by Leslie Poster
There's something about 1962 that just works for
Charlie Barnett. Between the stylish clothing and the great music, this
anachronistic performer says he'd liked to have lived in the late 50s and early
60s, and the music he makes with Chaise Lounge is no doubt a reflection of his
desires to go back in time.
In both their covered tracks and their original works,
the band updates that classic jazz sound of a smooth chanteuse backed by
strings and brass, making what Barnett considers Modern Songbook music.
Every once in a while, Barnett and the band will fool
loyal fans with a new track. They'll ask the band if the track they played was
an overlooked hit from what Barnett calls the "golden age of
songwriting," maybe a deep catalog Cole Porter or George Gershwin track.
Nope, it's just the product of six career musicians
making a hobby of transporting listeners to a hip 60s lounge through music.
The band got its start about a decade ago when
Barnett, a film composer, was sharing a studio with Marilyn Older, a Wammies
nominee and singer-songwriter. Praising Older for her pitch and phrasing,
Barnett recalled how he would ask the singer to try out bits of songs he was
writing and the two built a friendship.
After going their separate ways, Older called Barnett with a musical proposition.
"She called and said, ‘You know, this separation
of ours is not working out, can we have a band together?'" Barnett said,
laughing. Barnett enlisted the talents of his favorite studio musicians - Tommy
Barrick, Gary Gregg, John Jensen and Pete Ostle - and together the group set
immediately about not only performing, but also recording as Chaise Lounge.
"I do a lot of recording outside of Chaise
Lounge, so the idea that we would have band and not record was just unknowable
to me," Barnett said. "I'm always trying to keep the band
recording."
The band has released three albums with inventive
originals and faithful covers of standards, and is sitting on two albums of
material yet to be released - an album of all band-written songs and a full
Christmas album, which includes four holiday songs penned by the band.
The band has been together ever since, but took a
brief hiatus while Older gave birth to her children. Their reunion concert,
just a few years ago, was not as one of their regular haunts like IOTA or Blues
Alley, but at a friend's wedding.
"We snuck back," Barnett said. "I
wasn't expecting it to be so slick, but we got together and said ‘wow, we
didn't lose a step." Everybody still loves it."
Being in a band with such seasoned musicians is both a
blessing and a curse, according to Barnett, as scheduling around their musical
careers is a challenge, but the band members bring professional talents to the
table that make the band what Barnett calls a "pretty efficient
machine." They generally perform four shows a month, going on mini tours
throughout the East Coast, and Barnett said a European tour may be in the
works.
While the next few steps in Chaise Lounge's path are
still being plotted, Barnett enjoys performing regularly with the band and
looks forward to their two shows, one set for Aug. 28 at IOTA, and another set
for Oct. 15 at The Barns at Wolftrap.
"Right now, I get so much joy out of just
performing," Barnett said. "Being in front of an audience is
something I'll never let loose of. Everybody in the band is a good performer,
and I think we all - when it gets to be show time - we always remember, ‘oh
yeah, that's what's fun, performing these songs for people.'"
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