Laughing At Life

2017 release. Duchess - the trio featuring rising-star New York singers Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou - has won hearts far and wide with it's insouciant swing, sweet-toned harmonies and a stage presence that has proved irresistible to audiences from coast to coast, and across Canada. In the words of The New Yorker, these virtuoso entertainers "traffic in delight," as they channel the inspiration of vintage vocal trios into a fun-loving package that feels utterly up-to-date. Now Duchess presents it's second album: Laughing at Life. The track list includes beloved songs by Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, as well as lesser-known numbers given the infectious Duchess spin. Produced, like the trio's debut album, by arranger Oded-Lev Ari, Laughing at Life pairs Duchesswith an ace New York band: pianist Michael Cabe, bassist Matt Arono and drummer Jared Schonig, plus saxophonist Je Lederer and guitarist Jesse Lewis. There are two guest stars: Anat Cohen (clarinet) and Wycliffe Gordon (trombone and vocals). Highlights of Laughing at Life include a finger-snapping take on the Billie Holiday/Count Basie number "Swing Brother Swing!" The band grooves beautifully behind the singers in "On the Sunny Side of the Street," while Cole Porter's ballad "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" comes to life thanks to the purity of The Duchess vocal weave. And the trio presents the previously unrecorded "Dawn," a mellifluous song co-written decades ago by Vet Boswell, youngest of 1930s close-harmony trio the Boswell Sisters of New Orleans, a key historic muse for Duchess.