Anna Bergman: Souvenir

Among other things, Anna Bergman's album illustrates her ability as a linguist as she sings in four languages. She also reveals that she is at home in a variety of singing styles from operatic, such as "Les Chemins de L'Amour" by Francis Poulenc and the beautiful "Musetta's Waltz" from La Bohème, through a sultry rendition of "Sous Le Ciel de Paris (under Paris Skies)" to pure cabaret with a medley of songs by Noel Coward. Bergman, with the help of baritone Ron Raines, turns Frank Loesser's pop tune, "My Heart Is So Full of You" into a full fledged operatic aria. With her clear, warm, bubbling soprano, Bergman recalls Barbara Cook who had a very successful career in Broadway musical comedy as well as in concert halls. One of the impressive aspects of this session is that there seems to be so much music coming out of the speakers with so few people making it. Except for the one duet with Raines, the other two participants are Alex Rybeck on piano and Jered Egan on bass... and you hardly hear Egan. But Rybeck gets all that a piano can give with his adroit and energetic accompaniment.

True, there's no way this CD can be slotted into the vocal jazz category. Nonetheless, Bergman has a lovely voice that one would welcome, especially after a particularly tough day as she wafts your troubles away. Bergman's web page is at www.annabergman.com.

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