Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics
| Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics | ||||
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| Carmen McRae's studio album | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Columbia Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
12/14 |
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running time |
46:50 (CD) |
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| occupation |
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Teo Macero |
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Studio (s) |
Columbia Studio A, New York City |
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Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics is a jazz album by Carmen McRae , recorded in two recording sessions on June 29 and July 26, 1961, released on Columbia Records in 1962.
The album
Along with Annie Ross and Abbey Lincoln, Carmen McRae is one of those jazz singers who are strongly influenced by Billie Holidays style. “She's had the biggest impact on my life as far as my career goes. I met her when I was very young and extremely vulnerable. If she had said jump off the roof, I would probably have done it, I was so impressed by her, ”McRae said in her memoirs. The singer discovered Billie Holiday for herself on vinyl and on the radio and eventually heard it at the Apollo Theater in Harlem . When she won an amateur competition there a few years later, she became aware of Irene Kitchings , who was then married to Teddy Wilson . McRae then worked as a "demo" singer for Kitchings, which sold her songs to agencies and music publishers. One day she was able to sing the song “Some Other Spring” to her idol “Lady Day”. At the age of 17 she wrote the song "Dream of Life" for Holiday; the two remained friends until "Ladys" death in 1959.
Two years after the death of Billie Holiday and the fruitful collaboration with the labels Decca and Kapp (1954–59), McRae wanted to record an album of songs related to or written by Billie Holiday, such as “ God Bless the Child " . But Milt Gabler , the then boss at Kapp Records and former long-time production manager at sessions of “Lady Day”, did not make this wish possible. It was only when she switched to Columbia Records that she was able to achieve this; supported by producer Teo Macero , she gathered the right backing band for her project. At first this was their regular “working band” with their musical director, the pianist Norman Simmons , then the bassist Bob Cranshaw and the drummer Walter Perkins . The band was expanded to include guitarist Mundell Lowe and guest musicians, cornet player Nat Adderley and tenor saxophonist Eddie Lockjaw Davis , who, so to speak, took on the role of Harry Sweets Edison and Ben Webster in the classic sessions of "Lady Day".
The jazz critic Ralph Gleason wrote in his liner notes for the original LP that “Lover Man” was an introduction to McRae's abilities as a tragedy. In the judgment of Richard Cook and Brian Morton, the album is “pure Carmen McRae” with all its closeness to the idol with many melancholy but also sarcastic twists. McRae emphasizes, according to Will Friedwald in the liner notes , in all her interpretations the “swinging” side of “Lady Day”, modeled on Louis Armstrong .
Edition history
The album was first released in 1962 under the original title, then in 1973 in a shortened form as Carmen McRae Sings Billie Holiday (KH 32177) and again under the original title and all 12 tracks under the number PC 37002. As a compact disc - the re-release in 1997 was by Michael Cuscuna produced - the album was provided with two additional bonus tracks in the Columbis / Legacy series (CK 65115); "The Christmas Song" first appeared on the Jingle Bell Jazz Anthology of Columbia , the title "If the Moon Turns Green" is from "Lady Days" friend and producer Bernie Hanighen and is a duo of pianist Simmons and McRae; it was never sung by Billie Holiday and therefore not included on the original LP at the time. Except for tracks 3, 8 and 13, all tracks were recorded at the first session in June.
Carmen McRae recorded several titles from "Lady Day" in the course of her careers; so z. B. in the album For Lady Day in 1995. As a sign of their friendship, she sang a song associated with Billie Holiday such as "Good Morning Heartache" , "Them There Eyes" , " Lover Man " , " God Bless " at every concert the Child " , " Do not Explain " and others.
The titles
- Them There Eyes ( Maceo Pinkard / William Tracy / Doris Tauber) 2:45
- Yesterdays ( Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern ) 4:52
- I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (and Throw Away the Key) (J. Eaton / T. Shand) 2:32
- Strange Fruit (L. Allan) 2:47
- Miss Brown to You ( Leo Robin / Richard A. Whiting / Ralph Rainger ) 2:27
- My Man ( Jacques Charles / Channing Pollack / Albert Willemetz / Maurice Yvain ) 4:05
- I Cried for You (Now It's Your Turn to Cry over Me) (A. Freed / Gus Arnheim / A. Lyman) 2:52
- Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) (JE Davis / Jimmy Sherman / Ram Ramirez ) 4:18
- Trav'lin Light ( Johnny Mercer / J. Mund / T. Young) 2:19
- Some Other Spring ( Arthur Herzog Jr. / Irene Kitchings) 3:02
- What A Little Moonlight Can Do ( Harry MacGregor Woods ) 3:31
- God Bless the Child (Arthur Herzog Jr./B. Holiday) 3:24
- If the Moon Turns Green ( Bernie Hanighen / P. Cates) 3:28 (bonus track)
- The Christmas Song ( Mel Tormé / R. Wells) 3.55 (bonus track)
Award
Richard Cook and Brian Morton rated the Lover Man album as McRae's best work in their Penguin Guide to Jazz and awarded it the highest rating of four stars.
literature
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
- Will Friedwald: Liner notes for Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics.
Remarks
- ↑ cit. after Will Friedwald, liner notes
- ↑ Besides the following album Something Wonderful (1963), provided with commercial arrangements by Buddy Bregman, which could not convince artistically, the Holiday album was McRae's only record for Columbia, apart from a few singles and recordings with Dave Brubeck
- ↑ In this double function, he also worked for the singer Joe Williams .
- ↑ In addition to their work for McRae, the two played in Perkins' own band MJT + 3 . Cranshaw had previously worked at Sonny Rollins .
- ↑ cf. Cook & Morton
- ↑ Will Friedwald is u. a. Author of the books Sinatra! The Song is You (1995, Scribner) and Jazz Singing (1996, Da Capo)
- ↑ Sings Lover Man and other Billie Holiday Classics contains the titles "Them There Eyes" , "Yesterdays" , "Im Gonna Lock My Heart" , "Strange Fruit" , "Miss Brown To You" , "My Man" and "I Cried For You (Now Its Your Turn To Cry Over Me) ” .