Anne Phillips (vocals); Roger Kellaway (piano); Bob
Kindred (tenor sax); Chuck Berghoffer (bass).
(Review by
Ann Alex).
Anne Phillips issued a promising debut album, Born
To Be Blue, back in 1959 but, surprisingly, didn't do a follow-up until
2000. In between she was singing behind the scenes in commercial music and
writing songs for shows and adverts. Then lately, she appeared at LA's famed
Jazz Bakery, doing this live recording of standards and some of her own songs
and giving an entertaining spoken account of her life and times.
Instrumentalists first, lest I short change them. Sax
and piano really stood out on this CD – Kindred on sax happens to be our singer's
husband - they must rehearse for hours at home to reach this standard of well
integrated performance. For instance, Born To Be Blue gives us effective
lines from sax, tender higher tones and deep darker nuances, to reflect both
the thrill and the heartache. On Easy Street the sax produces whimsical
low tones during his solo to suit the mood, in fact the instrument, via the
player, almost talks to the listener.
The piano – the legend that is Roger Kellaway - is
similarly expressive. Any singer that has Kellaway on her team has a two
goal start. On Phillips’ own song I'm Gonna Lay My Heart On The Line, a
tasty swinger, the bass does, well what basses are supposed to do, keeping the
hearts on the line, with a solo on the final track, which then ends with a fat
chord from everyone.
Ms Phillips sings in a stylish alto and chats
engagingly between songs, pointing out that the emergence of rock 'n roll
interfered with her singing career but didn't stop her working. Her own songs
are: I'm Gonna Lay My Heart On The Line; Watching You Watching Me; Hey Look
Where I Am; New York Night Time Blues; To Make Them Like Me; Another Day
Without Him; After All These Years (with P Brody). Various styles are
covered, such as blues, cabaret and a children's song - To Make Them
Like Me - sung as a waltz.
The standards are Born To Be Blue; Easy Street:
Embraceable You; There Will Never Be Another You.
A very enjoyable CD, on Conawago Records 1014. See www.annephillips.com
Ann Alex
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