Reviews

Lizzie Thomas – New Sounds From The Jazz Age

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Some tire of what is called the “Great American Songbook.”
Yeah, I’m not one of those.

Lizzie Thomas – New Sounds From The Jazz Age
(Self-Published)
Released – 24 January 2020

From Wikipedia: “The Great American Songbook…is the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century. (It refers) to a loosely defined set including the most popular and enduring songs from the 1920s to the 1950s…created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musical film.”

I prefer to think of each of these classics as a blank canvas onto which talented artists can project their style. Not unlike a painting, it may resonate or not.

In this fourth set of recordings from Lizzie Thomas, she pairs her versatile, supple voice with a backing band that provides a perfect frame, led by pianist John Colianni arranging. Jay Leonhart and Boots Maleson on Bass, Russell Malone and Matt Chertkoff on guitar, Omar Daniels on tenor sax and flute, Felix Peikli on clarinet, Bernard Linette on drums, and Doug Hendrichs on percussion.

But make no mistake – it’s Ms. Thomas up front, flowing around and through the backing like a stream – be it moving quietly or rushing through the rapids.

The collection of tunes includes a pair of Gershwins (“Fascinating Rhythm” and “Our Love Is Here To Stay”), and two Porters (“You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” and “In The Still Of The Night”).

There’s one each from Berlin (“Cheek To Cheek”), Ray Noble (“The Very Thought Of You”), and “Close Your Eyes,” written by Bernice Petkere, who Mr. Berlin once called “The Queen of Tin Pan Alley.”

There’s the nearly-obligatory Jobim number – although I’ll bet you’ve never heard “One Note Samba” executed like this – and Duke Ellington’s “I Didn’t Know About You.”

And if the painter would never paint the same subject the same way twice – so it is with the music. “I can call a tune for the rest of my life, and I will never sing it the same way,” Ms. Thomas says. “That’s freedom, that’s provocative – that’s jazz.”

This collection of standards comes very highly recommended.

Reviews

Robin McKelle – Alterations

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Robin McKelle – Alterations (Doxie Records)
Released – 14 February 2020

One of the things I miss because of the Amazonification of the music business is the ability to go into a record shop and browse the bins looking for something new.  If you can find a real record shop these days, they’re mostly selling used discs, and if you can name something, “…we can order it for you.”

Heck, I can order it, too.

Which is a long way of saying that I first found Robin McKelle’s work in the bins of a music store that didn’t stock the same fifty jazz recordings found at Target.

And I’ve been a fan since.

Eclectic in style and choices of music, she’s bypassed original material here for a “best of” list of “…cover songs by different female artists from different genres, and kind of change them…create them into my own thing.”

And her own thing is as varied as the source material.  Pulling from artists as diverse as Dolly Parton, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday, Ms. McKelle and the talented group she’s assembled here manage to put these songs through the jazz filter, and what comes out is – “Oh, my – she’s singing ‘Jolene!'”

Part of that credit goes to pianist, arranger, and producer on this set, Shedrick Mitchell.  The arrangements manage to retain just enough of the original but allow Ms. McKelle enough room to take the off-ramp to someplace special.

My favorites include Sade’s “No Ordinary Love,” which was the first single released from this album, and the iconic “Mercedes Benz,” the Janis Joplin classic.

“When you create change, you create space for something to shift in the world and in yourself.  As an artist. And as a human. And that is a change for the good.”

This is Ms. McKelle’s ninth recording.  The first is a collector’s item.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ms. McKelle’s work (she spends a lot of time in Europe), this is a great place to begin your collection.  Good luck finding that first one.

Highest recommendation.

Reviews

Barbara Eden – Miss Barbara Eden (re-release)

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Barbara Eden – Miss Barbara Eden
Original Release: August 1967 (Dot)
Re-release: 14 February 2020 (Real Gone Music)

This release caught my eye today – a re-issue of the 1967 album, “Miss Barbara Eden.”

It just so happens that I own an original vinyl copy – in Stereo, no less, culled from the throw-aways at a radio station that changed its format from what was then “Middle of the Road” to “Top 40.”

Dot Records thought they had a winner with Ms. Eden. They dragged her along to the big National Association of Record Merchandisers convention. “Real Gone Music,” which is releasing this one notes:

“…she got her start performing while singing in the church choir and studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music long before the camera found her. She subsequently headlined on stage in Las Vegas and appeared in TV music-variety shows and specials as well. So, “Miss Barbara Eden” is not just a highly sought-after curio from the long career of a TV icon but an irresistible pop platter in its own right!”

