The Heart and Soul of Joe Williams and George Shearing (1971)
(1972)
The Heart and Soul of Joe Williams and George Shearing is a 1971 album by jazz pianist George Shearing and singer Joe Williams. The album was released on Shearing's own record label, Sheba Records. All the songs on the album have the words "heart" or "soul" in their titles.[3]
C. Michael Bailey reviewed the album's 2001 reissue for All About Jazz and wrote that "Hitting the streets in 1971, The Heart and Soul... has been a bit hard to find as of late but has now been restored to its previous glory. ...Most striking is getting to hear Joe Williams outside of a blues context. He was a fine ballad and torch singer. "Heart and Soul" absolutely swings while "My Foolish Heart" has a bit of Latin whimsy. "Blues in My Heart" captures Williams in his most familiar territory. Shearing's accompaniment is tasteful (could it be anyway else?)".[4]
Ken Dryden reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that Shearing and Williams "...work very well together due to their love of great melodies and their ability to build upon them" and particularly praised "My Heart Stood Still" writing that "the enchanting duo rendition by Williams and Shearing not only restores the often omitted verse but proves that less can be more" and that "The lesser-known tunes are hardly lesser quality. Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Burke penned the gorgeous yet unjustly forgotten "Humpty Dumpty Heart," while Alec Wilder's "Sleep My Heart" is another long lost treasure".[3]