving tribute to the late Wes Montgomery who has had a major influence on modern jazz guitar.
8. "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" is a bluesy take on an old jazz standard.
9. "Tenderly"is another jazz standard that evokes the mood of spring time in Paris.

10. "I Didnt Know What Time It Was" has been performed by many female vocalists like Sarah Vaughn and Cassandra Wilson. Sarah Vaughn has had a significant influence on Lisa's style.
11. "Paris Nights" is a transition piece from the jazz standards of yesterday to the contemporary music of today. It begins near an outdoor cafe and leads us to a cavernous downstairs night club.
12. "Bring on the Night" is an updated Sting/Police classic that begins with a note of foreboding and ends with a jazzy funk groove.
13. "We Sleep to Dream, Outro" brings us back to the underground with a different set of buskers from South America. We hear the plaintive sounds of the Andean pan pipe as the train leaves the station.

Liner notes from Paris Underground:

Along Boulevard St. Michel the night resonates with the strains of guitar music as a woman from Martinique serenades her cafe audience. And then there is the underground. It is a state of mind as much as a place that brings all of Paris together.

We remember the old songs, the jazz played by American expatriates and now embraced by Paris own. But we also hear the new music of Paris from her more recent arrivals. We hear the insistent rhythms of Africa, the Middle-East , urban techno, and buskers who perform in underground stations. All of which mingles with the old . It yields a strange, but eclectic brew.

Paris Underground

Paris Underground,Marcus Williams,Lisa Grant Duguid

Jazz Music: Paris Underground

Jazz Music: