Coleman Mellett – Sing You A Brand New Song

Now this album has really caught us by surprise. Guitarist Coleman Mellett, a core member of Chuck Mangione’s band and husband of singer Jeanie Bryson, Dizzy Gillespie’s daughter, who released four great albums in the 90s on Telarc Jazz and in 2001 on Koch Jazz (the still resonating “Deja Blue” which features Coleman on acoustic and electric guitar), was supposed to come out much earlier. But Coleman tragically died in a plane crash back in 2009. With the help of legendary jazz musician Barry Miles, Jeanie wanted to finish his demo recordings which Coleman recorded in his home studio. And the songs and songwriting and his voice are very close to the best of Michael Franks’ oeuvre, including the warm and nonchalant style of singing and getting your story across.

One of the songs was released last November but it didn’t get through to us back then. “Everymornin'” actually sounds like a cross between Michael Franks and James Taylor. The musicians on the album are top-notch by the way: Larry Goldings on keys, Will Lee on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, Chuck Mangione on flugelhorn, Barry Miles, Jeanie Bryson, and James Taylor on vocals and guitar. But it is Coleman’s guitar which lends so much laidback 70s esprit on many of the tracks here, like on the easygoing, floating and mellow “Life Goes On”. The light blues touch and the very Michael Franks-styled vocals on “Rainy Days” are pretty hard to resist. But mind you, this isn’t a bland copy of the work of Michael Franks, but rather a highly individual piece of work. I really dig the backing vocals on this particular track. Very very satisfying. What a treat!

And what a relief to hear such swaying and lighthearted tracks such as “Honeykiss”. Chuck is featured on the brilliant midtempo “Morning Line” which would probably best describe the moniker “blue-eyed soul”, a phrase I never really endorsed, but which is still prominently used out there. For a change of pace, there is Coleman’s beautiful guitar playing on the love song “Oh Kayo” where he “hopes that the song can melt away the snow”. Barry Miles accompanies accordingly, with just about enough poignancy. Coleman’s songwriting prowess comes to the fore on “Digibob”, about a person who never sees the sun because everything is just a click away. There is this wonderfully fragile part on “What You Are To Me”, where Coleman is accompanied by piano only. It’s a little jewel. Simple and effective and full of beauty. And how sweet it is to hear Jeanie again on the duet performance of “You Got Me Too”, another breezy, carefree love song. James Taylor himself can be heard on yet another love poem: on “Come On Home”, written by Coleman while his wife was on tour, the intimacy and strength of their relationship shine through crisp and clear. We also get an instrumental version of Taylor’s classic “Fire And Rain”, where Coleman’s guitar almost unobtrusively paints the picture, making it even more palatable. And the way that his voice at times sounds a little bit premature, like on the album closer “Island Home”, makes it all the more sympathetic.

The album is out today. It has a total of 44 minutes, so it cries out vor vinyl. There is a documentary about this project. Also called “Sing You A Brand New Song”, the movie, narrated by Michael McDonald (happy birthday by the way) will be shown on March 1st at the Showroom Theater in Asbury Park, New York, with a Q&A by Jeanie Bryson and Zeb Mellett. We can’t praise Jeanie enough for bringing this beauty out into the world today, exactly 16 years after Coleman’s tragic death at the age of 34.