Some reminiscing in tempo: Last week, I got to be a recruiter as part of a career fair held at my alma mater, UCLA. As I was driving home, the iPod was playing Charlie Parker's version of "Laura." The composer, David Raksin, was on the staff of the UCLA music department back when I was a student there. (I used to see him occasionally at Schoenberg Hall) This in turn reminded of a poster I rece...
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Throughout her career, Carmen McRae sang in a wide variety of venues, from supper clubs to concerts and at jazz festivals. Possibly her greatest performances were at the yearly Monterey Jazz Festival where she became a regular performer from 1961 - 1982. During this same period she continued recording, the ultimate total being 61 albums of superb performances. On tour, McRae embraced the world ...
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On a lighter note comes "If You Never Fall in Love With Me," as delightful as it is brief. We get to hear some amusing dialogue between Carmen and her pianist before she takes off on a Bird-like riff song, her voice floating way above the clouds.
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Carmen McRae (1922 - 1994) was one of the most influential of jazz artists in the post World War 2 era. McRae was heavily influenced by the emrging "bop" movement in jazz which was becoming the everyday lexicon of a generation of jazz performers. Her voice had a "smoky" timbre that made liberal use of "bop" rhythms and harmonies and yet had a clarion, crystal like quality coupled with the above...
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You don't see too many "concept albums" these days, at least, any that are all that good. These are two of my favorite "concept" albums by female jazz vocalists.Carmen McRae's "Birds of a Feather" is a Verve Music re-issue of a Decca album that contains songs that are all about birds. Some of the cuts include: Bob White, Skylark, Mister Meadowlark, Flamingo, Baltimore Oriole...Damita Jo's album co
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Nice Work If You Can Get It |
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| 2 Imagination |
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| 3 How Could I Settle for Less |
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| 4 Exactly Like You |
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| 5 Masquerade |
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