Night & Day: Big Band
Night & Day: Big Band is the eighteenth studio album by the American band Chicago, and twenty-second overall, released in 1995.[1] It is a departure from Top 40 material for a more thematic project, with a focus on classic big band, jazz, and swing music.
| Night & Day: Big Band | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 23, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | December 1994 – January 1995 | |||
| Genre | Big band, jazz, swing | |||
| Length | 51:27 | |||
| Label | Giant | |||
| Producer | Bruce Fairbairn | |||
| Chicago chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Chicago left Reprise Records and started their own imprint, Chicago Records, to re-distribute their music. This album was carried by Giant Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music, who also distributes Reprise.
With producer Bruce Fairbairn, Chicago recorded Night & Day: Big Band from late 1994 to early 1995 and released it that May. Although Bruce Gaitsch played guitar on the sessions, the guitar slot would eventually be filled that year by Keith Howland, who remains Chicago's present guitarist. Joe Perry of Aerosmith was brought in to add a solo to "Blues in the Night".
The album reached #90 in the US, on the Billboard 200 chart.
Background
Chicago made its "television variety debut" in February 1973 on a television special honoring Duke Ellington, Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly, which aired on CBS. They performed the Ellington composition, "Jump for Joy".[2] They were the only rock musicians invited to appear on the show.[3][4] Walter Parazaider cited the group's participation in the television special, and Duke Ellington's comments to them afterwards, as important factors in their decision to record this album.[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chicago" | Fred Fisher | Robert Lamm | 3:06 |
| 2. | "Caravan" | Duke Ellington/Irving Mills/Juan Tizol | Lamm | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Dream a Little Dream of Me" | Fabian André/Gus Kahn/Wilbur Schwandt | Jason Scheff/Jade | 3:12 |
| 4. | "Goody Goody" | Matty Malneck/Johnny Mercer | Bill Champlin | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Moonlight Serenade" | Glenn Miller/Mitchell Parish | Lamm and Scheff | 4:26 |
| 6. | "Night and Day" | Cole Porter | Scheff | 5:36 |
| 7. | "Blues in the Night" | Harold Arlen/Mercer | Champlin | 6:05 |
| 8. | "Sing, Sing, Sing" | Louis Prima | Lamm, Champlin and Scheff/Gipsy Kings | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Sophisticated Lady" | Ellington/Mills/Parish | Scheff | 5:11 |
| 10. | "In the Mood" | Joe Garland/Andy Razaf | Champlin | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | Ellington/Bob Russell | Lamm and Champlin | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Take the "A" Train" | Billy Strayhorn | Lamm | 5:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "String of Pearls" | Eddie Delange/Jerry Gray | 3:07 |
Personnel
Chicago
- Bill Champlin – keyboards, guitar, vocals, vocal arrangement, arrangement (4, 7, 10, 11)
- Bruce Gaitsch – guitar, arrangement (10)
- Tris Imboden – drums, harmonica, arrangement (10)
- Robert Lamm – keyboards, vocals, additional vocal arrangement, arrangement (1, 6, 9-12)
- Lee Loughnane – trumpet, flugelhorn, brass arrangement (7, 8, 10), arrangement (8), vocal arrangement (8)
- James Pankow – trombone, brass arrangement (1-6, 9-12), arrangement (2, 3, 5, 10)
- Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, arrangement (10)
- Jason Scheff – bass guitar, vocals, additional vocal arrangement, arrangement (9, 10)
Additional personnel
- Luis Conte – percussion
- Jack Duncan – percussion on "Night and Day"
- Sal Ferreras – percussion on "Night and Day"
- The Gipsy Kings (Nicolas Reyes and Patchai Reyes) – vocals, rumba flamenco guitars and vocal arrangements on "Sing, Sing, Sing"
- Jade – vocals on "Dream a Little Dream of Me"
- Joe Perry – guitar solo on "Blues in the Night"
- Paul Shaffer – piano on "Dream a Little Dream of Me"
- Bruce Fairbairn – trumpet solo on "Chicago"
- Tonino Baliardo – lead guitar on "Sing, Sing, Sing"
- Peter Wolf – arrangements on "In the Mood"
- Shelly Berg – orchestration, big band arrangements
- Bill Watrous – big band arrangements
Production
- Bruce Fairbairn – producer
- The Gipsy Kings – co-producer (on "Sing, Sing, Sing")
- Gerard Prevost – co-producer
- John Kalodner – A&R
- Erwin Musper – audio engineer and mixing
- Mike Plotnikoff – second engineer
- Delwyn Brooks – assistant engineer
- Robbes Stieglitz – assistant engineer
- Recorded at The Amoury Studios (Vancouver, B.C. ) and Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA).
- Bernie Grundman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
- Larry Vigon – art direction, design
- Brian Jackson – design
- Hugh Kretschmer – cover photography
- Guy Webster – inside photography
Chart performance
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[7] | 90 |
References
- Night & Day: Big Band at AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- "From The Music Capitals of the World: New York". Billboard. Vol. 85 no. 2. New York, NY: Billboard Publications, Inc. January 13, 1973. p. 16 – via Google Books.
- Zonkel, Phillip (September 18, 1995). "Hard habit to break: The men of Chicago just can't stop making new music". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Lancaster, Ohio, USA. p. 5, "CoverSTORY" section. Retrieved November 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Duke Ellington ...We Love You Madly". Billboard. Vol. 85 no. 6. New York, NY: Billboard Publications, Inc. February 10, 1973. p. 17 – via Google Books.
- "The Chicago Story: Chapter XII – The Next Duke Ellingtons". www.chicagotheband.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- Night & Day: Big Band at AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- "Chicago Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.