Kenny Rankin - Best of Kenny Rankin - (1996)

Kenny Rankin was raised in New York and was introduced to music by his mother who sang at home and for friends. Early in his career he worked as a singer-songwriter, and developed a considerable following during the 70s with a steady flow of albums, three of which broke into the Top 100 of the Billboard Album Chart. His liking for jazz was evident from an early age but the times were such that in order to survive his career had to take a more pop-oriented course. By the 90s, however, he was able to angle his repertoire to accommodate his own musical preferences and to please a new audience while still keeping faith with the faithful. Rankin's warm singing style and his soft, nylon-stringed guitar sound might suggest an artist more attuned to the supper-club circuit than the jazz arena, but his work contains many touches that appeal to the jazz audience.
His accompanists might include Alan Broadbent, Mike Wofford and Bill Watrous, and on such occasions the mood slips easily into a jazz groove. His compositions have been performed by artists such as Mel Tormé and Carmen McRae, while Stan Getz said of him that he was "a horn with a heartbeat". Stephen Bishop had a major hit in 1977 with his song "On and On", which was a #11 hit in the U.S. Rankin is deeply interested in Brazilian music and his Here In My Heart, on which he used jazz guests including Michael Brecker and Ernie Watts, was recorded mostly in Rio De Janeiro.

Tracklist:
01 Pussywillows Cattails
02 Regrets
03 On And On
04 You Are So Beautiful
05 Here's That Rainy Day
06 What Matters Most
07 Haven't We Met
08 When Sunny Gets Blue
09 Silver Morning
10 Peaceful

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