The first single from the album was “Pledge Of Love,” which went nowhere. The second single release was “Bend It,” about which Billboard Magazine gushed:

“The star of TV’s ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ makes her recording debut with an excitement-filled treatment of Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Tich’s British hit. Could be the version to make it on this side of the Atlantic.”

That one featured a funky sitar, but no luck.

The album dropped later that year, and also went nowhere, despite Billboard branding it, “Pop Special Merit.”

That said, it is a hard-to-find collector’s item – with good copies on eBay going for more than $200.

My copy – not so good, although I did my best to clean it up when I digitized it a few years ago.

It’s in my record rack right next to Michelle Lee and “L. David Sloane.”

But that’s a review for another day.

“Real Gone Music” is releasing the set both in vinyl and as a CD, noting that the CD “…includes copious photos and notes by Joe Marchese with fresh quotes from Barbara herself, while our LP reissue comes in pink vinyl limited to 1000 copies. One more note on the LP: we’re releasing it at 45 r.p.m. to ensure maximum fidelity to ‘the master’ (wink, wink). “

Recommended if you’re a collector – otherwise, you can listen to a few of the tracks at YouTube.

Reviews

Calabria Foti – Prelude To A Kiss

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I sometimes write about albums that are too big to enjoy on headphones. This is one of those. It demands to be on the studio monitors in the big room.

Calabria Foti - "Prelude To A Kiss"

Calabria Foti – Prelude To A Kiss (MoCo Records)
Released – 1 November 2019

My impression is that there are a few cathedrals for recording music – those spaces that made legendary music by the giants – work to which many aspire, but few attain. The studios at Capitol Records are one of those.

From Wikipedia: “For over 60 years, Capitol Studios has hosted some of the most celebrated artists, from Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Michael Jackson, and Dean Martin to Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and the Beach Boys.”

It is claimed that the microphone that recorded Frank is still used there, as well as the reverb chamber designed by Les Paul. So when artists say they recorded at Capitol Records, it gets attention. Well, gets my attention.

But what I’m thinking is – is it deserving?

That’s not a problem for Calabria Foti, who comes trailing an orchestra of more than 20 musicians, a cameo by John Pizzarelli on guitar and a duet (on “It’s The Mood That I’m In,”) and a eclectic stack of standards arranged to put a gilded frame around her lush and intimate voice. It’s a voice that is more than worthy of the hardware, the “A” list of West Coast musicians, the arrangements, and the friends. She writes, “This is the most expansive project I have ever done, and at the same time, it’s the most intimate and personal. I recorded at Capitol Records with full orchestra, singing some of the most endearing, sentimental songs ever written, about my devotion to the ones I love.”

Whether cooing a tender ballad or something up and swingy, Ms. Foti’s versatile voice demands attention and deserves it.

Calabria Foti

In the days of short attention spans, and the ability to purchase a single track, I’d suggest three. “On the Street Where You Live” is familiar and up-tempo, showcasing a short scat that sells the track for me. “Goodbye” is the single original on the set – penned by Ms. Foti – deserves to stand alongside the classics, lets the orchestra open up, and highlights Ms. Foti’s remarkable range – both in power and emotion. The third would be a toss-up between Mr. Pizzarelli’s appearance on “It’s The Mood I’m In,” and trombonist Bob McChesney’s solo turn on “The Man With The Horn.”

But if you buy those three (or four), you’ll want to get the rest, too.

Mr. McChesney produces – he’s got a lot to work with here, and I didn’t mention that Ms. Foti doubles as an accomplished and confident violinist, as well.

More than worthy of the legendary studio, this is a set that’s also worthy of your big speakers in a big room.

In the evening.

With someone you love.

Highest recommendation for this gem.

Reviews

Gina Saputo + Matt Politano – Duetto

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Once upon a time, I ran a little internet music station that cranked out my favorite 3000 tunes and news on the hour. The regular audience was about 50 people around the world who shared my eclectic taste in music. After the music industry stomped out independent streamers with hefty licensing fees, my pipsqueak station played to an audience of only one – me.

And it still does.

I do subscribe to “Martini in the Morning,” an online outlet run by pal Brad Chambers that comes closest to my musical taste – although he plays not nearly enough jazz from the UK, a subject he and I discuss from time to time.

