Show Tunes--Rosemary Clooney CD

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

Rosemary Clooney and Friends--Live performance by Chicago Cabaret Professionals

Rosemary Clooney did not personally appear in the cabaret performance. She died more than 7 years ago. I've never read her autobiography, Girl Singer, but after seeing Rosemary Clooney and Friends by the Chicago Cabaret Professionals, I want to. Rosie didn't have an easy or happy life.

Roughly once a month, the Chicago Cabaret Professionals have been producing one-night-only events at the Drury Lane Water Tower Theater. There is usually a theme or composer-focus for the music included and a different cast of singers participates each time. RC and Friends was the first one I've attended.

I was pleased by the differences in the styles and voices of the five women and one man who made up the cast of this evening. Ranging from a legit soprano voice through all variants of cabaret singer style to a "smoke and gravel" sound--each voice had its place and was suited to the music they were asked to sing.

Some of the music from Clooney's catalogue was familiar to me, but a lot was not. I could have wished for a couple additional uptempo songs, but given the show included more than 24 songs, that's a minor complaint.

Highlights for me were the Marlene Dietrich/Clooney duet between Suzanne Petri and Bob Moreen and two of Rosie's biggest hits "Mambo Italiano" and "Come-on-a My House" both performed by Heather Moran (who had fantastic shoes, too).

Rosemary Clooney and Friends

Created and performed by Chicago Cabaret Professionals

Performed Monday, July 27, 2009 at the Drury Lane Water Tower Theater

Cast: Suzanne Petri, Bob Moreen, Heather Moran, Ava Logan, Spider Saloff, Jeanne