Mark's pal Jessica Martin is no stranger to the music of Michel Legrand. In 2008, she sang his very latest songs on the West End stage every night in the world premiere of his musical Marguerite. But four decades earlier Legrand and his lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman came up with one of the great songs of the late Sixties. "Sweet Gingerbread Man" has been a bit neglected in recent years, but Mark & Jessica thought it was time to get the old recipe out and give it a re-bake. Following last year's Christmas single and the bonus "extra nutty" version, we've combined the two arrangements into the ultimate "Sweet Gingerbread Man". It starts with a vignette right out of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" before the horns and fender piano signal the start of the main action, and, before it wraps up, Mark & Jessica take a few detours through everything from 1920s ukulele novelties to 1960s protest songs via A Chorus Line, Aretha Franklin and the bossa nova.
The director's bake of "Sweet Gingerbread Man" is also available in old-fashioned CD form on the brand new album Making Spirits Bright and on Mark & Jessica's disco EP A Marshmallow World - Disco Fever! |
