FreeHam Records
2009
Till I Get It Right
About This Album
Get it right? How about darn near as perfect as a spirited set of (mostly) original contemporary jazz vocals can be? Blending his always sly, witty lyrics -- which can be enjoyed as poetry even without the sharp, swinging organic grooves -- with crisp, colorful phrasing that's truly the epitome of martini sipping cool, the passionate vocalist brings to his first set of originals in eight years the kind of panache much better known artists can only try to emulate. The world of Winkler is filled with the perfect dual perspective on heartbreak -- he's seriously melancholy on the stark and resigned "In a Lonely Place" and finds humor amidst the bitter on a vocal version of Joshua Redman's "lowercase." Winkler then finds the lighter side of leaving on the retro soul-jazz flavored "How to Pack a Suitcase." He also embraces the hope and optimism before the fall on a stripped down guitar-vocal arrangement of Steve Allen's image-rich "Spring Is Where You Are." Dichotomies abound, as the singer ruminates in two unique ways on the speedy passage of time -- the high carpe diem energy of "Future Street" and a more graceful, gently wistful reflection on the elegant "You Might As Well Live.
Track List (try tracks 1,4,6,8 and 9)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.