One recent morning, Brad mentioned that the backing vocalist behind one of the tunes from Jeff Goldblum’s new big band album is a woman named Gina Saputo – he says she’s been a fixture in the Orange County, California, business and that he thinks she’s headed for big things.

And I’m going – “Hey, wait! I know her work!”

And I have for a long time.

Gina Saputo - Duetto

Gina Saputo + Matt Politano – Duetto
Released – 19 October 2019
(Swingfest)

I was aware of Gina Saputo on a Friday night in Irvine, California. It was 2008. Impressive young woman, I thought. I looked her up on MySpace (that’s how long ago this was) and snapped up an album – “Swingin’ On A Star” to buy. Piano by Gerald Clayton, and produced by Tierney Sutton, no less.

But that was 2008.

These days, Jeff Goldblum (yes, that Jeff Goldblum) has an album with the Mildred Snitzer Big Band that features a short track with Ms. Saputo (“If I Knew Then”), which only brought her back to the forefront for me. There’s also a new album – this one, “Duetto” – which I snapped up, based on what I heard on the Goldblum set.

These are mostly straight-ahead American Songbook covers, with a couple of trips down side streets. In my view, one of the best of the dozen tracks is a remake of Frank Sinatra’s 1954 “I Could Have Told You,” expertly sold by Ms. Saputo. Sarah Vaughn’s 1946 performance of the Raymond Leveen and Louis Singer tune “I’m Scared” gets covered here, too. It’s a pair not often heard.

Gina Saputo

What a difference a decade makes. Don’t get me wrong – the young woman was outstanding. The fully blossomed woman is so much better. Ms. Saputo struts the kind of chops that only come with that extra decade of life. No one to hide behind except a perfect Mr. Politano on piano. And it’s a tightrope act that Ms. Saputo pulls off with no effort at all. Props to recording engineer and producer Tony Guerrero. Recording such a quiet album must be a challenge.

Besides “I Could Have Told You,” other favorites for me include the opening “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” and the trippy “Lullaby Of Birdland.”

I’m so pleased to have crossed musical paths with Ms. Saputo again. She’s back in heavy rotation on the personal tune machine. As she should be in yours.

This set is very highly recommended.

Website

Photo credit: Cris Stroud, Hair by Lyndsay Maderis
Photo from Ms. Saputo’s website.

Reviews

Simone Kopmajer – My Favorite Songs

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Disclosure – These are liner notes for Ms. Kopmajer’s new album, released last week in the US. I also assisted with some promotional material. But I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if I didn’t think the album was worthy.

It is.

Simone Kopmajer - My Favorite Songs

Simone Kopmajer – My Favorite Songs
Released (US) – 22 January 2020

When Simone’s album first came out in the US more than ten years ago, I wrote, “To the list of young ones to watch, I’ll add Simone Kopmajer. Write it down. She’s going to be around for a long time.”

And here we are, more than ten albums later. Early on, reviewer Alex Henderson wrote of her “delicate vulnerability.” But Simone now breathes life into those songs that only women who have experienced the textures of time can master.

“I don’t want to call it ‘Best Of,'” she said to me. “What about ‘My Favorite Songs?'”

“Well, you’ve made…how many albums?” I asked. “And they haven’t all been in the US or Europe…”

Simone Kopmajer

“Some were in Thailand and Japan.”

So, I suggested – some of these songs are new to audiences in the US or Europe. “And you know which ones are the best,” I said. ‘My Favorite Songs’ seems appropriate.”

Over the years, Simone has slipped me some of the Asia releases. I’ve been able to watch and listen to her grow as an artist. “I’ve had a lot of luck,” she says, “but I’ve also worked very hard. People have been asking for an album of my best work, and many of those albums are now out of print.” You should still seek out those out of print albums if only to appreciate the full body of Simone’s work, her progression as an artist, and the impressive list of musicians with whom she has surrounded herself.

And with that talented group, Simone stands up new standards from the rock catalog – songs such as John Fogerty’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” and the exquisite originals, “I Dream Of You,” and “Didn’t You Say.” These fit right alongside anything we call “The American Songbook.”

Keep watching Simone Kopmajer. And make room for “My Favorite Songs, Volume Two.”

She’s going to be around for a long time.

This double album is very highly recommended.