A delightful debut album by Ms Mack, a sweet-voiced singer with wonderfully distinct diction (pop singers please note!) who gives us a selection of lesser known songs together with a couple of originals. I liked the selection so much that I'll list each track in turn, and mention the songwriters themselves.
Nothing Like You (Dorough/Landesman), sung fast with a trumpet solo to enhance this love song and a repeated riff on piano, bass and drums to round off the track.
Imagination, (Van Heusen/Burke) not often sung but it was actually the first song I learned at a jazz-singing class many moons ago. This version is as an intimate ballad with a pleasant guitar in the mix.
From Now on (Trzetrzelewska/White), a Brazilian song, all about planning for future life after a breakup, and a tenor sax helps matters along
Come to Baby do (James/Miller), such fun, a saucy swinger with lots of repeated words for effect such as 'I wanna love, love, love you', and Meader’s tenor sax solo once more helps out.
This is Always (Warren/Gordon), by contrast an intimate, reflective, ballad with comments and a guitar solo.
I'm so Repentant (David Cantor), another fun track, a cha-cha-cha with neat drumwork and a fine guitar solo.
November Day (Mack/Roth/Eldridge), Mack’s original is very atmospheric with the organ somehow managing to sound cold, mirroring the love affair.
Hurry up and Wait (Eldridge/Mack), another original, the sort of tune which has a real moving along effect, fast, with a tenor sax solo and an effective ensemble interlude.
Here is Everything, (Chiara Civello), a love song with harmony singing from Eldridge and a flowing piano.
Our Love Rolls on (Dave Frishberg) a love song with a trumpet solo.
I Wanna Get Married (Nellie McKay), irony about the state of marriage, with lyrics to illustrate eg 'I need to cook meals' and 'I wanna get married, that's why I was born'. And a wonderful bass solo, very cheeky, in the way that perhaps only a bass can sound impertinent.
And all neatly rounded off with a bonus track (why do they call extra tracks that?) which is It's Hard to Say Goodbye (Betty Bryant) and our singer is joined in song by Roth.
Karen Mack has lived in New York City since the late '90s, performing around town as well as doing session and production work. A member of a women's quartet who perform a mix of musical styles, she has appeared in Carnegie Hall and at the Lincoln Center. For this album, Ms Mack wanted to perform lesser-done material and some songs written by women.
The album is available at BANDCAMP and on all digital platforms. See kmackmusic.com. Ann Alex
No comments :
Post a Comment