Bob Stewart: Let's Talk About Love, Sings With the Mat Mathews Quintet (1956 Dawn)

Biography by Michael G. Nastos

Number one cabaret singer whose allegiance is to the pop/crooning tradition. Wonderful baladeer; underappreciated artist.

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Bob Stewart: Let's Talk About Love, Sings With the Mat Mathews Quintet (1956 Dawn)


Bob Stewart -vo; Herbie Mann -fl,ts; Mat Mathews -accor; Joe Puma -g; Oscar Pettiford -b; Kenny Clarke -d;

Recorded 1956 in New York

01 CARAVAN 2.40
02 SKYLARK 2.34
03 LOOK DOWN THAT LONESOME ROAD 2.39
04 IF I'M LUCKY 3.13
05 BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA 2.19
06 COME RAIN OR COME SHINE 2.33
07 WHEN THE BLUES COME ON 3.37
08 AVALON 2.03
09 LAURA 2.30
10 MOONGLOW 2.27
11 IT'S MINE AFTER ALL 3.10
12 BLUE PRELUDE 3.06

Andromeda International Records says...(from comment post)

Being an old school record head, I had read up on Seeco Records several years back and was then first informed about their Dawn Records subsidiary. When I came across a used copy of "Let's Talk About Love" by Bob Stewart with the Mat Mathews Quintet (Dawn/Seeco), I was more than curious, hoping that I was purchasing one of those rare, long lost musical treasures. I was not put off by the plain black and white cover and photo. The moment the stylus dropped in the groove and Herbie Mann's flute floated through the speakers I knew I had hit the jackpot---even before Stewart's vocals had started. The true beauty of this entire album set is that neither the singer nor the group tries to go over the top with any of the songs. Each has found the perfect simplicity in each musical presentation, which allows the true vocal artistry of Stewart to totally shine again and again. There is no one song that can be named as the best; all the songs are excellent and serve as one impeccable cohesive package. Of particular note is the great recording technique of Rudy Van Gelder Studios: the microphone placement leaves the finished product sounding like it is a pure stereo recording, although it is mono. Needless to say, every singer, including myself, craves to make an exquisite recording like Bob Stewart-"Let's Talk About Love," with musicians and a recording engineer that all understand "the vision" of the project and go for it---one listen to this superb album and you'll know Stewart and company indeed grabbed the gold.---Angelo Alexander/Andromeda International Records androintl@earthlink.net

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Review BY Michael P. Gladstone

In 1956, singer Bob Stewart and the members of the Mat Mathews Quintet recorded twelve tracks at the New Jersey studio of Rudy Van Gelder. Let's Talk About Love, originally released on the Dawn label, has now been digitally remastered and licensed to Fresh Sound Records as the second part of CD: Bob Stewart - Sings With The Mat Mathews Quintet _ The 4 Most - Sing The Arrangements Of Joe Derise. Listening to this music, now just short of fifty years old, one hears a first-rate jazz crooner. Stewart's voice has deepened since this recording, as his 1990s albums, largely on his own VWC label, attest; his sound here could be compared to that of Mel Torme or Dick Haymes.

These twelve songs are notable for Stewart's comfortable vocals as well as the performances of the other musicians, among whom the most prominent voice is Herbie Mann's flute. The short playing time is average for the era. Most of the tunes are ballads with rather well-worn (by now) titles like “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” and “Avalon.” Two of the songs were co-written by producer Chuck Darwin with Mat Mathews (”It's Mine After All”) and Cohn (Al?) (”When the Blues Come On”). The album concludes with the Gordon Jenkins' “Blue Prelude.”

Bob Stewart shows a real compatibility with the music, making these songs come alive with feeling. They may now be regarded as being saloon or lounge vehicles, but I'd prefer to regard this as a collection of expressive performances by someone who wasn't hesitant about bringing a jazz sensibility to these individual tunes. It is a shame that Stewart had to wait 34 years to record his subsequent album in 1990.