The voice is cool, as befits the material, and the band swings as good as some better known American big bands. With every passing day since King Oliver left New Orleans, jazz has become more and more a universal language and here is the living proof.
Common Ground, a Paul Winter composition from his 1978 eponymous album gets things moving. According to Wikipedia, Winter brought a live, presumably muzzled, wolf on stage when performing the number in concert. Presumably Alexis and the Taiwanese cats didn't follow suit in the studio.
Begin the Beguine has a bit of ad-libbing that breaks up what, let's be honest, is one of Porter's more boring tunes apart, that is, from Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire's dance routine in the film Broadway Melody of 1940 or when Artie Shaw played that incredible clarinet glissando a couple of years earlier.
Billy Joel's Uptown Girl is a swingy Basie type arrangement whilst the strings added to I've Grown Accustomed to his Face bring a warmth to the tune that blends well with the piano solo and Cole's interpretation of the lyric suggests that she really believes in what she's singing - lucky guy!
On Bye Bye Blackbird the singer takes quite a few liberties with the melody which is the best way to treat this tune as Miles discovered. Here's That Rainy Day has an effective trombone solo by Michael Wang and Moon River moves along faster than composers Mercer and Mancini intended. A nice clarinet solo by Tom Ranier and a fine piano solo by, er, by the pianist rubber stamp this version.
People Will Say We're in Love. Alexis implores the listener not to throw bouquets at her. What does she want throwing? Rotten tomatoes? I've already ordered a bunch of red roses from Interflora. It is that good!
The notes refer to her polyglot prowess and her poly pro is duly displayed by her Portuguese take on Corcovado.
Throughout the album I had the feeling there was some uninhibited scatting just bursting to be let loose and it happens on You Make me Feel so Young. The vocal is quite amazing. Alexis' swinging away like Ella singing Oh Lady be Good then suddenly, for just a few bars, she breaks into a Deborah Kerr-like school teacher giving elocution lessons à la The King and I. Priceless.
Well worth checking out. Lance
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