I should have looked at the label of this CD release more closely before picking it out of the stacks at the library; it's on a jazz label and most of the 12 tracks on Rosemary Clooney Show Tunes, while indeed being songs from Broadway shows, are treated as jazz standards presented in a club or cabaret setting. Jazz arrangements are not my thing.
Oh, well, it's hard to go wrong with Rosemary Clooney, and indeed, she rarely goes wrong on this disc. While her voice may be well past its prime, her interpretations, musicality and communicative skills are at their peak. This disc could serve as a primer for younger performers who let too much of their own personality get in the way of good songs. Rosemary uses her personality and personal experiences to inform the song, never to mask it.
My beef with jazz arrangements is that they too often follow the same format and mold--a verse of the song, some instrumental solo turns, another verse of the song. This happens too often on this disc, which all but one track involving all six of the session instrumentalists. The one song that is piano-only is my favorite on this recital--"Where do you start?" by Johnny Mandel with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. If this tune is from an actual show, I couldn't find it, but the song is melancholy and soulful, and Rosie imbues it with a lot of feeling.
There are three Rodgers and Hart tunes on this disc--the only songwriters represented more than once--and Ms. Clooney clearly feels at easy with the 1st R&H's swing and rhymes. Another successful swing arrangement is of the title song from Guys and Dolls.
Show Tunes
Music by Rodgers and Hart, Burton Lane, Frank Loesser, Kurt Weill, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel, and others
Cast: Rosemary Clooney
Recorded for the Concord Jazz label in 1992
Oh, well, it's hard to go wrong with Rosemary Clooney, and indeed, she rarely goes wrong on this disc. While her voice may be well past its prime, her interpretations, musicality and communicative skills are at their peak. This disc could serve as a primer for younger performers who let too much of their own personality get in the way of good songs. Rosemary uses her personality and personal experiences to inform the song, never to mask it.
My beef with jazz arrangements is that they too often follow the same format and mold--a verse of the song, some instrumental solo turns, another verse of the song. This happens too often on this disc, which all but one track involving all six of the session instrumentalists. The one song that is piano-only is my favorite on this recital--"Where do you start?" by Johnny Mandel with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. If this tune is from an actual show, I couldn't find it, but the song is melancholy and soulful, and Rosie imbues it with a lot of feeling.
There are three Rodgers and Hart tunes on this disc--the only songwriters represented more than once--and Ms. Clooney clearly feels at easy with the 1st R&H's swing and rhymes. Another successful swing arrangement is of the title song from Guys and Dolls.
Show Tunes
Music by Rodgers and Hart, Burton Lane, Frank Loesser, Kurt Weill, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel, and others
Cast: Rosemary Clooney
Recorded for the Concord Jazz label in 1992
1 comment:
This is a rare album I never find in any store. Do you know how to get it? I think is the only concord sesion I miss. And you're right. It's rare to goes wrong when you listen her. Rio Veneno. Madrid. Spain
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