On A Night in Tunisia, Canadian jazz vocalist Carol McCartney brings not only a bright and pleasing vocal style, but some of the most highly regarded Canadian jazzmen. These musicians include trumpeter Guido Basso (late of the Rob McConnell Boss Brass), vibraphonist and former Concord recording artist Peter Appleyard, bassist Dave Young, drummer Terry Clarke, tenor saxophonist Bob Brough and several others.
What is especially notable is that McCartney features each of them on different tracks. Appleyard's sparkling vibes solo is heard on the opening "East of the Sun," while Chase Sanborn (is he in the coffee business?) is featured on "I Concentrate on You. Bob Brough's solos on the title tune while Dave Young is featured on the Oscar Brown Jr/Bobby Timmons "Dat Dere. Guitarist Reg Schwager is featured on "I Thought About You," while Guido Basso's beautiful flugelhorn on "The Shadow of Your Smile" comes pretty close to the original source material of the ballad (Jack Sheldon was originally featured on the soundtrack to the Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor film The Sandpiper).
McCartney shows that she can deliver ballads from The Great American Songbook, as well as up-tempo jazz standards like "A Night in Tunisia" and "Dat Dere. She scats very effectively on the Bradshaw/Johnson/Plater "Jersey Bounce," while on "East of the Sun, McCartney uses vocalese that match the horn riffs during the break, a la George Benson. (Michael Gladstone)