Rebecca Kilgore Trio Vol. 1

Rebecca Kilgore Trio
Vol. 1
Heavywood

Based in Portland, Oregon, vocalist Rebecca Kilgore has been involved with 50 or so recording projects. A frequent guest on NPR's Fresh Air, she also appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and the Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention and at Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein. Feinstein comments, "Listening to Rebecca's new recording fills me with joy. Her song choices are masterful and her interpretations sublime." On this recording, she is backed by pianist Randy Porter and bassist Tom Wakeling. Her husband Dick Titterington adds cornet to a couple of the thirteen tunes heard here.

While there are a few songs here that are well-known members of the Great American Songbook, like "Day In - Day Out" and "The Gentleman Is a Dope," most are lesser-known, not so standard standards. These include Dave Frishberg's "Dear Bix," Nellie Marie McKay's "I Wanna Get Married," Dan Davis & Meredith d'Ambrosia's "Somebody Just Like You" and "Because We're Kids" with lyrics by Dr. Seuss from the 1953 film "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T."

She has a conversational vocal style with her relaxed, clean, and tuneful phrasing with a lack of vibrato or histrionics. Porter and Wakeling provide emphatic backing. "Dear Bix" is the opening cut and has an imagined conversation between Six Beiderbecke and Hoagy Carmichael. After her vocal, Wakeling takes a solo with Porter comping. Wakeling's bass provides a breezy tempo for the beginning of "Day In - Day Out," with Perter laying down chords in his accompaniment for her lightly swinging vocal. Titterington adds moody cornet for a softly delivered pensive vocal on "Something You Got."

There is a breezy take on "Run, Little Raindrop, Run," followed by the sophisticated ballad medley of a Wild Bill Davis-Don Wolf collaboration "Azure-té" with Duke Ellington's "Azure." There is a touch of wordless vocalizing in addition to her delivery of the lyric on an engaging performance. Then there is a spirited touch to her rendition of "I Wanna Get Married" and the effervescent swing in her interpretation of "Like the Brightest Start," which is enhanced by Titterington's melodic cornet. There is a delightful, perky take on "The Gentleman Is a Dope" and charm in the rendition of "Because We're Kids."

There is a soothing quality about the performances on this album. Rebecca Kilgore sings in a sophisticated, easy swinging, and melodic fashion. With the harmonious backing, "Vol.1" is a splendid vocal jazz recording, and its title indicates she has additional musical delicacies to serve listeners.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Rebecca Kilgore singing "Do You Know What it Means To Miss New Orleans."