Jersey Jazz - New Jersey Jazz Society

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OTHER VIEWS continued from page 33
selection of songs, and Baldwin is in top form
throughout. She has a strong and lovely voice
that lies easily on a listener’s years. Great songs
well sung is a formula that results in the kind of
wonderful album that Baldwin has made.
■ LIZ CALLAWAY first came into public consciousness
as one of the stars of the short-lived but
legendary Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We
Roll Along. She has kept busy as a recording artist,
cabaret performer, and has had a few more stage
rolls. In Passage of Time (PS Classics – 984),
Callaway combines theater and movie songs with
a few from pop sources to compile a compendium
of delightful performances. Among the theater
songwriters represented are Sondheim; Stephen
Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Jule Styne, Betty Comden
and Aldolph Green; Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein II; Edward Kleban, Stephen Schwartz;
John Bucchino and Lindy Robbins; Richard Maltby Jr.
and David Shire; and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The
most familiar songs are “Eleanor Rigby,” “Raindrops
Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and
“Secret O’ Life.” Callaway is a confident and
emotional singer who gives lyrics their just due.
■ Greenwich Time (PS Classics –
985) is an unusual album from
REBECCA LUKER. Most of the selections
verge on contemporary art songs.
Even the most familiar of them, “On My
Way to You,” “Killing Time” and “Unusual
Way,” are familiar to only the most avid
fans of the American songbook. This is
a very personal album for Luker, a
singer who possesses a remarkable
vocal instrument. She has chosen
songs that have particular meaning
for her, and her strong emotional
attachment to them comes through
forcefully throughout the album. It is
not an album for everyone, but is
convincingly executed by a truly
exceptional singer.
The above five albums are available
from the PS Classics website
(www.psclassics.com).
Remember that these albums are not
available through NJJS.You should be
able to obtain most of them at any
major record store. They are also
available on-line from the websites
that I have shown after each review,
or from a variety of other on-line
sources.
JJ
Caught in
the Act
By Joe Lang
NJJS Board Member
In addition to their superior performance
talents, both Breach and Bennett have an
unerring sense for choosing songs that are
unfairly beneath the radar, but always terrific.
This was apparent from their lightly swinging
and timely opener, “They Say It’s Spring,”
by Bob Haymes and Marty Clarke. Breach
transitioned to the next selection, “Not
Exactly Paris,” by speaking engagingly about
her friendship with Clarke, and his friendship
with the song’s composer, Mickey Leonard.
The Russell George lyric is stunning, and
Breach gave it a heartfelt reading that was
Joyce Breach and
Richard Rodney Bennett
The Metropolitan Room, New York City
March 23, 2010
When Rosemary Clooney recorded her first
album for Concord Records, Tony Bennett
wrote a one-word liner note. I thought of that
word when the performance by Joyce Breach and Richard Rodney Bennett at The
Metropolitan Room ended on March 23, and that word is perfect. When a singer with a
remarkable feeling for lyrics and phrasing is combined with an accompanist who possesses
superb taste, delicate sensitivity and an enormously creative mind, you get the kind of
magic that those who witnessed and absorbed this performance enjoyed.
mesmerizing. In the hands of Breach and
Bennett, “Love Is a Simple Thing” became
a simply gentle thing. Breach followed with
a wistful take on “Will You” from the recent
Broadway show Grey Gardens.
Bart Howard is a songwriter who enjoys
great favor with singers, like Breach, who
are discerning in their choice of material.
Breach caught every nuance in “I’ll Be Easy
to Find,” a song of longing for elusive love.
So many good movie songs from the 1940s
seem to have gotten lost along the way until
they are rescued by singers who are open
to rediscovering them, and the
bouncy Harold Adamson/Jimmy
McHugh gem, “Life Can Be
Beautiful,” enjoyed such a resurrection
by Breach for this program.
Until this evening, I was
unaware that there was a verse to
“If You Could See Me Now,”
written by Carl Sigman and Tadd
Dameron, but Breach sang it,
and it opened a lot of eyes and
ears. “Años Dourados,” a beautiful
slow ballad by Chico Buarque a
nd Antonio Carlos Jobim was
sung in Portugese by Breach,
and it was lovely indeed.
Bennett introduced “Sweet
Georgie Fame,” most associated
with its composer, Blossom
Dearie, with a few anecdotes
about the legendary Dearie.
Another favorite “in” type songwriter
was pianist Stan Freeman,
and Breach honored him by
performing a medley of songs
from the Broadway musical that
he wrote with Jack Lawrence, “I
Had a Ball, “Almost” and “The
Other Half of Me,” followed by his
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__________________________________ May 2010