AMG Review of Blue Moon

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

Much of the music on this excellent (but obscure) Carmen McRae LP has not been reissued, and certainly not in complete form. Accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by either Tadd Dameron or Jimmy Mundy, McRae performs both standards and obscurities, ballads and medium-tempo tunes. The big band is pretty anonymous but fine in ensemble work; the main focus is on the singer's voice anyway. Highlights include "Blue Moon," "My Foolish Heart," "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket" and Mundell Lowe's "All This Could Lead to Love."