One More for the Road

Personnel: Per Gade (guitar); Nicolai Schultz, Claus Waidtlow, Peter Fuglsang, Anders Gaardmand, Hans Ulrik (saxophone); Christer Gustafsson, Anders Gustafsson, Gerard Presencer, Mads la Cour, Thomas Kjærgaard (trumpet); André Jensen, Steen Hansen, Annette Saxe, Kevin Christensen , Vincent Nilsson (trombone); Henrik Gunde (piano); Soren Frost (drums).
Audio Mixer: Ossian Ryner.
Recording information: The DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen (01/2014).
Editor: Seth Presant.
Photographer: Nicolas Koch Futtrup.
Just in case the title One More for the Road didn't suggest Sinatra, Curtis Stigers underscores his debt to the Chairman of the Board by patterning the artwork for this 2017 collaboration with the Danish Radio Big Band after 1966's Sinatra at The Sands. In fact, One More for the Road is something of a salute to that 1966 record, containing eight songs from that double album and adhering to the snazzy swing of late-period Frank. Stigers even channels that sensibility into "Summer Wind," a gentle breeze of a single, and that's one of the distinguishing factors of One More for the Road. Another distinguishing factor is the cheerful blare of the Dutch Radio Big Band, who are big and brassy without overwhelming the singer. For his part, Stigers doesn't mimic Sinatra, appropriating just a bit of swagger -- and, sometimes, the arrangements -- but plays with his phrasing and alternates between crisp enunciation and elongated notes. This is enough to make One More for the Road something a bit different than a straight-up tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes because it shows how Stigers can hold his presence on-stage while sharing the spotlight with his idol. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine