Ann Hampton Callaway - 2006 - Blues In The Night (SACD 24 88.2)

Ann Hampton Callaway - 2006 - Blues In The Night
SACD rip at 24 bits, 88.2 KHz

Ann Hampton Callaway is not your typical jazz songbird. For one thing, she's an accomplished and award-winning songwriter, which is unusual in a field dominated by interpreters. But what's most surprising is her voice -- it's a low alto instrument with a rich, dark, butterscotchy tone, and when she gets way down into her lower range the effect can be downright startling. Her latest album is a pleasing mixture of originals and standards, some performed with a small combo that includes bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash, others with the all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra. The big-band pieces pack the most wallop, which is no surprise given both the quality of the band and the fact that the arrangements were written by the great Tommy Newsom; a powerhouse rendition of her own "Swingin' Away the Blues" opens the program with a serious bang, and her small-scale but equally powerful take on the chestnut "Blue Moon" carries the energy forward nicely. The rest of the album is a mix of tender ballads and vibrant uptempo numbers, most with a theme related to the blues, either in a mood of resigned acceptance ("Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Willow Weep for Me") or defiant opposition (the Callaway original "Hip to Be Happy"). She imbues most of these songs with a smoldering, torchy quality that brings new energy to old material, and her new songs stand up very nicely next to the established standards. Highly recommended. (AllMusic)

Track list:
01 - Swingin' Away the Blues
02 - Blue Moon
03 - Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
04 - Lover Come Back To Me
05 - Stormy Weather-When The Sun Comes Out
06 - The I'm-Too-White-To-Sing-The-Blues Blues
07 - Willow Weep For Me
08 - Hip To Be Happy
09 - It's All Right With Me
10 - No One Is Alone
11 - Blues In the Night
12 - The Glory of Love

Personnel:
Ann Hampton Callaway: vocals; Ted Rosenthal: piano; Christian McBride: double bass; Lewis Nash: drums; Liz Callaway: vocals; David Gilmore: guitar. Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra (1, 4, 6, 11): Sherrie Maricle: drums, leader; Noriko Ueda: double bass; Kristy Norter: alto saxophone, flute; Erica von Kleist: alto saxophone, clarinet, flute; Anat Cohen, Scheila Gonzalez: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Lisa Parrott: baritone saxophone; Tanya Darby, Jami Dauber, Nadje Noordhuis, Alicia Rau: trumpet; Deborah Weisz, Jennifer Krupa: trombone; Leslie Havens: bass trombone.

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