By Irene Javors
A vocals column on a jazz site. Already, I can hear the purist among you muttering between clenched teeth, "no birds, just stick to the real stuff."
Agreed. We'll only visit with the "genuine articles." This is the place to swing, bop, and scat with great vocalizers old and new. No day trippers here! Sign up for the long haul and you'll get to meet up with the likes of: Bessie, Louie, Ella, Bing, Johnny, Peggy, Diana, Billie, Anita, Keeley, Diana, Cassandra, Matt, Patricia, etc. etc. etc.. And, of course there's Rosemary! Yes, I'm talking about that, "Come On-A My House," songbird herself, Rosemary Clooney.
I must confess that I have always been nuts for Rosie. I value originals and she is an original suprema. My first hearing of Clooney was in the 1950s. My mother used to play her records while she ironed. I thought Rosie really knew how to sing. In my eight year old mind singing was akin to telling a story with music and Clooney won hands down for keeping me around long enough to hear the ending to her grown-up tales.
Recently, I received two Clooney recordings that really got me humming: "Songs From The Girl Singer, A Musical Autobiography," and "Brazil," both distributed by Concord Records. "Songs From The Girl Singer," is a double CD companion to Clooney's actual autobiography, "Girl Singer (Doubleday, 1999). The compilation is fantastic! The CD's illustrate the breathe and scope of Clooney's singing career. This collection features both classic and rarely heard Clooney vocals with artists such as; Sinatra, Hope, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Nelson Riddle, etc., we travel with Rosie as a seventeen year old in 1946, singing "Sooner or Later" to 1998, and "Secret of Life."
For the fact obsessed amongst you, the first CD is a sort of Rosie's greatest hits from the late 1940s through the 50's. The second disk focuses on her "comeback" recordings for Concord Records beginning in 1977. By the time you reach the final cut on this disk, "Secret of Life," you know that you have traveled through time and space with a woman who has "seen it all."
My personal favorite cut on disk one is "Blue Rose." No words. Just vocalizing to the music. And what wonderful Ellington/Strayhorn musical arrangements and sounds surround you.
The second Clooney jewel of a CD is her "Brazil" with John Pizzarelli (Concord Jazz, 2000). Rosie's "flying down to Rio" in this most imaginative collection of reinterpreted bossa nova tune. She is accompanied by John Pizzarelli, guitarist and vocalist. Most of the tunes are by Antonio Carlos Jobim, the bossa nova King of them all.
A most interesting cut is her duet with Diana Krall of the ever so popular "Boy From Ipanema." Krall's absolutely wonderful on the piano break. The collaboration is lush and fun. It is wonderful to hear these two generations of jazz women singing together. At last, a lineage! FYI: In her book, "Girl Singer," Clooney relates her experiences singing with the provocative chanteuse Marlene Dietrich. We are told by Clooney that Dietrich encouraged her in her early career. She also educated Clooney about clothing, style, hotels, and baggage. Might we consider the Dietrich/ Clooney connection similar to the Clooney/ Krall collaboration? Maybe?!
The showpiece cut on the CD is the seven minute long, "Brazil." It's played as a suite starting with a duet between Clooney and Pizzarelli's guitar, it then glides into a multimode piece with varied tempos and fine musical contributions from pianist John Oddo, Gary Foster on sax, Chuck Berghofer on bass, and Jeff Hamilton on drums.
I think this is Clooney's best work to date. Her voice has lowered with age and has reached vintage, full-bodied blendedness. She is giving us her all. She is the best there is today in delivery, phrasing, and melody.
"Songs From A Girl Singer-A Musical Autobiography" (Concord Jazz, 1999) and "Brazil" (Concord Records, 2000) are fabulous additions to any jazz collections. Rosemary Clooney is an American original whom I acclaim as a living "National Treasure."
