Sweet & Lowdown is an album by folk musician and singer Dave Van Ronk, released in 2001. It was the last studio album released in his lifetime. In this album, Van Ronk returns to recording pop and jazz standards.

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, critic Travis Dageset wrote of the album "The tunes swing along with Van Ronk's mildly Louis Armstrong-flavored rasp, which holds up throughout... for the most part, this is indispensable Van Ronk, whose forte, apart from his gift for songwriting, has always been classic interpretation that contains as much of his own distinct personality as it does respect for whatever form of American music he is delving into."

Sweet & Lowdown

Track listing

"I'll See You in My Dreams" (Isham Jones, Gus Kahn) – 2:44

"Comes Love" (Brown, Stept, Tobias) – 3:44

"Zoot Suit" (Gilbert, O'Brien) – 3:41

"As Time Goes By" (Herman Hupfeld) – 5:08

"Some of These Days" (Brooks) – 4:00

"Thanks for the Memory" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) – 6:00

"Puttin' on the Ritz" (Irving Berlin) – 2:49

"Blues in the News" (Ingham) – 2:56

"I'd Rather Charleston" (Carter, Gershwin) – 3:18

"I Can't Get Started" (Duke, Gershwin) – 6:29

"Sweet and Low Down" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 3:37

"I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone" (Johnson) – 5:17

"Your Feet's Too Big" (Benson, Fisher) – 3:33

"Bye Bye Blackbird" (Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson) – 4:05

"A Cottage for Sale" (Conley, Robison) – :29

Personnel

Dave Van Ronk – vocals, guitar

Frank Christian – guitar

Vince Giordano – banjo, saxophone

Keith Ingham – piano

Jon-Erik Kellso – trumpet

Arnie Kinsella – drums

Sarah Partridge – background vocals

Scott Robinson – clarinet, tenor and alto saxophone

Andrea Vuocolo – background vocals

Murray Wall – double bass

Production notes

Produced by Dave Van Ronk and Keith Ingham

Engineered by Arthur Steuer

Mastered by Renée Marc-Aurèle and Ian Terry

Photography by Jack Vartoogian

Graphic design by Reid Morris

Production assistant and assistant producer – Jean-Pierre Leduc

Executive producer – Jim West

References

2001 albums

Dave Van Ronk albums

Sweet & Lowdown