Carl Riseley’s sophomore album The Stillest Hour is a departure from his beloved big band sound. This time the sound is stripped back to tight jazz quartet plus Riseley on vocals, trumpet and flugelhorn.

“I wanted it to be intimate, that was the main thing,” Riseley says. “And I wanted it to be an expression of romance. So we scaled back the band to a quartet – I think we have four of the best players in the country.”

The Stillest Hour covers classic jazz love songs old and modern, though Riseley regrets he didn’t get any of his own songs on the album.

“I had a couple of originals that I really wish went on the album,” Riseley admits. “But they really didn’t work with the quartet arrangement; they were written for a big band and really needed that oomph.”

Listening to ‘My Funny Valentine’ you’d be forgiven for thinking Riseley was channelling the great Chet Baker.

“I really dig Chet, he was one of the first instrumentalist/ singers to perform this way he did,” Riseley said. “People have said to me there are five or six hundred versions of ‘Valentine’. I’ve just heard so many bad versions, I wanted to bring it back to its roots and try and sing it like it was being sung for the first time.”

Riseley is planning to go back into the studio around September and include some originals on his next album – but not in the big band style.

“No! No!” Riseley says emphatically. “I’m going to start writing for this sound. This is the sound I want to move forward with!

“The style of ‘The Stillest Hour’, ‘Never Give Up’ and ‘Magnolia’, [my favourite track] is where I want to go in the future.”

Carl Riseley’s album The Stillest Hour is out now.

www.carlriseley.com.au