Jazz Articles about Beth McDonald

Two Views of Beth McDonald

by C. Michael Bailey
February 14, 2009

With singer/songwriter Beth McDonald, music is intensely personal. All aspects of music--performance, composition, arrangement, song choice and delivery--are branded with McDonald's vision. Her liner notes are full of mention of her family, motherhood and love. Her style is 1920s-1940s standards waxing nostalgic (yet still freshly modern) of the simpler, more wholesome things in life. This feeling is enhanced by her scrubbed, girl-next-door appearance and honest singing style. There is no vocal bragging here with excessive scatting and vocalese, just old ...