THE
ART OF THE LOVE SONG: NEW PERSPECTIVES
Love
songs interpreted by female jazz and cabaret singers (Billie Holiday,
Judy Garland, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn) have
usually been about rejection, loneliness and frequent desperation;
they invariably elicit despondency and even tears. Few chanteuses
have ever recorded whole albums celebrating nonchalance or victory
in their love affairs; but the latest CD from Carol Fredette dubbed
No Sad Songs for Me (Soundbrush Records) reflects the
neoteric confidence of women enjoying hard earned sexual independence
and long sought egalitarian relationships.
For decades
a fixture on the New York jazz scene, Carol Fredette paid early
dues singing with the big bands of Sal Salvador, Larry Elgart
and Neal Hefti. After years of international touring (Regine’s
and Dinazhade in Paris, Veinte-un in Rio, Vine Street in L.A.,
Milestones in San Francisco) she re-settled in Gotham performing
in seminal jazz clubs including Birdland, The Blue Note, Fat Tuesday’s,
and Café Carlyle with stalwart American jazzers such as
Hank Jones, Steve Kuhn, Al Cohn, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ron Carter,
Lee Konitz, Fred Hersh and Dave Frishberg as well as Brazilian
stars Claudio Roditi, Romero Lubambo and Helio Alves. Despite
rave reviews (“She’s as good as they come” –
Stan Getz) she has recorded sparingly preferring artsy outings
over covered titles. No Sad Songs for Me is the apotheosis
of the hard-swinging, hip phrasing, and novel repertoire that
has made Fredette a favourite vocalist of the cult purists in
the Big Apple.
For
much of the album, Fredette dug deep into the Cole Porter songbook.
In “I Am in Love,” which was written in 1953 for the
musical Can-Can, she opted for a samba arrangement; the
tune reflects the Porter genius for polysyllabic rhyming and lyrical
prances. These features are energetically punctuated by producer/arranger/bassist
David Finck’s instrumental voicings. Michael Davis’s
trombone introduces the song as well as the cast of accompanying
musicians that will be with us for the whole session. The rhythm
section of Helio Alves on piano, Bob Mann on guitar, Kevin Winard
on percussion led by Finck’s incomparable bass lines sets
a groove for Fredette’s seamless phrasing that delights
as well as presages what lies ahead. At Fredette’s urging,
Finck penned a tune for the set which resulted in the title for
the album and pictogram for the theme. An unerring sense of swing
has long been Fredette’s trademark and Finck’s tune
“No Sad Songs for Me” sets her in the rhythmic groove
that always captivates her devotees. David Mann’s sax solo
provides colourful transportation for the tune which resolves
in relaxed rubato fashion.
The rubato
freedom is a tactful cradle for the recitativo performance of
some intriguing esoterica from film writer/ songwriter Bob Merrill
-- “It’s Good to Be Alive.” Fredette’s
narrated conveyance of the lyric illustrates her dedication to
telling the story of the song in the best way possible.
Quite
possibly, Irving Berlin was totally unacquainted with the pulsating
tradition of latin salsa but the selection of this dance form
for his tune “The Best Thing for You” is another creative
coup as is the oratorical rendering of “To Love and Be Loved”
– a tune by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for the 1960
film Some Came Running. In selecting these titles Fredette
has drawn upon the sense of scholarship which has characterized
the research-laden quality of her past recordings and is one of
the reasons her CD output is intermittent.
Antonio
Carlos Jobim is one of the most recorded composers of the past
half-century. It is difficult to find a tune which has not been
covered frequently but here again Fredette has scored impressively
as she sings “Chovendo na Roseira” (Double Rainbow).
The melody contains complex chromatic sequences with time signature
variations. Fredette employs a whispered recitative approach which
when accompanied by David Mann’s languid flute lines delivers
Jobim’s strains euphoniously and Gene Lees’s lyrics
poetically. Her excellent rendering of the Portuguese vernacular
takes us back to some of her previous recordings where this achievement
has flourished.
When
our songstress utters “every kiss, every hug seems to act
just like a drug” in the spoken intro to Al Dubin and Harry
Warren’s standard “You’re Getting to Be a Habit
with Me,” the story-telling reveals the coquettish complaint
of a woman with titillated emotions but determined reserve --
another instance of independence and self-assertion. Written in
1932 for the film 42nd Street, the lyric original portrayed
the girl as a victim who had no choice in the matter. Bob Martin’s
guitar echoes the playful nature of the tale.
“Havin’
Myself a Time,” another 1930s entry from the pens of Leo
Robin and Ralph Rainger, was originally recorded by Billie Holiday
in one of her more impish moods. This pearl has some imposing
solos from the band with particular rhythmic stirrings from pianist
Andy Ezrin. The assembly of musicians that David Finck brought
to this session is not one containing household names but it is
itself a testament to the endless parade of outstanding jazz talent
that he has introduced in his huge recording opuses through the
years. The employment of three different pianists for one CD outing
in order to facilitate the genre differences in the music performed
is another important indication of the careful sculpting that
went into No Sad Songs for Me.
This
is a time in music recording when the treasure trove of jazz,
cabaret standards and Tin Pan Alley triumphs counts little in
the juggernaut of popular commercial music that holds sway with
many listeners. Years back, when I was playing in bands and later
producing many concerts all over New York that featured these
aforementioned genres, I spent some time with the legendary jazz
trombonist Kai Winding who uttered a simple comment about art
music. “The valid things always remain” he said and
thus it is ever so.
Although
the thousands of talented jazz and cabaret performers who arrive
in Gotham every year from increasingly large jazz programming
at the nation’s universities receive little notice in the
national media, their efforts give the city’s clubs an intensity
that future historians will savour.
Nick
Catalano is a TV writer/producer and Professor of Literature and
Music at Pace University. He reviews books and music for several
journals and is the author of 
