Judy Whitmore: Let's Fall in Love

Polymath Judy Whitmore has taken time away from her busy and productive career(s) to record her fifth album, Let's Fall in Love, and like the first four, it is a smooth and delightful tour of memorable themes from the Great American Songbook, sung with radiance and heart by one of the leading exponents of popular song on today's scene.

Whitmore does not sing jazz (no scatting or improvising here); she leaves that in the capable hands of conductor and arranger Chris Walden who has assembled a thirty-nine-member orchestra (including a twenty-three-piece string section) to provide flawless support. What Whitmore does is lend every lyric the kind of warmth and sincerity reminiscent of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme and other legendary interpreters of mainstream music.

The choice of material is impeccable. Conceding Whitmore's talent as a given, it is hard to go awry when singing the music of Cole Porter, Johnny Mandel, Vernon Duke, the Gershwin brothers, Harold Arlen, Ray Noble or Irving Berlin, all of whom are represented here (Porter and the Gershwins twice). Whitmore opens with Ben Oakland and Oscar Hammerstein II's buoyant "I'll Take Romance" and adds to the menu charming themes by Bob Russell ("Crazy He Calls Me") and Vincent Youmans ("More Than You Know"). The title song, Arlen and Ted Koehler's "Let's Fall in Love," is sung as a duet with Ty Taylor.

Porter's "All of You" and "It's All Right with Me" and the Gershwins' "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "I've Got a Crush on You" are chaperoned by Mandel's "A Time for Love," Duke's "Taking a Chance on Love," Noble's "The Very Thought of You" and Berlin's "How Deep Is the Ocean." Whitmore is superb on every one, as is Walden's stellar orchestra. Pianist Josh Nelson solos nimbly on five numbers, as do harmonica master Hendrik Meurkens, bassist Edwin Livingston, trombonist Andy Martin. guitarist Andrew Synowiec and tenor saxophonist Jacob Scesney solo on one piece.

The spotlight, however, seldom strays far from Whitmore, who lends every song a wealth of vibrance and charm. She does so without using any guile or gimmicks, rather by sensing what the composer and lyricist had in mind and letting it flow through her seductive voice. That is thoughtful and proper, as these renowned songwriters need no digressions or enhancements. And there is no need for pretense when one is also a best-selling author, theatre producer, marriage and family therapist and commercial pilot as Whitmore is. Her previous albums were excellent, and Let's Fall in Love offers yet another generous helping of classic American standards sung the way they should be.