We open with In A Mellotone, a classic from Duke Ellington. We then hop down to New Orleans for a feature on Aaron Neville. We close with 28 versions of "Guantanamera" and "Perfidia" featuring Celia Cruz, Beny More, Perez Prado, and Lucrecia among a host of other musicians.
I have written my appreciation of Aaron on BoL (go here) but let me end with a note from Aaron responding to a question about his idiosyncratic style of singing.
"That style is rooted in the doo wop of the fifties– the Moonlgows, the Flamingos, the Clovers and a close friend, Pookie Hudson and the Spaniels. But I was also deep into the gospel groups, the Pilgrim Travelers, the Brooklyn All-Stars and The Blind Boys of Alabama. And then there were those yodeling cowboys. I loved them." —Aaron Neville
The Aaron Neville Mixtape covers the full range of Aaron’s career beginning with “Tell It Like It Is” and concluding with a brace of gospel selections from his new album. Never underestimate the staying power of a man who won’t give up; a man who looks one way and sounds another, an angel’s voice in a weight lifter’s body.