Getting Cheeky on CD
Barbara Cook & Michael Feinstein — Cheek to Cheek
Two consummate interpreters of the American Songbook joined forces for a series of performances at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency New York last year, and thankfully, their distinctive work together has been preserved on this CD.
This grandly intimate album includes not only the two musically sparring with Sondheim’s “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” (from Company) as they deliver the song in a manner similar to the way it was performed in the Broadway revue Sondheim on Sondheim, but also the singers sharing an exceptionally affectionate duet with the disc’s title track and a charmingly playful take on “Shine on Harvest Moon.” This latter song features some New Orleans jazz arrangements from John Oddo, who, with Feinstein, has created a gorgeously languid medley of Ray Noble’s “The Very Thought of You” and Irving Caesar and Vincent Youmans’ “Tea for Two” (from No, No Nanette).
Elsewhere, the two solo marvelously. Among the Feinstein highlights are a rendition of Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose and Vincent Youmans’ “Without A Song” (from Great Day), which Feinstein deftly transitions from its initially somber mood to one of exultant inspiration; and the world premiere recording of emerging songwriters Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich’s “Ever After,” a moving expression of a father’s love for his child.
Cook’s work — as always superlative — shines most brightly in a rendition of Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” which, thanks to an arrangement from Lee Musiker and Cook, eerily captures the emotional turmoil of the tune. In addition, she delivers a passionately understated take on Johnny Mandel and Alan and Marilyn Bergman’s “Where Do You Start?” and a delightfully zippy, gospel-infused take on “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive.” Listeners will be savoring this one for years.
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End of the Rainbow
Listening to this disc, it’s easy to understand why Tracie Bennett has received an Olivier Award nomination for her portrayal of Judy Garland as she preps for her final London appearance in 1968. The performer captures not only Garland’s charismatic style, but the sometimes harrowing to hear debilitation which had taken place in the singer’s vocals by this period. It’s a mesmerizing performance to listen to that’s backed by a top-notch 13-piece ensemble playing Chris Egan’s fine orchestrations of such classics as the disc’s title song, “Smile,” and “The Man That Got Away.”
Adele Anderson — Everything Happens to Me
A member of the British singing trio Fascinating Aida, Anderson demonstrates her flair for delivering comic musical material on this album that’s often laugh-out-loud funny. Her choices are wide-ranging: not only does she include some songs from the Golden Age — Irving Berlin’s “Torch Song” from Face the Music and the title track — there are also some splendid original songs, including “Terrible Day,” an hilarious ode to a working person’s grind, and even a terrifically rendered take on Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Second Threepenny Opera Finale.”
Alice Ripley — Daily Practice Volume 1
This Tony Award-winning star moves out of the world of musical theater and into the world of rock, channeling her inner Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell for this 10-track CD. Fans of Ripley’s work in Next to Normal will find that she brings a similar emotional rawness to the selections on the album, which include Carly Simon’s “Anticipation,” Sting’s “Message in a Bottle,” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road.” Ripley accompanies herself on guitar for all of the songs, which gives the disc a decided intimacy and listeners the sense that they’re being given a one-on-one performance.
Christopher Jackson — In The Name Of Love
Jackson, who played Benny in Broadway’s In the Heights, proves himself to be a talented R&B songwriter on this CD, which displays his oh-so-smooth voice to grand effect. The songs range from the album’s title track — a gently romantic ballad that evokes memories of work by Lionel Ritchie and Stevie Wonder — to the slightly funkier “Be a Light,” both co-written with Michael Murphy and Tim Kvasnosky. All of the songs are gracefully tuneful, and fitted with some poignant lyrics.
Love Story (Original Cast Recording) (Faber Music)
Howard Goodall and Stephen Clark’s chamber musical adaptation of Erich Segal’s now classic — and some might say clichéd — portrait of ill-fated young love proves to be a remarkably satisfying listen, grounded by two decidedly unsentimental performances from Emma Williams and Michael Xavier. The score — written for piano and strings — effortlessly evokes the classical music background of Williams’ character, while also encompassing both a pop and musical theater vernacular. True, some lyrics might be overly sweet for some, but there’s a decidedly appealing heart beating at the center of this album.
Shannon Forsell — Nearness of You: A Tribute to Hoagy Carmichael
Some of Hoagy Carmichael’s most familiar songs, including “Skylark,” “Stardust,” and “Georgia on My Mind” brush up against lesser known tunes as “Can’t Get Indiana Off My Mind” and “Baltimore Oriole” on this swell compilation from the silky-voiced Forsell. She proves as deft with the big band sound of “Sing Me a Swing Song and Let Me Dance” as she does with the dirty blues sound of “Lazy River” (the consistently inventive arrangements are by Rob Dixon). While all 11 selections are more than ear-pleasing, one particular highlight is Forsell’s positively dreamy rendition of the title track.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Leon Carr and Earl Shuman’s 1964 musical version of James Thurber’s story about a henpecked husband and his extraordinary fantasy life — never before available on CD — charms from beginning to end. For instance, just try to resist the lilting “Walking with Penninah,” a tune for Walter and his daughter. The recording’s filled with lovely performances, principally Marc London’s turn as the nebbishy title character. Lorraine Serabian delivers forcefully as Walter’s cutting wife, and Rue McLanahan and Lette Rehnolds shine with “Two Little Pussy Cats,” a lament for two women slighted by one of Walter’s perpetually single friends.
Devon Glover — The Sonnet Man (James St. Productions)
Songwriter-performer Devon Glover offers up six of Shakespeare’s sonnets for a new generation on this impressive album. After performing the sonnets to a contemporary beat, he offers an interpretation of them with a new song, with elements of the jagged rhythms of rap and the smoothness of rhythm and blues. The intelligence in the “translations” is grand, for example “Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope” becomes “Why can’t I be the guy with the front porch,/and with good prospects and friends? A couple of Porsches?,” and one senses this could be the way to inspire a new generation of Shakespeare-lovers.
Helena Blackman — The Sound of Rodgers & Hammerstein
Blackman’s infectiously vibrant vocals give new life to such familiar songs as “I Have Dreamed” (from The King and I) and “I Have Confidence” (from The Sound of Music) on this always pleasant debut recording. Freshness can also be found in the contemporary, yet faithful, orchestrations for some of the tunes, such as Simon Hale’s for “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” (from South Pacific), which captures the agitation that lies under Rodgers’ buoyant melody. Two duets feature Jonathan Ansell and Daniel Boys, and the latter singer and Blackman deliver “People Will Say We’re in Love” (from Oklahoma!) with both humor and a grand sense of romance.
Ben Vereen — Steppin Out Live
With this recording of a concert that Vereen gave in Hartford, listeners will find that the Tony Award winner is still a consummate showman. While it’s unfortunate that a medley of songs from shows with which he’s most closely associated (Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc.) is ungainly conceived and strained, the joys of his exceedingly thoughtful rendition of “Defying Gravity” (from Wicked) and some superb jazz interpretations of Rodgers and Hart classics atone for the misstep.
Woo: a Latin Jazz Suite for Soprano Saxaphone
Soprano saxophonist Peter MacDonough and five other musicians — Jovino Santos Neto and Mark Levine on piano, David Belove on bass, and Paul von Wageningen on drums, as well as percussionist Michael Spiro — tantalizingly transform Harold Arlen’s melodies from The Wizard of Oz on this inventive jazz recording, often infusing the much-loved music with an infectious Latin beat. What’s perhaps most enjoyable is that the 15 tracks include not only the songs that are known by heart, but also some of the movie’s more obscure music, such as “Miss Gulch” and “March of the Winkies.”
