“How do you do, ghosts and ghouls? My name is HANNAH GILL, and this is SPOOKY JAZZ VOL. 3. It is mood music in a jugular vein.” With these darkly ominous yet whimsically eerie words, partially appropriated from Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Music to Be Murdered By, the internationally acclaimed New York-based vocalist extends an invitation to the jazziest Halloween party of the year. Filled with mostly obscure gems from a deep dive into the Great American Songbook era, the 11-track album -- her third release on Turtle Bay Records -- builds on the (literally) spirit-filled aesthetic of her independently recorded 2020 SPOOKY JAZZ EP (financed by her pandemic unemployment money) and its popular 2024 follow-up SPOOKY JAZZ VOL. 2. Tracks from the first two volumes have an aggregate total of 250,000+ streams.

“With each iteration,” Hannah says, “you can tell they’re getting a bit campier. It’s fun to include Hitchcock and some hidden references, but the main concept of Spooky Jazz is to sing lyrics that are villainous and devious, even if the melody is cheerful. While music can be a serious business, these projects are a reminder to be silly, have fun with jazz and not take myself too seriously. It amazes me that I’ve now made three of these silly, delightful records that are appreciated by not only jazz aficionados, but burlesque and goth fans looking to set the mood. My hope is that these projects will become perennial seasonal favorites.”

The core ensemble helping to bring Hannah’s vision to fruition on SPOOKY JAZZ VOL. 3 is mostly the same personnel as on the previous volume, including GABE TERRACCIANO (violin), RICKY ALEXANDER (clarinet and tenor sax), GORDON WEBSTER (piano), JUSTIN POINDEXTER (guitar), PHILIP AMBUEL (bass), and BEN ZWEIG (drums). DANNY JONOKUCHI joins the crew on trumpet and wrote most of the snazzy, colorful arrangements, while SASHA PAPERNIK adds accordion to “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

Though Hannah grew up obsessed with jazz-oriented Broadway musicals, particularly Cabaret, her passion for swing and big band music came from her early days in New York City, where she moved right out of high school from Maryland to pursue her dreams. After going on a date with a guy who was into swing dancing, she started taking lessons and her passion for the movements and the music grew from there. She has since performed local gigs with the neo-swing Glenn Crytzer Orchestra, made freelance appearances backing swing dancers, toured internationally with her own jazz band, Gordon Webster and Friends, and spent three years on the road with Postmodern Jukebox. Over the years, she has performed at Lindy Hop events and legendary venues, such as the Sydney Opera House in Australia, L’Olympia in Paris, Jeju Swing Camp in South Korea, The Snowball in Sweden, Marian’s Jazzroom in Switzerland, and the Jazzablanca Music Festival in Morocco. The singer released her debut jazz album, EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER, on Turtle Bay Records in September 2023.

Having seduced the listener with her sly, Hitchcockian intro featuring her spoken words backed by the band’s tension building sonic oddities, Hannah gets the party rolling with “Spider in the Web.” It’s a doo-woppy 50’s track from The Dooley Sisters that she transforms into a brassy, hard swinging jazz romp pairing her sly and sassy feminine wiles with boisterous sax, violin, steel guitar, and trumpet solos. Perhaps the most familiar tune of the set is “Old Devil Moon,” a classic from Finian’s Rainbow which has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Josh Groban, and countless others. Mining inspiration from a 1957 rendition by Anita O’Day and the Oscar Peterson Quartet, Hannah -- who heard it sung frequently when she ran a free jazz night during a residency at a burlesque club -- fashions a brisk, jumpy version fusing swing and steamy romantic longing.

Hannah and the guys bring a bluesy, New Orleans-styled brass ensemble vibe to her showstopping roll through the clever, lyrically pointed “The Richest Guy in the Graveyard,” which adds a dash of sonic lightness to the album. Hannah showcases the gentler, sensual side of her artistry on a graceful, slow simmering ballad arrangement of “Moon Ray,” an Artie Shaw classic she used to sing with Glen Crytzer’s band. It features a dark, haunting steel guitar solo and richly emotional violin and piano improvisations. A bright fanfare of horns opens the singer’s peppy, freewheeling, spin on “I’m Gonna Haunt Ya,” which features Hannah’s infectious Andrews Sisters-influenced vocal harmonies and speedy violin and piano solos. Recorded in the late 30’s by both Tommy Dorsey and Louis Armstrong, “As Long As You Live (You’ll Be Dead If You Die)” reflects legendary lyricist Johnny Mercer’s humorous side – and gives Hannah a chance to add some intentional, cheeky campiness to the set, backed by a buoyant arrangement featuring snappy guitar, booming drums, and festive trumpet and clarinet solos.

Opening with mischievous drum and horn driven “footsteps,” dramatic brass bursts and eerie, echoing sounds created by Jonokuchi’s theremin, the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey composition, “My Friend the Ghost,” is a lightly swinging mystical charmer, with Hannah building a merry rapport with the band’s sax, clarinet, and violin harmonies as ghoulish sounds resound throughout. When Hannah hears her spunky, crafty, perfect-forshowgirls version of the Betty Hutton-originated cheating lover lament, “He’s a Demon, He’s a Devil, He’s a Doll,” she can visualize Queen of Burlesque Dita Von Teese walking onstage in full double costume. Hannah brings her own stylish songcraft to the Spooky Jazz genre she created with the irresistible closer “Wolves in the Attic,” a torchy, blues-fired revenge tune filled with classic bad news omens that the singer calls “the Halloween version of The Chicks’ classic murder ballad ‘Goodbye Earl’.”

Hannah Gill – Vocals

Gabe Terracciano – Violin

Ricky Alexander – Clarient, Sax

Danny Jonokuchi – Trumpet, Theremin

Justin Poindexter – Guitar

Gordon Webster – Piano

Philip Ambuel – Bass

Ben Zweig – Drums

MARILYN LESTER
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
“...the two weave a tapestry of music, playing in and out and over and under each other as well as in spotlight moments, all quite mesmerizing…”

LANCE LIDDLE
BEBOP SPOKEN HERE
“An absolute 40 carat gem!”

ALLEN SCOTT
ALL THAT'S JAZZ
“These two seasoned artists with impressive resumes are very fond of the duo format, which is what led them to develop their latest release.”

GEORGE W. HARRIS
JAZZ WEEKLY
“So, simple, so unpretentious and so cozy.”

THIERRY DE CLEMENSAT
PARIS MOVE
“The familiar songs are polished to a soft glow, each note placed just so, each phrase weighted with respect.”

J.POET
DOWNBEAT
“…revisits standards from the American Songbook, delivering them with intimate, impressive arrangements.”