Jazz Vocals
VOICES Notes and news on Jazz Vocals releases
Ol' Yule Eyes
06 NOV 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Unrepentant sap that I am for all things Christmas, new holiday releases get my synapses twinkling. Christmas With Sinatra And Friends, a recent reissue of festive Frank Sinatra chestnuts, is this year's must-have addition to your holiday collection.
Aside from his stellar pipes and swinging delivery, Sinatra had the gift of making you believe every word he sang. So when the city kid from Hoboken asks to be given an "Old Fashioned Christmas" with "wide open spaces covered in snow," each line brims with nostalgia. It's not just that he was a good actor, and he was, but that he served as a conduit for our dreams, shimmering reflections of our collective nostalgia.
And the friends he brings along? Mel Tormé sings "The Christmas Song," the holiday anthem he co-wrote. Ray Charles' and Betty Carter's cheeky duet on "Baby It's Cold Outside" is hands down the hippest version of this wintertime classic. Rosemary Clooney croons "White Christmas" (she co-starred in the 1954 movie). An interesting addition to the collection is Thad Jones' "A Child Is Born," recorded by Tony Bennett and Bill Evans, one of the amazing duo recordings they did in the mid-'70s.
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The Christmas Song / Autumn Leaves
Mel Torme, from The Best Of The Concord ...
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Baby It's Cold Outside
Ray Charles, from The Spirit Of Christmas
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White Christmas
Rosemary Clooney, from White Christmas
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A Child Is Born
Tony Bennett & Bill Evans, from The ...
in this playlist.
Setting A New Standard
18 AUG 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Herb Alpert, the chart-topping trumpeter and powerful record executive, could sit back and manage the fruits of his prodigious career. Instead, he continues to explore the boundaries between Latin, pop and jazz, creating a hybrid that's both accessible and musically satisfying. Anything Goes - Live, on which he pairs with vocalist Lani Hall, is his 47th release and it's a winner.
Working in an intimate quintet format, this CD was recorded live at several nationally known jazz spots. The 14 tracks are old standards, precisely rearranged to add new excitement without blurring the beauty of the source material. There's an art to that -- changing a song simply for the sake of change can come off hollow and contrived. No chance of that here, every song clicks with an "Ah, genius!" perfection.
"Laura" opens with an upbeat groove by pianist Bill Cantos before morphing into a samba led by Alpert's cool horn. The normally honky-tonk "Anything Goes" floats slowly over a background theme reminiscent of Monk's Misterioso.
Singer Lani Hall's voice will sound familiar. As a part of Sergio Mendes' Brasil '66, she was lead vocalist on classics like "Fool on The Hill" and "The Look Of Love." Her relaxed style melds perfectly with Alpert's warm tone. Off-stage, for the last 35 years or so, she's also Mrs. Herb Alpert. Musical marriage, indeed.
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Laura
Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, from Anything ...
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Anything Goes
Ella Fitzgerald, from Dream Dancing
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Evidence
Thelonious Monk Quartet, from Misterioso
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The Look of Love
Sergio Mendes, from Encanto
in this playlist.
Devilishly Cool
13 JUL 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
In 1998, Jazz singer Teri Thornton won the top prize at the prestigious Thelonius Monk vocal competition, beating out runners-up Jane Monheit and Tierney Sutton,who were just beginning their now impressive careers. Unlike her younger competitors, Thornton was 64 and suffering from terminal cancer. She also had enjoyed a promising career nearly 40 years earlier. Devil May Care on Original Jazz Classics is her acclaimed release from that era.
Ella Fitzgerald's favorite singer and championed by jazz stars like Cannonball Adderley and Johnny Griffin, Thornton had a three-octave range and a great ear. Just 27 when Devil May Care was recorded, Thornton already had a mature, rich tone and a relaxed, swinging feel. Her instrumental approach to improvisation wowed her fans and impressed fellow musicians. Bob Dorough's whimsical "Devil May Care," "Detour Ahead" and "Blue Skies" showcase Thornton's ease with rhythmic and melodic variation.
Out-of-print for years, the album is now available in the Digital Only section of the site. The all-star recording session features Clark Terry, pianist Wynton Kelly and Basie guitarist, Freddy Green. Arranger Norman Simmons (who would serve as her pianist at the Monk competition 37 years later) frames Thornton's singing with four-horn arrangements that are outstanding examples of the Cool period.
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Devil May Care
Teri Thornton, from Devil May Care
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Ballad of the Sad Young Men
Jane Monheit, from The Lovers, the ...
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Haunted Heart
The Tierney Sutton Band, from On The ...
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Cry Me A River
Ella Fitzgerald, from Love Letters From ...
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Scotch And Water
Cannonball Adderley, from Jazz Six Pack
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A Night In Tunisia
Johnny Griffin, from Bush Dance
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Michelle
Clark Terry, from Mellow Moods
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Action
Wynton Kelly, from Piano
in this playlist.
Elling's Dedication
16 JUN 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Grammy-nominated singer Kurt Elling's Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane And Hartman was recorded live at Lincoln Center with Elling's long-time musical director/arranger, pianist Laurence Hobgood, tenor saxophone legend Ernie Watts and the string quartet, ETHEL.
This project was originally commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival, who asked Elling to do a "reiteration" of the famous 1963 recording session that teamed the jazz giant with the mellow-toned balladeer, the only vocalist with whom 'Trane would ever record.
But Elling wasn't interested in replicating the original, note for note, saying, "That's not a very jazzy thing to do." Bless you, Kurt Elling -- feel free to tell your friends. The real genius of a tribute is building on the base of a classic while keeping the crucial elements that make it worth revisiting in the first place.
What's kept? The repertoire, of course -- ballads like "Lush Life" and "My One And Only Love" that Hartman owned after recording them with Coltrane. Then there's Elling's resonant baritone, similar to Hartman's yet more supple and broad ranging. Watts, a jazz legend in his own right, supplies the same fat tenor sound while adding original musical ideas.
What's new? How about that string quartet? Sounds a little nutty but Hobgood makes it work so perfectly you would swear the strings were always there. His arrangements polish and modernize the original. All told, a very jazzy thing to do.
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My One and Only Love
Kurt Elling, from Dedicated To You: Kurt ...
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Lush Life
John Coltrane, from Lush Life [Rudy Van ...
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The Sleepers
Kurt Elling, from Nightmoves
in this playlist.
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