CARMEN MCRAE - LIVE AT RATSO'S VOL II (1976)
2. Just A Little Lovin'
3. Paint Your Pretty Picture With A Song
4. Haven't We Met
5. My Old Flame
6. Sunday
7. I Have The Feeling I've Been Here Before
8. Ballad Of Thelonius Monk
9. Tain't Nobody's Business
10. Band Introduction
11. Like A Lover
12. Guess Who I Saw Today
13. For Once In My Life
14. Play - Off
by Dave Nathan
This is the second half of a previously unreleased Carmen McRae live performance from Ratso's jazz club in Chicago in 1976, and McRae is at her best. The play list for this volume is completely different than that appearing on Vol. 1. Nonetheless, it also is an eclectic offering of songs from a variety of composing sources, including Barry Mann, Marilyn & Alan Bergman, and Jimmy Rowles, to name a few. Composers had to feel very satisfied to have any of their output performed by McRae, as she was a one-of-a-kind advocate of vocal material. She could always make a tune sound better than it should have. Having utmost respect for the lyrics, which she considered the heart and soul of a tune, she caressed, stretched, phrased them in such a way as to make their story as appealing as humanly possible. Excellent tracks among a full set of excellent tracks include "Like a Lover," and upbeat versions of "You Know Who You Are" and "Sunday." The tempo is one of the few differences between the two volumes. More rapid cadence pieces are prevalent on this volume than the first. McRae viewed herself as a comedienne of sorts, and there's some of that trying-to-be-funny material on this CD. Fortunately, she didn't have to rely on her comic ability to hold an audience in her hand. But she was having fun. Her trio of Marshall Otwell, Ed Bennett, and Joey Baron are superlatively on the same page throughout the set. If any of them weren't, they didn't last very long. McRae could be rather stern with her sidemen. Like Vol. 1, the sound is excellent, and like Vol. 1, this CD is essential Carmen McRae.
CARMEN MCRAE - AT RATSO'S VOL I (1976)
2. You And I
3. Elusive Butterfly
4. Lost Up In Loving You
5. Hey John
6. All By Myself
7. A Letter For Anna Lee
8. Ellington Medley:
Satin Doll
Mood Indigo
I Didn’t Know About You
It Don’t Mean A Thing
9. Would You Believe
10. Them There Eyes
11. Dindi
12. I Am Music
by Dave Nathan
Ron Hitchcock has managed to unearth previously unreleased material, mostly live performances, of Stan Kenton andWoody Herman, among others. His endeavors have resulted in a respectable catalog for his Hitchcock Media company. Hitchcock outdid himself this time by releasing in two volumes of Carmen McRae's appearance at the now defunct Ratso's Jazz Club in Chicago in 1976. Both volumes come from Saturday and Sunday night performances. Each CD has its own distinct and diverse play list; there are no duplications. McRae was at the top of her form. She applies her inimitable and immediately recognizable smoky timbre to a play list of mostly familiar tunes. McRae was influenced by the bop masters of her time, and she doesn't hesitate to give her offerings a boppish inflection. But most of all, it's her deep respect for the lyrics that often sets her apart from her peers. Her phrasing was designed to make sure that the true message of each song, complete with appropriate emotional emphasis, is never ambivalent or vague. When McRae sang a song, you knew exactly what her interpretation of the words conveyed. And she didn't have to rely on any vocal gymnastics or other gimmickry. Her unembellished, straight-ahead delivery was all that was necessary to put over a tune and to display her considerable talent. Renditions such as "I Am Music" (which she had recorded just a year before) and "You and I" are examples of this unique way with a song. The up-tempo "Them There Eyes," with its elongated phrasing, is one gem from a set filled with precious material. Her trio then was Marshall Otwell on piano, Ed Bennett on bass, and a young Joey Baron on drums. The sound is excellent. This is essential McRae and is thoroughly recommended.
CARMEN MCRAE - CARMEN FOR COOL ONES (1957)
2. Shoulder To Cry On
3. Any Old Time
4. Weak For The Man
5. What's New
6. I Get A Kick Out Of You
7. (What Can I Say) After I Say I'm Sorry
8. Without A Word Of Warning
9. If I Were A Bell
10. You Are Mine
11. Night We Called It
12. I Remember Clifford
Carmen McRae is in great form on these 1957 studio sessions with a jazz group and orchestra conducted by Fred Katz. Her rich voice is never overpowered by the 13 strings, which for the most part stay behind the singer and the jazz instrumentalists. The strongest tracks include a swinging "All the Things You Are" (backed by some interesting writing for the reed section), an unusual treatment of "What's New" (featuring vibraphonist Larry Bunker and Joe Marino on celeste), a particularly dark version of "The Night We Called It a Day" (featuring Katz on cello), and a moving "I Remember Clifford," a fairly new piece which Benny Golson had recently composed following the tragic death of Clifford Brown. Even the obscure songs of these sessions, which include "A Shoulder to Cry On" and "Without a Word of Warning," are worth investigating. Unfortunately, only a few of these tracks have been reissued as a part of the compilation I'll Be Seeing You, though the Japanese division of Universal reissued this long out-of-print session in a beautifully packaged mini-LP-type sleeve in 2001.
CAL TJADER & CARMEN McRAE - HEAT WAVE (1990)
2. All In Love Is Fair
3. Besame Mucho
4. Evil Ways
5. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
6. Love
7. Upside Down (Flor de Lis)
8. The Visit
9. Speak Low
10. Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
Personnel:
Cal Tjader - vibraphone
Carmen McRae - vocals
Poncho Sanchez - congas, percussion
Rob Fisher - bass
Ramon Banda - timbales, percussion
Mark Levine - piano
Vince Lateano - drums
Al Bent
Marshall Otwell
Mike Heathman - trombone
CARMEN McRAE - THE JAZZ COLLECTOR EDITION (1991)
2- Inside a Silçent Tear
3- Imagination
4- The Right to Love
5- All the Things You Are
6- It Takes a Whole Lot of Human Feelings
7- I Fall in Love Too Easily
8- Hey John
9- Where Are the Words
10- Nice Work if You Can Get It
11- You Are the Sunshine of My Life
12- You and I
13- Masquerade
Featuring:
Joe Pass - guitar
Ray Brown - bass
Dick Shreve - piano
Frank Severino - drums
Larry Bunker - percussion
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