Beegie Adair: I'll Take Romance

More late-evening mood music than jazz, I’ll Take Romance, the seventh album on the Green Hill label by Beegie Adair, showcases her warm piano stylings with a string-laden orchestra conducted by Jeff Steinberg. As Adair is based in Nashville, TN, hers may be a new name to many readers and / or listeners. Suffice to say that she’s an accomplished technician who can swing when the occasion demands, which in this instance is all too seldom (she is able to reveal that aspect of her persona only briefly, on Jerome Kern / Dorothy Fields’ “The Way You Look Tonight”). The rest of the all-standards program finds her in more leisurely surroundings, performing lovely ballads by Rodgers and Hart, Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler, Gordon Jenkins / Johnny Mercer, Kern / Otto Harbach and others. This is, as we pointed out, unabashedly romantic mood music, handsomely performed by Adair’s trio (Roger Spencer, bass; Chris Brown, drums) and Steinberg’s capable albeit saccharine orchestra. Most of us have hummed these tunes many times, and they feel as snug and cozy as a well-worn pair of shoes. If one must have music to keep him or herself company, no matter the time of day or the occasion, this is far better than much of what passes for “music” these days, and within that framework is easily recommended.

Contact: Green Hill Music, 800-200-4656; www.greenhillmusic.com