"I Get A Kick: Cole Porter Reimagined" presents adventurous new takes on 10 classic tunes written by Cole Porter for stage and screen, performed by jazz singer and award-winning poet Lisa B (Lisa Bernstein) on her sixth record and first for Jazzed Media. This distinctive homage appeals to fans of vocal music, jazz, and the Great American Songbook, as well as anyone seeking a lush and witty background to a cozy night at home or a sophisticated gathering. It was co-produced and engineered by James Gardiner, who boasts two Grammy nominations and 42 gold and platinum records, and features internationally known, Bay Area-based jazz players Mike Zilber, John Santos, Ben Flint, Frank Martin, Fred Randolph, Troy Lampkins, Jeff Marrs, Alan Hall, and Paul Van Wageningen. "I Get A Kick" includes Lisa B's evocative spoken word on four tracks, her original vocalese on two tracks, and a Porter song recorded only once before ("Wake Up and Dream"), along with completely new arrangements spanning bebop, beguine, bossa, ballads, sultry funk, and more. These bold new versions build on the well-known renderings of Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, revealing the Cole Porter who hovers between hot and cool, heartache and wisecrack, sorrow and the sublime. "Lisa B [is] a true American original," writes jazz critic Ted Panken, recent winner of the Jazz Journalists Association Lifetime Achievement Award, in the liner notes. "With the freewheeling control of the raw materials that only the finest jazz practitioners possess, B takes possession of Porter's witty, poignant stories. She deploys her considerable interpretative vocal gifts to deliver the message...luminous timbre and precise articulation...[a] fresh, in-the-moment approach [on]... every second of this inspired recital." Brad Stone, multi-time Jazz Radio Programmer of the Year, raves, "Lisa B's takes on Porter are so newly refreshing and unique that you should definitely check them out."
