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CARMEN SINGS MONK
Carmen McCrae
Bluebird 09026-63841-2
- Get It Straight (Straight No Chaser)
- Dear Ruby (Ruby My Dear)
- It’s Over Now (Well You Needn’t)
- Monkery’s Blues (Blue Monk)
- You Know Who (I Need You)
- Little Butterfly (Pannonica)
- Listen To Monk (Rhythm-a-Ning)
- How I Wish (Ask Me Know)
- Man, That Was A Dream (Monk’s Dream)
- ‘Round Midnight
- Still We Dream (Ugly Beauty)
- Suddenly ( In Walked Bud)
- Looking Back (Reflections)
- Suddenly *
- Get It Straight *
- ‘Round Midnight *
- Listen To Monk *
- Man, That Was a Dream *
Crotchet
midprice
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Alternative Takes.*
Tracks 1 & 12
Charlie Rouse – Tenor Larry Willis – Piano George Mraz – Bass Al Foster
– Drums
All other tracks
Clifford Jordon – Tenor & Soprano Eric Gunnison – Piano George Mraz
– Bass Al Foster – Drums
Recorded in Feb & April 1988
This is a re-issue of the 1998 album on the Novus Label,
it was then in LP format and without the alternative takes.
Carmen is one of the finest jazz vocalists of all time,
she ranks with Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan as a truly outstanding
singer. She has everything the jazz singer needs, good diction, brilliant
intonation, a voice with many facets and the ability to stamp her personality
on any song. She was a contemporary of Thelonius Monk, being just 3
years his junior and they were great friends. This was an album Carmen
had wanted to make for a long time, Monk was one of the most original
composers jazz has produced. His quirky tunes with their unusual chord
sequences remain popular with musicians and audiences alike. He surely
could not have imagined that the haunting ‘Round Midnight’ would still
be heard regularly so many years after it was written. These tunes were
written for instrumentalists to play and the words in many cases were
composed especially for this album, the titles had to be changed for
copyright reasons. There are very few singers who would be up to the
challenge of recording an album of Monk’s compositions and I can’t think
of anyone who could have done it better than Carmen McCrae.
The ‘Live’ tracks have the late Charlie Rouse on Tenor,
he played in Monk’s Band from 1958 to 1970, he must be the most underrated
tenor player of his era, I hope the record companies have a search through
their archives and re-issue more of his work. The Tenor playing on the
studio tracks is equally enjoyable, but this time Clifford Jordan does
the honours. The superb Bass and Drums team of George Mraz and Al Foster
combine with Larry Willis on Piano on the ‘Live’ tracks and Peter Gunnison
on the studio sessions. The backings of both groups are first class
and all the musicians make a fine contribution. Carmen McCrae was 68
when this album was recorded and she was still in great voice. I already
own a number of her albums because I am a great fan, but for me this
is the best of all. Carmen retired three years later in 1991 and sadly
she died in 1994.
Don Mather
CD Reviews
