''The Sweetest Punch'' is a 1999 album by

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

, released as a companion to Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach's 1998 album ''

Painted from Memory ''Painted from Memory'' is a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. It was released 29 September 1998 on Mercury Records, a division of Universal Music Group. The collaboration commenced with "God Give Me Strength", a commis ...

''. Many of the earlier album's songs are featured with new arrangements by Frisell, mostly in instrumental versions. Vocals for three of the tracks are also featured, with Costello on "Toledo",

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

on "Painted from Memory", and Costello and Wilson in a duet on "I Still Have That Other Girl".

Track listing

All songs written by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, except "Vamp Dolce", written by Frisell. # "The Sweetest Punch" – 4:44 # "Toledo" – 5:25 # "Such Unlikely Lovers" – 5:43 # "This House Is Empty Now" – 5:03 # "Painted from Memory" – 4:10 # "What's Her Name Today?" – 4:58 # "In the Darkest Place" – 5:55 # "Vamp Dolce" – 3:25 # "My Thief" – 4:31 # "I Still Have That Other Girl" – 2:22 # "Painted from Memory (Reprise)" – 3:36 # "Long Division" – 3:59 # "Tears at the Birthday Party" – 3:44 # "I Still Have That Other Girl (Reprise)" – 1:52 # "God Give Me Strength" – 4:42

Personnel

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electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

, acoustic guitar * Brian Blade — drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His mother w ...

— clarinet, bass clarinet * Billy Drewes — alto saxophone *

Curtis Fowlkes Curtis Fowlkes (born March 19, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist and singer. He is a founding member of The Jazz Passengers. Career In 1987, Fowlkes started The Jazz Passengers with saxophonist Roy Nathanson. He has also been a member of ...

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trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

Viktor Krauss Viktor Krauss is an American musician who plays acoustic and electric bass. He has released solo albums and has worked as a sideman with many musicians, including his sister, singer and fiddler Alison Krauss. Music career Krauss was born to Fre ...

— bass *

Ron Miles Ronald Glen Miles (May 9, 1963 – March 8, 2022) was an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, and composer. He recorded for the labels Prolific (1986), Capri (1990), and Gramavision. His final album, ''Rainbow Sign'', was his first on the Blu ...

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trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Charts

References

Elvis Costello albums Bill Frisell albums 1999 albums Decca Records albums {{1990s-jazz-album-stub