Gloria Estefan Sings The Standards

Gloria Estefan certainly is among the best known vocalists in the world today ever since her days fronting the Miami Sound Machine. Sony Masterworks issued at the end of 2013, The Standards, a celebration of the American Songbook and more as it international song classics sung in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French, some with new lyrics written by Estefan backed by a big band or a full orchestra with arrangements from Shelley Berg.

One can’t fault her singing of such timeless songs as Good Morning Heartache or They Can’t Take That Away From Me, nor find much to criticize in the full, often lush backing, although her singing is more in the vein of a pop singer (or a torch singer). Certainly she won’t make anyone forget Billie Holiday with the opening song, no matter how good it is. It is a matter of taste and musical preference for this listener, but this one wished she was less formal in her delivery, although her rendition of I’ve Grown Accustomed To His Face is quite lovely with nice acoustic guitar and a lighter accompaniment.

Hearing her sing a less familiar song as Jobim & de Moraes’ Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar, sung in Portuguese, has the advantage of one not being able to compare it with iconic recordings of the song. Joshua Bell provides the violin solo on the romantic The Day You Say You Love Me for which Estefan provided English lyrics. Dave Koz adds alto sax to the Gershwins' How Long Has This Been Going On, while she duets with Laura Pausini with her Spanish lyrics on Charles Chaplin’s Sonrîe, aka Smile.

It is refreshing to hear a recording of standards not simply copy well-known arrangements for the repertoire here and Gloria Estefan sings extremely well throughout, even if this is not to my taste. The Standards is marvelously recorded and received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here she is seen performing They Can’t Take That Away From Me.

Doris Day Is Always With a Smile and a Song

Sony Masterworks through the Turner Classic Movies imprint has issued a double CD reissue of recordings by Doris Day, With a Smile and a Song. It is a collection of 30 songs which Ms. Day played a role in selecting the 30 songs (for about 90 minutes of music). Turner Classic Movies has issued separately a collection of Doris Day Movies.David Foil provides an appreciation, and notes how she started off as a singer in the bands and her lovely and adorable voice certainly had great appeal.

At the same time as her notable film career, Doris Day also enjoyed a recording career surveyed on this generally backed by lush orchestral accompaniments with occasional vocal choirs. So on this sampling of mostly sentimental ballads and love songs we hear the Paul Weston Orchestra, Percy Faith, Frank Duvol, the Norman Luboff Choir, and Mort Garson with a couple sessions have more intimate backing by the Andre Previn.

Some of the songs include On Moonlight Bay, It Had To Be You, I’ll See You In My Dreams, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera), Pillow Talk, Little Boy Blue, But Beautiful, Our Love Is Here to Stay, Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread, and the title track. These certainly are attractive, often dreamy and romantic performances, and wonderfully restored here.

As a matter of personal taste, the performances (including the arrangements) are a bit too sweet for my taste to listen to in more than a few selections at a time. My tastes go perhaps to jazzier and more interpretative vocal stylings like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and the like. This is not to dismiss superb performances here like Secret Love, or some lightweight material (Pillow Talk) that is the musical equivalent of cotton candy. And the selections with Andre Previn (“including Fools Rush In) provide a more intimate setting for her. It is certainly valuable to have this available and if this style of music appeals to you, then I have little doubt that you will warmly enjoy this compilation of Doris Day’s recordings.

I received a review copy from a publicist. Here is Doris Day singing Que Sera, Sera.

Ashley Brown Reinvigorates the American Songbook

Listening to vocalist’s Ashley Brown’s debut recording, “Speak Low” (Ghostlght Records), it struck me that she sounded like someone who should be on Broadway. Then looking at some of her press materials, I discovered that she is on a National Tour of “Mary Popkins,” after having originated the role on Broadway and winning several awards for her performance in that role. Born in Florida, she is only 28 but shows a poise and confidence in her delivery of someone with decades of experience. On “Speak Low” she sings a number of familiar favorites from the American Songbook where she is matched by some well known jazz masters including Lee Musiker, Yaron Gershovsky and Eldar Djangirov on keyboards; Lee Soloff on trumpet; Jay Leonhart on bass; and Victor Lewis and Rick Cutler on drums. Despite the jazz trappings on this, one should have no doubt that she is a classic pop and Broadway vocalist. That describes her music and is not a judgment on it.

She possesses such a lovely voice and delivers the songs in such an appealing manner, as is immediately evident listening to the opening Kurt Weill & Ogden Nash collaboration, “Speak Low,” with strings adding atmosphere to her lover’s plea. In contrast her vocal on“If I Were a Bell,” with lovely reeds added by Lawrence Feldman, is pure joy. It is hard to shake images of the movie “Casablanca,” on “As Time Goes By,” but Musiker’s arrangement contributes to the freshness of Brown’s wistful handling of this classic. A medley of “Smile”/”Make Someone Happy,” sports a crisp latin groove as Yaron Gershovsky’s piano and Victor Lewis’ drums stand out in backing her uplifting vocal. Can one get much lovelier and romantic than Brown sounds on “My Funny Valentine,” with Lew Soloff’s mellow trumpet echoing the mood. Gershovsky contributes the arrangement (and takes a short piano break) for “Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week,” on which she scats some while avoiding copying Sinatra’s classic recording. With only Eldar’s piano, she captures the doleful character of the Gershwin classic, “How Long has This Been Going On.” Vocally she waltzes on “I’ve Got the World on a String,” while on “My One and Only Love,” she romances her love without getting sugary.

It is easy to fall in love with Ashley Brown’s singing. It is refreshing to listen to a vocalist from the musical stage whose can take what seem like overly recorded songs from the American Songbook and captivate us with performances that sound like they these songs written yesterday. “Speak Low” is a superb first recording by someone who may become one of the leading singers of the classic American song in the 21st Century.

For purposes of FTC regulations, I received a review copy of this CD from Crossover Media.