Tom Sorce’s latest, Friends II, was a Family Affair as well!
By CP Christopher Peppas
The Beatles, of course, famously got by with a little help from their friends.
Tom Sorce, legendary local guitarist, vocalist and entertainer, went to his musical rolodex to assist him in producing his latest album, Friends II, a self-proclaimed collection of Jazz and Latin Standards.
Just ask any adult with a little grey in their hair what a rolodex is if you don’t already know.
The seven people who answered the call in 2022-‘23 and ended up playing and singing at Six Foot Media studio in Milwaukee, reads like a Who’s Who of the area’s greatest names…members of The Pantheon all.
Normally, a vocalist would put together a dozen or so songs and put together combos of musicians to back him or her up.
But Sorce flipped the script on this effort and accompanies the others with his stellar guitar skills and sings on just one number, Bunny Berigan’s classic “I Can’t Get Started.”
And then he just turns the spotlight on the various vocalists and players he has played in front of and alongside for decades.
Not just his friends played a significant role, however, but members of his family came along for the ride, too.
Son Thomas Sorce played drums and percussion on F2. Cousin Peter Sorce, took a few steps away from his gigs with Jeff LaBarge’s Swing Explosion Band to give his take on Route 66 and Love for Sale, Cole Porter’s ditty from the Broadway play “The New Yorkers” in 1930.
The former, arguably the most famous song dedicated to miles of concrete and asphalt, was penned by Bobby Troup. Though that he wrote the song is relegated to the dustbin of history. It his role as Dr. Joe Early on the 70s cult classic TV show, Emergency!, is where he is most well-known.
Rick D’Amore gives a triple taste of Sinatra with his straightforward takes on World on a String, Luck Be a Lady and It Was a Very Good Year. Rick makes them his own as much as anyone can when it comes to Old Blue Eyes.
You’d be hard-pressed to read the liner notes on any jazz CD recorded within a forty-mile radius of the Cream City and not see the name of Jeff Stoll, the King of The Keys, playing the ivories and the pedal bass with his be-socked left foot.
Sure enough, here he is plying his trade and singing perhaps the most-requested song by his many audiences, night after night. Have You Met Miss Jones has an unmistakable bounce that can’t help but get your toes a tappin’.
Jeff is approaching forty-four consecutive years playing at The Packing House in April.
It came as absolutely no surprise that Tom Sorce decided to tap into the gold mine of musical talent that is Joe Turano.
The Milwaukee native has worked with some of the biggest names in the history of recorded music starting with Rickie Lee Jones and moving on to Michael Bolton, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and, of course, he was fellow Jazz great Al Jarreau’s musical director for years.
The multi-instrumentalist Turano sings, plays bass, piano and saxophone on But Beautiful, a steaming-hot ballad that gives you the feel of being in a New York City jazz club at 2 a.m. before they outlawed smoking.
Tom didn’t forget the ladies when it came to this opus. No, he went straight to the top and got the best out of two of the best he has worked with over the years.
Anita Stemper throws down with Devil May Care and The Good Life and listeners are left to lap up every sultry note.
Last and most certainly not least is Lady C, Carole Hanzel, the bass player and vocalist who fronts the DV8s and plays with Scotch & Soda, sings Morning and the Lady Day Classic: Good Morning Heartache.
Friends II is more than worth your time. You simply need to press play. The only question that remains: When will we get to hear Friends III?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CP Christopher Peppas is a Journalist, Jazz Vocalist and Conga Player in the Greater Milwaukee Area and Correspondent at Large for the Jazz Unlimited Newsletter and Content Manager/Chief Contributor to CreativProse, Ltd. (sic), Social Media, Brand Management.
