1. Anitra's Dance
2. Little Brown Jug
3. Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
4. Sentimental Journey
5. You Took Advantage Of Me
6. St. Louis Blues
7. A-Tisket, A-Tasket
8. Blue Rose
9. This Can't Be Love
10 How Ruth Felt
11. There's A Small Hotel
12. I'll Be Seeing You
Regina Carter – Violin
Matthew Parrish - Bass
Xavier Davis –Piano (tracks 1-3, 5-12)
Alvester Garnett – Drums (tracks 1-3, 5-8, 10-12)
Dee Dee Bridgewater – Vocals (tracks 3, 9)
Carla Cook –Vocals (tracks 5, 6, 11)
Paquito D’Rivera – Clarinet (tracks 1-4, 6)
Gil Goldstein –Accordion (tracks 1-3, 6, 12)
When
I first heard Regina Carter on her 1999 album
Rhythms of the Heart, I remember categorising
her as a violinist who combined the modern
touch of Jean-Luc Ponty with the more traditional
approach of Stephane Grappelli. But this album
shows a more informal – even playful - side
of Regina. On several tracks she sounds very
like Stuff Smith, the jazz violinist who played
the fiddle as if it was a trumpet – bending
notes and performing with a slightly humorous
approach. Perhaps the new style is because
Regina Carter concentrates on familiar jazz
standards – catchy tunes that Regina’s mother
loved (the album was devised in memory of
her mother, who died last year). Or perhaps
it’s because Regina welcomes a variety of
guest artists who impart a party atmosphere
to the album. Whatever the reason, this is
a delightfully accessible album which will
almost certainly put the listener in a good
mood.
The
album opens cheerfully with Grieg’s Anitra’s
Dance, which closely follows the jazzy
arrangement recorded by the John Kirby Sextet
in 1939. Little Brown Jug is given
an almost classical interpretation before
moving into a Latin-American rhythm, with
Gil Goldstein’s accordion and Paquito D’Rivera’s
clarinet soloing dexterously. Dee Dee Bridgewater,
the first of two guest vocalists, joins the
band for a positive Bei Mir Bist Du Schön.
Dee Dee also brightens up This Can’t Be
Love, where Regina’s violin prances very
much in Stuff Smith mode.
The
other vocalist is Carla Cook, a longtime friend
of Regina’s. She is much less well-known than
Bridgewater but delivers three fine performances:
scatting on You Took Advantage of Me;
singing St Louis Blues with conviction;
and exuding intimacy in There’s a Small
Hotel. Regina Carter pays tribute to Ella
Fitzgerald with A-Tisket, A-Tasket
(with swinging piano from Xavier Davis) and
plays her own composition How Ruth Felt,
which has a catchy melody that seems to amalgamate
two familiar tunes. The CD closes with the
wistful but optimistic I’ll Be Seeing You,
where Regina makes her instrument swoop and
sing.
Even
if you’re not a particular fan of jazz violin,
you may well enjoy this pleasing album.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Verve 0602498509623
