Solo performer: Andy Bey (vocals, piano).

This 1996 album was singer Andy Bey's first new release in 22 years. After an initial burst of recordings in the early '50s, Bey continued on into the '60s before his releases were fewer. In the '80s, he found work as Horace Silver's vocalist, at which time he settled in Austria. Released when Bey was living and performing in New York City, BALLADS, BLUES & BEY is a bracing return. His stirring four-octave range dances in and around the breezy chordal foundations that he builds on the piano. Finally, he explores a repertoire that has always been central to his artistry: songs by Gershwin, Porter, Ellington, Kern, and others from the era of the lightly swinging jazz ballad. His eight-minute-plus version of "You'd be so Nice to Come Home To" is a show-stopping tour-de-force.

JazzTimes (3/97, p.81) - "...here's one to savor. His voice floats in and out of a whisper. He has a quick, sometimes quivering vibrato. He often employs the falsetto range, although he has a full baritone range too. And he swings tantalizingly....With his spare, evocative piano as the only accompaniment, Bey's intimate recital of standards is something special."