Jazz
Recorded between 1955 & 1959
Digitally remastered by Erick Labson (MCA Music Media Studios).
Carmen McRae (vocals); Matt Mathews (arranger, accordion); Ralph Burns, Tadd Dameron, Jimmy Mundy, Fred Katz, Jazz Pleis, Frank Hunter, Luther Henderson (arranger); Ray Linn, Pete Candoli (trumpet); Vince De Rosa (french horn); Milt Bernhardt, Bob Enevoldsen (trombones); Tommy Johnson (tuba); Bill Green, Harry Klee, Herbie Mann (flute); George Smith (clarinet); Mahlon Clark, Justin Gordon (bass clarinets); Ray Bryant, Calvin Jackson, Don Abney (piano); Billy Bean (guitar); Red Mitchell, Ike Issacs, Joe Benjamin (bass); Specs Wright, Kenny Clarke, Larry Bunker, Charlie Smith (drums)
Producer: Milt Gabler
Compilation producer: Orrin Keepnews
Includes liner notes by Neil Tesser.
This is part of Decca's Legendary Masters Of Jazz series.
The considerable achievement of Carmen McRae was always somewhat eclipsed by the dazzling technique of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, not to mention Billie Holiday's personal drama or the flamboyant romanticism of Dinah Washington. Still, Carmen might have been the smartest, most discerning singer among them, and the one most suited to properly interpret the Great American Songbook, Ella's songbooks notwithstanding.
SINGS GREAT AMERICAN SONGWRITERS brings together jazz producer Orrin Keepnew's selections of key performances from McRae's Decca years and lends a useful perspective on a career characterized by fine musical-literary instincts. While Ella sang as if the words to songs sometimes embarrassed her and Sarah as if she didn't know what they meant, McRae's unpretentious way with lyrics almost always revealed something of the song's real meaning. And unlike the cabaret great Mabel Mercer, who certainly knew what a song meant, Carmen had a truly lovely voice, offset sometimes by her somewhat sardonic tone. Still, it is the ballads here, like "Blue Moon" or the magnificent "Every Time We Say Goodbye" among others, that stand as perfect little works of art.
Instead of reissuing all of singer Carmen McRae's early records for Decca in chronological order, the GRP program has hedged its bets a bit by coming up with highlights from each of her sessions although, with the various CDs on a whole, nearly everything has being reissued anyway. The 20 numbers on this CD are taken from ten different sessions and find McRae joined by the Mat Mathews Quintet (featuring flutist Herbie Mann), the Ray Bryant Trio, and several large orchestras. The repertoire is taken from the songbooks of some of the classic American composers (including Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Rodgers & Hart and Arlen); McRae's interpretations are both respectful and swinging. It is particularly interesting to hear how high her voice could go in the early days. This CD is easily recommended to her fans.
---Scott Yanow, Courtesy All Music |
