Carmen McRae Sings Great American Songwriters - Setting the standard for standards

1/6/11 – Sings Great American Songwriters (Carmen McRae)

I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing.

- William James

            This compilation CD makes my ballad loving self very happy.  Even the light swing numbers give both the performers and the listener time to develop and digest respectively complete musical thoughts.  Harkening back to the era where jazz and mainstream popular music were blurred, if not non-existent, the presence of strings and other more orchestral sounds grabs me; particularly on smoky ballads like "Yesterdays" and "Last Night When We Were Young."  Carmen’s lush vibrato and behind the beat approach give her a relaxed, sentimental tone, even on the more uptempo swing pieces.  For example, I had never heard "Blue Moon" as anything but a ballad, but when she reinterprets this true standard as a medium swing tune, it really settles into a much more anxious, excited groove that suits the text well.  A solid horn section behind her, of course helps…

            Carmen’s "My Foolish Heart" doesn’t resonate quite as well, no doubt because I am spoiled by Kurt Elling’s brilliant adaptation of the tune.  The orchestration seems a little too contrived and “frilly.”  I wish it were given the same treatment the following "My Funny Valentine" was; a simple piano intro and “A” section, leading into a rhythm section lightly behind for the rest of the head.  Her amazing straight tone here lends an icy, detached approach to the final phrases of the tune, leading into a brief melodic journey through the second half of the form, and a beautifully portamento codetta.

            "Nice Work If You Can Get It" takes us back into medium swing-land, and her variations on the melody in the second verse remains effortless and inventive.  I wish many of the songs (including this one) were developed a bit more – there seems to be ample statement of the tunes, but I wish there were more room for solos – the bread and butter of jazz.  It’s not until the next track, "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" that we finally get a “scat” solo, 10 tracks deep into the CD.  Her bouncy swinging on "All the Things You Are" seems out of place, but that may just be my biased opinion… Remember the above comments on Kurt Elling’s version of "My Foolish Heart?"  Well, replace Kurt Elling with Gene Puerling and "My Foolish Heart" with "All The Things You Are…" well, you get the idea.  Singers Unlimited’s luscious accapella rendition is all I hear when I think of this song.  Isn’t it ironic that such amazing renditions completely ruin songs for other performers?

            The brass work on "I Get a Kick Out of You" is intriguing; this arrangement harmonically strays so far from the original that without the very straightforward statement of the melody, it would be completely unrecognizable.  Not that I mind too much – this has never been one of my favorite standards.  "My Man’s Gone Now" brings us back to string accompanied ballads.  Once again, the orchestration seems at times to get in the way of a lovely vocal performance.  If I want grandiose string work, I’ll go see some old school Broadway or opera; it’s not what I’m looking for more often than not with a jazz album.

            Speaking of early Broadway, McRae’s arrangement of "Summertime" stays pretty close to Gershwin’s original.  Of course, her vocal approach isn’t; she sings a beautiful lullaby, not an operatic aria.  The marriage of the two styles works rather well here.  The next Gershwin tune, "How Long Has This Been Going On?" finally delivers the light rhythm section backed ballad that allows Carmen’s tender voice to blossom instead of fighting through a huge string section.  Same goes for "When I Fall In Love," which only slightly makes me yearn for The Real Group’s accapella version.  I guess my love of ballads is only surpassed by their rich, unaccompanied arrangements.

            This album encompasses everything this year-long project is meant to accomplish.  Not only are the tracks on this compilation great performances by a singer whose work I did not know nearly as well as I should, but each song holds a place in the repertoire of any jazz musician.  After all, that’s why they call them standards, right?

Next up - ... Baby One More Time (Britney Spears)
Next week - Ken Burns Jazz: Count Basie