JANIS SIEGEL — A Thousand Beautiful Things (2006) APE (image+.cue), lossless

The ninth solo album by Janis Siegel -- an accomplished leader who is nevertheless most famous for her membership in the vocal jazz quartet Manhattan Transfer -- is something that you almost certainly never saw coming: a collection of modern pop songs arranged in an assortment of Latin styles. Gimmicky? Willfully bizarre? Amazingly enough, it's neither. Siegel's strong, supple voice and her consummate taste allow her to bring something new and often subtly complex to every song, without indulging in unnecessary weirdness. Granted, her gifts aren't always sufficient to redeem mediocre material: Björk's "Hidden Place" gives her very little melodic substance to work with, and it makes for an unpromising opening track. But her take on Nellie McKay's "The Suitcase Song" is much more exciting, and the multi-layered Cuban percussion on "I Can't Help It" is brilliant. Even better is the Colombian harp solo on her rendition of Suzanne Vega's "Caramel," and the multi-tracked background vocals on her arrangement of Paul Simon's "Love" are breathtaking. There are many more such moments on this exceptionally fine album. Strongly recommended to jazz and pop fans alike. Rick Anderson 
Tracklist :
1 Hidden Place 7:42
Guy Sigsworth 
2 The Suitcase Song 3:40
Nellie Marie McKay
3 I Can't Help It 6:01
Stevie Wonder 
4 Caramel 5:31
Suzanne Vega 
5 A Thousand Beautiful Things 8:04
Ann Lennox
6 A Wish (Valentine) 4:35
Fred Hersch / Norma Winstone 
7 Love 5:52
Paul Simon 
8 Make It Better 4:59
Raul Midón 
9 ...Till Then 1:41
Danilo Pérez 
10 Sweet Is the Air 4:38
 Dave Noble 
11 Reflecting Light 4:01
Leslie A. Phillips
12 Did You See the Moon Tonight? 3:15
Erin "Eddy" Moran 
Credits :
Acoustic Bass – John Benitez (tracks: 1, 3 to 5, 10) 
Arranged By [Songs] – Edsel Gomez
Arranged By [Vocals] – Janis Siegel
Backing Vocals – Marlon Saunders (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 7, 8) 
Drums – Luisito Quintero (tracks: 8), Steve Hass (tracks: 1 to 5, 7, 10) 
Electric Bass [Electric 6-string] – John Benitez (tracks: 2, 7, 8) 
Flugelhorn – Brian Lynch (tracks: 10) 
Harp [Colombian] – Edmar Castaneda (tracks: 1, 4 to 6, 11) 
Percussion – Luisito Quintero (tracks: 1 to 5, 7, 8, 10, 11) 
Piano – Edsel Gomez (tracks: 1 to 5, 7, 8, 10, 12) 
Trumpet – Brian Lynch (tracks: 3)
Vocals – Janis Siegel

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER — Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959) : To Billie with Love from Dee Dee Bridgewater (2010) WV (image+.cue), lossless

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Dee Dee Bridgewater chose to record a tribute album to Billie Holiday. In quick succession beginning in the mid-'90s Bridgewater cut tribute albums to Ella Fitzgerald, Horace Silver, and Kurt Weill, and prior to that, in the late '80s, she was nominated for an award for her one-woman star turn in a European theater production of Lady Day, the Holiday story. That Bridgewater would eventually turn to Holiday (whose given name of Eleanora Fagan explains the title) for an album-length exploration was almost a given -- it was just a question of when. It's one of her grandest efforts, too. With arrangements by Edsel Gomez (who also provides piano) and a stellar cast of participants including bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist/flutist/bass clarinetist James Carter, and drummer Lewis Nash, Bridgewater doesn't attempt to mimic Holiday's mannerisms or inflections but, as one would expect of such a gifted artist, to absorb and reframe Holiday -- this is pure Bridgewater, not another performance of Lady Day. Gomez, for his part, quite often pulls the arrangements squarely away from Holiday territory to reinvent these classic songs for a modern audience. The opening "Lady Sings the Blues" is both instantly recognizable yet freshly reconceived as something of an uptempo blues packed with polyrhythmic punch. "All of Me," which follows, is taken at near-breakneck speed, Bridgewater jumping ahead of the beat, following Carter's thrilling soprano sax solo with a raging scat that's more Ella than Billie. Not everything is meant to redefine, though: "God Bless the Child" is mostly true to the original, though Carter's soprano solo again brings the tune into the new century, and "Lover Man," though livelier than Holiday's take, is offered in a somewhat timeless and straightforward manner. As one might expect, there's no way a singer with Bridgewater's commitment to jazz history could release a Holiday tribute without tackling "Strange Fruit," the controversial anti-lynching landmark that remains Holiday's most daring moment, and it's saved for last here. It's an eerie, ominous interpretation, Bridgewater's raw vocal up front and fraught with emotion. Carter's brooding bass clarinet and McBride's bass lend a foreboding quality to the take, Nash relies heavily on his cymbals to dramatic effect, and Gomez's piano is subtle, allowing the nakedness of Bridgewater's voice -- at times unaccompanied -- to retell this story that can never be told enough. It's a stunning finale to one of the finest Billie Holiday homages ever recorded. Jeff Tamarkin  
Tracklist :
1    Lady Sings The Blues 3:30
Written-By – Billie Holiday, Herbie Nichols
2    All Of Me 2:58
Written-By – Gerald Marks, Seymour B. Simons
3    Good Morning Heartache 5:10
Written-By – Dan Fisher, Ervin M. DRake, Irene Higginbotham
4    Lover Man 4:43
Written-By – James Edward Davis, James Sherman, Roger J. Ramirez
5    You've Changed 5:10
Written-By – William "Bill" Carey, Carl Fischer
6    Miss Brown To You 2:12
Written-By – Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger, Richard A. Whiting
7    Don't Explain 6:14
Written-By – Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday
8    Fine And Mellow 4:54
Written-By – Billie Holiday
9    Mother's Son-In-Law 2:46
Written-By – Alberta Nichols, Mann Holiner
10    God Bless The Child 5:13
Written-By – Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday
11    Foggy Day 4:33
Written-By – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
12    Strange Fruit 4:16
Written-By – Lewis Allan
Credits :
Bass – Christian McBride
Bass Clarinet – James Carter (pistas: 3, 12)
Drums – Lewis Nash
Flute [Alto] – James Carter (pistas: 7)
Arranged By, Piano – Edsel Gomez
Soprano Saxophone – James Carter (pistas: 2, 4, 10)
Tenor Saxophone – James Carter (pistas: 1, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Vocals – Dee Dee Bridgewater