**Cassandra Reed at Chicago Historical Society, (312) 280-9550, Aug. 28
** Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havanna at 25th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival at Petrillo Music Shell/Grant Park, (312) 744-3370, 8.29 – 31
In the wake of the unprecedented success of Norah Jones, jazz labels appear to be serving up platters by female jazz vocalists (both living and dead) in record numbers. True, the debate around whether or not Jones is actually a jazz vocalist continues, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other singers who would like to enjoy the type of acclaim and receive the kind of attention achieved by Jones.
Like Jones, Cassandra Reed co-wrote some of the songs on her self-titled debut disc (Peak/Concord), in addition to covers. Reed's voice is pleasant and powerful enough, but the material, jazz-pop so smooth it borders on slick, doesn't do the vocals justice. Interestingly, on a song such as 'The Next Time,' where Reed shows some vocal and dramatic restraint, she sounds she could be Jones's sister. However, the remaining tracks, filled with clichéd and overused images (please, no more songs about missed calls on cell phones), are nothing special.
Far more interesting is A Good Day (PS Classics) by Jessica Molaskey. A veteran of the Broadway stage, Molaskey puts the right theatrical spin on some songs, while respectfully and effortlessly maintaining the appropriate cool remove on others. Finger-snapping renditions of 'All The Cats Join In' and a pair of Peggy Lee tunes, 'Everything Is Moving Too Fast' and 'It's A Good Day,' set the tone, and assure listeners that Molaskey is more than comfortable in this realm. Especially interesting are the songs that Molaskey co-wrote with her husband, jazz-guitarist John Pizzarelli. It is on these songs, including 'How Come You Ain't Got Me?,' 'Adam & Eve,' 'The Girl With His Smile and My Eyes,' 'I Wouldn't Trade You,' and 'A Lifetime Or Two,' that Molaskey emerges as the kind of jazz vocalist who can appeal to fans of both Jones and Diana Krall.
Celebrated producer Arif Mardin gets Dianne Reeves to commit to a full album of jazz vocals on the shimmering A Little Moonlight (Blue Note), resulting in the best album Reeves has released in years. Backed by a piano (Peter Martin), bass (Ruben Rogers) and drums (Gregory Hutchinson) trio, Reeves fully embraces her jazz vocal skills and delivers moonlit renditions of standards such as the title track, 'Loads Of Love,' 'Skylark,' 'You Go To My Head,' 'We'll Be Together,' and an unforgettably understated reading of 'Lullaby of Broadway.'
Like Reeves, Rene Marie recorded her new album, Live At Jazz Standard (MaxJazz) with a trio. Also like Reeves, Marie performs standards (including 'Nature Boy,' ''Deed I Do,' and 'I Loves You Porgy'). The album's finest moments, however, are more unusual cover choices. The disc closer, an a cappella reading of Enya's 'How Can I Keep From Singing?' completely transforms the Celtic New Age number, while the album's centerpiece, 'Bolero/Suzanne,' combines Ravel and Leonard Cohen to create a truly inspired new way of listening to both pieces.
Both Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday are the subjects of CD releases. The Best of Ella Fitzgerald (Hip-O/Verve) collects a dozen Fitzgerald standards from 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' to 'Blues In The Night.' As part of the 'Diva' series, Ella Fitzgerald (Verve) is a compilation of 16 tracks, which also opens with 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket,' and includes 'Blue Skies,' 'Love Is Here To Stay,' and 'Sophisticated Lady,' among others. Billie Holiday (Verve), also part of the 'Diva' series (which also features anthologies of Blossom Dearie, Carmen McRae, Anita O'Day, Astrud Gilberto, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, and Nina Simone, who passed away earlier this year), and the single disc The Billie Holiday Collection (Columbia/Legacy) celebrate Lady Day's substantial contributions.
Jazz vocal traditionalists will be snapping their fingers and moving their heads to Peggy Lee: The Best of the Singles Collection (Capitol), a terrific single-disc anthology of 22 of the late Miss Lee's tunes. Among the standout cuts are some of Lee's own compositions, which include 'You Was Right, Baby,' 'It's A Good Day,' 'I'm Gonna Go Fishin',' and 'I Love Being Here With You.' Lee also took the genre to another level with her interpretations of songs such as 'Birmingham Jail,' 'Don't Smoke In Bed,' 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!,' 'Fever,' 'The Folks Who Live On The Hill,' 'Something,' and 'Is That All There Is?' As if any gay man needs an excuse to purchase a Peggy Lee compilation, the Gabin remix of 'Fever' has been tacked on to the end of the disc.
Jazz violinist Regina Carter has positioned herself at the intersection of jazz and classical music with the lovely instrumental disc Paganini: After A Dream (Verge). Comprised of compositions by Ravel ('Pavane pour une infante defunte'), Debussy ('Reverie'), and Faure' ('Apres un reve'), as well as one each by Astor Pizzzola ('Oblivion'), soundtrack legend Ennio Morricone ('Cinema Paradiso') and an original by Carter herself ('Alexandra'), this is one dream that you may not want to end.
Beginning with her 1991 disc Spirits of Havana, soprano saxophone player Jane Bunnett has been exploring the boundaries of Cuban jazz on CD. Cuban Odyssey (Blue Note), her latest album, furthers her journey. Joined by the Afro-Cuban Rumba All-Stars, Group Vocal Descendann, Tata Guines, Pancho Quinto, Merceditas Valdes, and others, Bunnett revels in the Cuban rhythms on a few original numbers, some traditionals and others.
Here is a piece of Molly Johnson trivia: she is the sister of filmmaker Clark Johnson, director of S.W.A.T. Less trivial is Another Day (Narada Jazz), Molly Johnson's latest album. Leading a swinging quartet, Johnson does her thing with some originals by her band members as well as more recognizable numbers such as 'Miss Celie's Blues (Sister),' 'Summertime,' and 'Ooh Child.'
The aptly titled Carlyle Set (Fynsworth Alley) by Christine Andreas recalls the dramatic performances of the cabaret performers who populate the 'swanky' (Rex Reed's word) Café Carlyle. American songbook standards such as 'Autumn In New York,' 'In A Sentimental Mood,' and 'What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life,' dominate, although Andreas should be commended for taking on Mary Chapin Carpenter with her reading of 'What If We Went To Italy.'
To her credit, jazz vocalist Kate McGarry creates a pleasant blend of the familiar and the obscure on her album Show Me (Palmetto). Even her take on recognizable numbers, such as 'Gypsy In My Soul,' 'The Thrill Is Gone,' Cole Porter's 'Get Out Of Town,' and Lerner and Lowe's 'Show Me,' don't sound like any version you've heard before, making them that much more compelling and refreshing.
I began with one Cassandra and I will end with another. Due in a few weeks, Glamoured (Blue Note) by Cassandra Wilson is another subtle, yet powerful album of jazz vocals by one of the most easily recognizable performers in the genre. Although she has been recording for almost 20 years, it was with 1995's Blue Light Til Dawn (with its originals and covers of Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and Ann Peebles, among others) that set the standard for her albums yet to come. Glamoured opens with a cover of Sting's 'Fragile,' and Wilson goes on to glamourize Dylan ('Lay Lady Lay'), Willie Nelson ('Crazy') and Abbey Lincoln ('Throw It Away'), to name a few. Her originals, including 'Sleight of Time,' 'I Want More,' and 'Broken Drum,' find Wilson continuing to develop as a songwriter.
