ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY - Easy Living (1999) Mp3

This is Ann Hampton Callaway's seventh recording, Easy Living, is one of her very best. It's a program of well-known standards and fairly stock arrangements, but in the middle is her pristine, well-defined, flexible voice. She retains a lower-end range in her style that suggests only one singer: Sarah Vaughan. She's joined by several different rhythm sections and soloists, including pianists Benny Green (six cuts), Bill Charlap (five), and Kenny Barron (two); bassists Peter Washington or Neal Miner; drummers Clarence "Tootsie" Bean and Lewis Nash; percussionist Jim Saporito; saxophonists Andy Farber, Nelson Rangell, and Gerry Niewood; and on three selections, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. A collection of love songs sung convincingly and with no frills, Callaway shows great depth in ballad singing. Hard evidence is presented in her takes of "Skylark" and "The Very Thought of You," with Charlap's glistening piano tones ringing bells for the singer and Farber's tenor sax replies. "'Round Midnight" is the penultimate interp with Barron's wistful piano and Marsalis' spare trumpet offering advice on ol' midnight. Callaway can swing well when she chooses; "Easy to Love" brings home her lower dulcet tones, while Farber's tenor cops a Stan Getz-Joe Henderson type plea bargain. Green's intro to "Nice Work If You Can Get It" has a "Giant Steps" quote before the singer digs into this lyric. She scats a little during the middle of the program, on the melody line, and the coda, of "Bluesette," and more in the improvised bridge during "It Had to Be You." Bossa nova is always a sidebar for singers, and Callaway uses this Brazilian rhythm on an interesting arrangement of "You Don't Know What Love Is" spiked with high drama, Saporito's Latin percussion, Barron's deft piano, and Niewood's flavorful tenor. The lone composition of the vocalist "Come Take My Hand" is also bossa, with Rangell's flute chirping on this definitive love anthem. Marsalis is also bolder on the stark ballad title track and a nice version of "In a Sentimental Mood," while it's the singer getting brash and daring in a lower tone than normal for perhaps the highlight "All of You," Green's piano matching the depths of Callaway's yearnings. It's not hyperbole to understand this is the perfect singer with a perfect voice that sounds so effortless, mature, and flowing. Though the others six recordings are just fine, this one really hits the spot, especially instrumentally. Callaway proves up to the challenge with every measure, phrase, and inflection. by Michael G. Nastos   

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY - Blues in the Night [2006] Telarc [24-192] FLAC

Ann Hampton Callaway is not your typical jazz songbird. For one thing, she's an accomplished and award-winning songwriter, which is unusual in a field dominated by interpreters. But what's most surprising is her voice -- it's a low alto instrument with a rich, dark, butterscotchy tone, and when she gets way down into her lower range the effect can be downright startling. Her latest album is a pleasing mixture of originals and standards, some performed with a small combo that includes bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash, others with the all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra. The big-band pieces pack the most wallop, which is no surprise given both the quality of the band and the fact that the arrangements were written by the great Tommy Newsom; a powerhouse rendition of her own "Swingin' Away the Blues" opens the program with a serious bang, and her small-scale but equally powerful take on the chestnut "Blue Moon" carries the energy forward nicely. The rest of the album is a mix of tender ballads and vibrant uptempo numbers, most with a theme related to the blues, either in a mood of resigned acceptance ("Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Willow Weep for Me") or defiant opposition (the Callaway original "Hip to Be Happy"). She imbues most of these songs with a smoldering, torchy quality that brings new energy to old material, and her new songs stand up very nicely next to the established standards. Highly recommended.  by Rick Anderson 
Tracklist 
1  Swingin' Away The Blues  3:29
Arranged By – Tommy Newsom
2  Blue Moon  5:37
Arranged By – Andy Farber, Ann Hampton Callaway
Written-By – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
3  Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most  6:19
Arranged By – Ann Hampton Callaway, Bill Mays
Written-By – Frances Landesman, Tomas Wolf
4  Lover Come Back To Me  3:23
Arranged By – Tommy Newsom
Written-By – Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg
5  Stormy Weather / When The Sun Comes Out  5:13
Arranged By – Alex Rybeck, Ann Hampton Callaway
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
6  The I'm-Too-White-To-Sing-The-Blues Blues  3:41
Arranged By – Matt Cattingub
Written-By – Ann Hampton Callaway
7  Willow Weep For Me  6:18
Arranged By – Ann Hampton Callaway, Bill Mays
Written-By – Ann Ronell
8  Hip To Be Happy  2:43
Arranged By – Bill Mays
Arranged By, Written-By – Ann Hampton Callaway
9  It's All Right With Me  5:52
Arranged By – Ann Hampton Callaway, Bill Mays
Written-By – Cole Porter
10  No One Is Alone  4:32
Arranged By – Ann Hampton Callaway, Bill Mays
Written-By – Stephen Sondheim
11  Blues In The Night  4:50
Arranged By – Harold Wheeler, Jack Everly
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
12  The Glory Of Love  3:08
Arranged By – Ann Hampton Callaway, Rodney Jones
Written-By – Bill Hill
Credits 
Bass – Christian McBride
Drums – Lewis Nash
Guitar – David Gilmore
Lead Vocals – Ann Hampton Callaway
Orchestra – Sherrie Maricle And The Diva Jazz Orchestra (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 11) 
Piano – Ted Rosenthal
Producer – Ann Hampton Callaway, Elaine Martone
Vocals – Liz Callaway

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY - Blues in the Night

 [2006] Telarc [24-192] SACD / FLAC / scans

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