Vocalist and songwriter Jack Donahue finished his new CD, A Small Blue Thing, and released it on Two Maples Music in mid-2007. The disc features sosongs by composers featured on his previous disc (Strange Weather) including Cole Porter, Suzanne Vega, Alec Wilder, Peter Eldridge and Donahue himself. Jack is again joined by an all-star lineup of jazz talents: Randy Ingram on piano, Dan Reiser and Jared Schonig on drums, Matt Penman and Matt Clohesy on bass, Keith Ganz on guitar...
Jack is again joined by an all-star lineup of jazz talents: Randy Ingram on piano, Dan Reiser and Jared Schonig on drums, Matt Penman and Matt Clohesy on bass, Keith Ganz on guitar, Jeremy Udden on alto sax, Stephanie Winters on cello, and very special guests Joe Locke on vibraphone and Fred Hersch on piano.
Donahue's 2005 release Strange Weather (PS Classics) was released to wide critical acclaim. That project reunited Donahue with Grammy award-winning artist/producer Peter Eldridge of New York Voices. On Strange Weather Jack collaborated with an excellent group of jazz musicians including Johnny Frigo, Loston Harris, Andy Ezrin, David Finck, Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, and Ben Wittman. Strange Weather features fresh takes on classic songs by Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Kurt Weill, Charlie Chaplin and others.
Like Jack's debut recording (Lighthouse), Strange Weather pairs well-known standards with songs by contemporary writers such as Suzanne Vega, Kenny Rankin, and Peter Eldridge. Christopher Loudon of Jazz Times wrote:
In addition to his songwriting and recording career, Jack plays major clubs and festivals around the country including The Catalina Bar & Grill in L.A., Sculler's and Regattabar in Boston, Zanzibar Blue in Philadelphia, and Birdland, Jazz Standard, and The Algonquin Hotel's famous Oak Room in New York City. Jack has sung with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, headlined on The QE II's world cruise and has played at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the legendary Rainbow Room.