Vocal pas de deux…
The material sung by Billie Holiday on her harrowing Lady In Satin album is interpreted by the team of vocalist Christine Correa and pianist Ran Blake on this personal collection. A couple of other pieces from the Lady Day songbook are also snuck in, but the stark and desultory mood is kept throughout. Blake’s crushing chordal introductions to pieces like “Big Stuff”, “You’ve Changed” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is” set the stage for Correa’s swoops and pleadings. She’s passionate and desperate on “I’m A Fool To Want You” and piercing on “Lady Sings The Blues” while she tells a story over Blake’s splashes on their own “The Day Lady Died”. Keep away from sharp objects.
The Cole Porter Songbook is explored by vocalist Noa Levy and bassist Shimpei Ogawa with a mix of tradition and modern exploration. Levy coos through “So In Love” while getting sassy to Ogawa’s bow on “My Heart Belongs To Daddy”. Her “Too Darn Hot” actually has her panting for water, while she sears through “Love For Sale”. Ogawa supplies a lovely bass line for the bopping and upbeat “I Get A Kick Out Of You” and sets the right mood for Levy’s desultory declaration on “It’s Alright With Me”. His fingers dance on “Anything Goes” and the two slow it down delightfully on “Just One Of Those Things”. De-lightful.
Pianist Paul Grabowsky teams with Paul Kelly, who sings with his heart on his sleeve on these vulnerable tunes. Kelly’s voice at time is reminiscent of Jimmy Scott, with a tender lightness as on the poetic “God’s Grandeur” or “True To You”. The two create spacious atmospheres on “Please Leave Your Light On” and are starkly harrowing during “Sonnet 138”. The ballad “Time and Tide” as well as the sensitive “Petrichor” reveal Kelly’s warmth, while Grabowsky’s touch is a guiding goad on “Every Time We Say Goodbye” and “Young Lovers”. Reflective reflections.
www.basshipogw.wixsite.com/shimpeiogawa