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Canadian jazz performer Diana Panton loves the classics and her second release for children, A Cheerful Little Earful, is chock full of tunes many adults have either never heard or forgot a long, long time ago. It’s a tranquil rainy day diversion, and a way to get children interested in the burgeoning field of jazz for juniors (if I may coin a phrase).
Panton covers such well-known composers as Rodgers & Hammerstein (“Happy Talk”), Sammy Cahn (“Pocketful of Miracles”), Cole Porter (“Experiment”), Ira Gershwin (the title track), among others. It’s definitely a time warp for older listeners (although my eightysomething stepfather took a power nap as we all listened on a drive home from Connecticut). The kids were similarly amazed that I knew the lyrics to album-closer “Hush-a-bye Island,” which has appeared on at least five Frank Sinatra compilations. There are also songs you “know” but were unfamiliar with the composers — “Sing a Rainbow” by Arthur Hamilton and “Red Red Robin” from Harry Woods, for instance.
Musicians Reg Schwager and Don Thompson fill the songs with gentle instrumentation and verve. Panton makes sure you don’t miss any of the underlying emotion as…
