CD Review: Rose Mallett, "Dreams Realized"

 I was delighted when I received a review copy of Rose Mallett's new CD from Jazz Promo Services.  I have had the pleasure of knowing  Jazz and Blues vocalist Rose Mallett for 15 years.  I first met her when I visited the Escena Country Club Lounge in Palm Springs California.  Rose had recently moved to the desert and was taking any gigs she could find.  I was immediately impressed with Rose's voice and her confidence as a performer.  The setting at a Country Club Lounge was not a perfect setting for Rose's soft lush voice but it was a gig and she knew that in order to improve, she had to sing wherever she had the opportunity.  I did a Rose Mallett Trio review at the Escena Lounge on February 28th, 2012.  Since my first review of Rose Mallett,  I have periodically done reviews on Rose and her progress as listed below:

   " Simply A Great Jazz Singer "  2/11/14

    "Rose Mallett's Favorite Top 10 Songs"  4/4/14  

    "Woody's in Palm Springs"  2/22/15

    "Vicky's of Santa Fe"  1/20/18

I encourage you to look up these past posts on my blog as they will provide you with a good feel of the hard work Rose has expended to reach her current level of accomplishment.  It brings to mind a comment I heard from Bobby Darin, "It's taken me 25 years to become an "Overnight" success".  The music industry has never been easy and I have personally witnessed many of the negative experiences Rose has had to face during her career and I can tell you that she handled every bump in the road with style and grace.  Unlike many vocalists I observe who reach a level of popularity and then stop their growth, Rose has always worked to improve her  voice, phrasing and performances.  The result has put Rose Mallett into the rare group of top Jazz and Blues singers performing today,  I encourage you to buy her CD and also next time you find yourself in the Coachella Valley desert area, I encourage you to look up Rose because she is still performing in several venues in the California desert. 

PLAYERS:

Rose Mallett- Vocals

Robert Kyle- Producer/Arranger/Sax/Flute

Jamison Trotter- Piano

Trey Henry- Bass

Mike Shapiro- Drums

"Munyungo" Jackson- Percussion

PLAYLIST:

1. Ain't Nobody

2. Feelin' Good

3. My Funny Valentine

4. Creepin

5. Send In The Clowns

6. The Snake

7. The Way He Makes Me Feel

8. Building Dreams

9. It's Impossible

10. Rock Me Baby

11. If I Never Sing Another Song

I have attached two "YouTube" videos that show Rose's versatility.  The first is a down and dirty Blues standard, "Rock Me Baby"  and the second is a tender ballad that Rose handles perfectly, "If I Never Sing Another Song".

                                                                    "Rock Me Baby"

                                                                "If I Never Sing Another Song"

  

Frank DiSalvo

                                                   

I think the pictures posted above should tell you a lot about the Frank DiSalvo Show at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel. Frank DiSalvo is a performing dynamo who sings, plays guitar, tells great stories about the Sinatra era singers and even tells jokes.  All in a night's work for Frank. Frank simply loves to perform and perform he does on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel. I have seen Frank perform many times but he never fails to surprise me with his talent and high energy. Because of his sincere love to sing and perform, Frank has won the hearts of many Valley residents and has developed the largest and most loyal fan base in the Desert.  His shows are always packed gaining more new fans every week.  I have done three blog reviews of Frank's show over the past three years and blogs about Frank DiSalvo are always my most requested.  Over the past four years that Music Man Blog has been published, all three of Frank's reviews are in the top 10 most popular blogs on my site.

From my perspective, there are a couple of reasons why Frank and his show are so popular.  First, Frank is an extremely talented singer who loves to sing "The Music Of Your Life". The songs that a lot of the residents in the Valley grew up with. He covers Sinatra, Martin, Sammy, Elvis, Nat King Cole and Bobby Darin just to mention a few. He always covers the best singers and songs of the 70's, 80's and 90's right up to the present time. Second, there is no one around today that puts on a show like Frank where people can sit back and rediscover their musical memories. Third, Frank is a most sincere and kind individual always looking to help someone in need. He is real and a quality individual.

Besides performing his show 3 nights a week, Frank also sings in the big band that performs every Sunday night at the Resort.  This band plays the charts from the big bands we loved bringing them back to life.

If you have not seen Frank's show, you must make plans to get over to Indian Wells to see for yourself what I am talking about. You will leave his show re-charged with a smile on your face and a song in your heart! Take a listen to the YouTube of Frank singing with the Ted Herman Big Band.    

                                                                                             

Frank DiSalvo Plays to a Packed House in the Indians Wells Resort Hotel

Frank DiSalvo 

Frank DiSalvo

Capacity Crowd at Indian Wells Resort Hotel Enjoying Frank DiSalvo

Frank DiSalvo along with Ron Kalina Playing the great standard, "The Very Thought  of You"

Frank DiSalvo only arrived in the Desert two years ago. He arrived without family or friends or a job. But Frank had a strong belief that he could find a singing  job and become a musical success.  He started sitting in with any live music group that would let him sing and leaving his promo kit in every place in town that had live music.
Finally, he got a call from Dave Nichols, the CEO of the Indian Wells Resort Hotel who asked Frank to stop by.  Dave had listened to Frank sing by way of the promo kit Frank had dropped off at the front desk of the hotel. The rest is now musical history.  Frank started singing at the Hotel the next week and began drawing people in to hear him each week as word spread in the Valley about Frank's great show.

Fast forward two years and Frank now performs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday to packed houses and rave reviews from all of the Valley entertainment critics.

Frank is much more than just a great singer/performer.  Frank is a very caring and sincere person who is never too busy to help another musician.  As soon as Frank got the job at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel, he started encouraged Dave Nichols to add more live music.  Frank began to introduce some of the best musicians he knew to Dave who had such faith in Frank that he agreed to add more live entertainment one night at a time and give them a chance to prove they could draw music lovers into the hotel.  As a result of Frank's efforts and Dave's willingness to take a chance, the Hotel has live music six nights a week.  Not everyone is aware that Frank DiSalvo is greatly responsible for securing over 30 jobs for wonderfully-talented musicians in in the Valley. Without question, Frank DiSalvo is one of the "Good Guys" of live music, and I personally would like to thank Frank for all his efforts on behalf of all of us who love live music.

As you can see, tonight's show was in front of a packed house and Frank was at his very best.  His songs include dozens of the best songs of Sinatra, Darin, Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, Matt Monroe and Tony Bennett just to name a few.  He also played some great guitar while singing songs made famous by B.B. King, Glenn Campbell and Johnny Cash. 

The great Harmonica player, Ron Kalina was in the audience tonight, and Frank asked him to come up to play a song with him.  They played an outstanding duet of the classic, "The Very Thought of You" that received a standing ovation.  If you have not heard Ron Kalina play, you can hear his trio every Tuesday night at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel.