Jane Fielding: Embers Glow

Source: JAZZWAX BY MARC MYERS
August 29, 2012
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I'm convinced you can spend a lifetime listening to captivating albums by female jazz singers of the 1950s. There seems to be an endless supply. Today, the names of these vocalists are completely unknown or forgotten by most fans of the music. In many cases these women recorded one or two albums in New York or Los Angeles and then disappeared—either because they found the hard hours and low pay unbearable or because they married and found other ways to lead a rewarding life. Or they grew tired of the groping and cracks made by portly guys with unlit cigars and bad complexions.

One of these shadow singers was Jane Fielding, who recorded just three known albums. I have no idea who she is, what became of her or if she's still around. The notes on one album say she was an ice skater who suffered an injury and turned to singing. Notes on another say she worked with Joe Theimer, drummer and leader of The Orchestra. A site points out that she recorded a series of albums but few were released. Who knows? I can tell you that Embers Glow is one of the finest of its genre.

Recorded in February 1956 for Jazz West, Embers Glow features Fielding backed by a superb group: Kenny Drew (piano), Joe Maini (alto sax), Ted Efantis (tenor sax), Leroy Vinnegar (bass) and Larance Marable (drums). Paul Chambers replaced Vinnegar on half the tracks.

What's notable about this album is the incredible taste in song choices as well as Fielding's breathy Chris Connor intonation and how she drifts deftly behind the beat. Every single song on the LP is special and perfectly suited to Fielding's voice, which according to notes was influenced by Sonny Rollins. According to the notes, the songs were chosen for her and arranged for the group by Kenny Drew [pictured below].

The tracks are Embers Glow, Our Waltz, Key Largo, Along With Me, In Love Vain, 'Round Midnight, Too Marvelous for Words, Make the Man Love Me, Right Boy for Me and All Dressed Up Tonight and No Place to Go.

Standout artists on this album are Maini [pictured] and Drew. Maini adds a hip, sophisticated edginess that complements Fielding's breathiness perfectly. Drew's voicings provide Fielding with a delicate, swinging frame.

Fielding's retirement, though, may have come after reading the Embers Glow liner notes:

“Jane Fielding is 21 and quite naturally, she loves life and all the excitement it holds for a pretty blue-eyed redhead of her age. In this, her second long-playng album for Jazz West, she shows that the success of her Jazz Trio album with Lou Levy and Red Mitchell was only the beginning of a bright career. The experimentation of the first album matures into focus against the background of Kenny Drew's marvelously simple arrangements, showing off the steadiness of a tried professional."

Unortuantely we don't learn much about Fielding's background from the notes—on either album. But her singing says it all about Los Angeles in 1956: Hip, dry and understated.

Note to vocalists who can't seem to find new material, try Embers Glow, Along with Me, In Love Vain or Right Boy for Me. All are little know and all are gorgeous works.

And Ms. Fielding, if you're out there, please email me.

JazzWax tracks: Jane Fielding's Embers Glow on CD is going for $80 here. Or you may find it on download sites. Another way into this material is by buying Joe Maini: The Small Group Recordings here. Just as good is Introducing Jane Fielding here.

JazzWax clip: I wish you could hear the title track or Along With Me, which Mel Torme recorded in 1946 with Artie Shaw. But Right Boy for Me will give you a fine sense of how good an album this is: