Personnel:
Tammy Burdett (vcl, p, arr), Bob Strickland (tp, flh), Doug Reid (as), Eric Verlinde, Andy Roben (p, keyb), Paul Gabrielson, Kevin McCarthy (b), Marty Tuttle (d, perc), Jeff Busch (perc), Paul Green (harmonica), Leah Stillwell (vcl)
Reference: FSRCD 5509
Bar code: 8427328655095
Tammy Burdett's songs are like fine jewelry hidden over time. She was born in 1940 and raised in Seattle. Tammy played string bass in local bands as a teenager, and later joined a instrumental group called The Individuals in 1964. It was around this time that she was encouraged by the leader to start singing. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles in 1970, she started a steady club job with composer and pianist Howlett “Smitty” Smith as a member of his trio. Smith encouraged her to write her own songs. Tammy returned to her hometown in 1988 and, for the next couple of decades, focused on composing while playing bass and singing with small groups in the Seattle area.
From her liner notes, Tammy says the following: “Fancy Free” is a 2-CD set of originals from two different recording sessions. On both sessions, I was blessed with great jazz musicians who understood from my simple arrangements exactly what I wanted with each song. The Great American Songbook and 20th Century musicals have been a major influence in my songwriting.”
Tammy's songs and voice are remarkable. No one writes songs or sings them this way anymore. You don't know her, but you should and you'll dig!
"If you're looking king for ladies that have been flowing under the radar, both past and present, heck out Spain’s premier label, Fresh Sound Records, and hear what’s not being heard…
Here you have a pair of recordings by cabaret-voiced Tammy Burdett, done in 2007 and 2011. The first one has her with a team of Bob Strikland/tp-fh, Doug Reid/as, Eric Verlinde/key, Paul Gabrielson/b, Marty Tuttle/dr, Jeff Busch/perc, Paul Green/harm and Leah Stilwell/voc on a collection that is heavy on the Latin/Brazilian side. The percussion and keys simmer on “C’est La Vie” and “Follow the Swallow” as Burdett slinks around “A Broken Hart” and gets poppish on “You Bring Out the Lover In Me”. With the same horns, but with Marty Tuttle/dr, Kevin McCarthy/b and Andy Roben/key, she is breathy while sizzling on “Soft Shoe”, peppy on “Don’t Say You’re Hot When You’re Not” and in nightclub form on “I Love to Say I Love You” with a rich vibrato. Classy lass."
—George W. Harris (August 29, 2022)
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