|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Vocalist Mary Foster Conklin's "THESE PRECIOUS DAYS" (Feb. 24) Explores Love and Loss THESE PRECIOUS DAYS is the latest album by New York-based jazz vocalist and radio host MARY FOSTER CONKLIN. The project features mostly women writers in a savory mix of lesser-known jazz and pop tunes, all beautifully rendered by Conklin's distinctive contralto voice and moody delivery. Conklin has been playing music that celebrates women composers and lyricists on her radio show, called "A Broad Spectrum – the Ladies of Jazz, " since 2016. She has long been interested in championing women artists, so when the opportunity arose to host her own radio show after the release of her album Photographs, she jumped at the chance. Like her radio program, THESE PRECIOUS DAYS focuses mostly on women composers and lyricists, but also includes several choice songs by writers whose lyrics reflect the disruption and loss of the past few years. The seed for the album was planted on a gig at an intimate East Village club in March 2020, her last before the city shut down. The show featured Conklin on vocals, John Di Martino on piano, and, along with her rhythm section, Sarah Caswell on violin. The music was centered around neo-cabaret "art songs" written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, whose legendary rock and roll hits overshadowed a unique catalogue of material first recorded by Peggy Lee on the 1975 cult classic Mirrors. In January 2021 she presented a video performance of "Some Cats Know'" as part of the Peggy Lee centennial for the Mabel Mercer Foundation with Di Martino and Caswell, and later that year the trio presented a full set of new songs at the Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn. When Conklin, Di Martino and Caswell went into the studio the following January, they added additional instrumentation for some extra seasoning, and so were joined by her regular rhythm section. Personnel MARY FOSTER CONKLIN vocals JOHN Di MARTINO piano SARA CASWELL violin ED HOWARD bass VINCE CHERICO drums GUILHERME MONTEIRO guitar SAMUEL TORRES percussion Produced by MARY FOSTER CONKLIN and JOHN Di MARTINO Arrangements by JOHN Di MARTINO Tracks 1. Summertime 3:21 (Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson) 2. Some Cats Know 4:06 (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) 3. Just A Little Lovin 4:12 (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) 4. Come In from the Rain 5:20 (Melissa Manchester, Carole Bayer Sager) 5. Scars 5:38 (Simon Wallace, Fran Landesman) 6. Just For Now 4:28 (Andre and Dory Previn) 7. A Little White Ship 3:59 (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) 8. Heart's Desire 3:50 (Alan Broadbent, Dave Frishberg) 9. Rainbow 3:32 (Melba Liston, Abbey Lincoln) 10. Until It's Time for You to Go 4:31 (Buffy Sainte-Marie) 11. September Song 4:37 (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) write your comments about the article :: © 2023 Jazz News :: home page |