Jack Elka’s Favorite Record Album- Jack Jones Sings Michael Legrand

My favorite album of recorded music is Jack Jones sings Michel Legrand. Jack Jones is and has always been my favorite male vocalist of the great American songbook. Sinatra is Sinatra. Tony Bennett is the best, but… Jack Jones has the cleanest, purest, smoothest pipes in the business. His collaboration with Michel Legrand is pure recorded magic and it is pre-digital!

The album was recorded in 1970 in Paris with the finest handpicked musicians. Jack Jones was young and Michel Legrand was well established with academy award winning music to his credit. Most of the songs words were written by Alan and Merilyn Bergman. The real magic is Legrand’s arrangements. If you listen carefully you hear an incredible amount of textures and layers going on behind Jone’s voice which is just another instrument in the orchestra. You have to listen to it in a quiet, peaceful room and listen to it again and again to hear the hidden passages. You cannot put it in your car’s system and drive down the road and say it sucks.

I first learned about it from a young lady vocalist that I was performing with in Philadelphia in the mid 70’s. It was her favorite album. I bought the album and fell in love with it – forever. I told my friend about it and he fell in love with it. He told me the story about how he shared it with his daughter as she grew up. His daughter now plays it for her kids and they love it. It is amazing how a recording can be passed down through generations with the same passion. The album is available on Amazon or you can get a signed copy from www.jackjonesmusicstore.com

Next Saturday: Twinkle Yochim talks about her favorite record album

album cover photo taken by Jack Elka