Meredith d'Ambrosio: Sometime Ago

What a joy to hear Meredith d'Ambrosio sing again. She just released a new album, Sometime Ago (Sunnyside), her first since 2012. And in keeping with all of her other albums, Meredith's artwork graces the cover. She's backed once again by an extraordinary group of musicians—Randy Halberstadt on piano, Daryl Johns on bass and his father Steve Johns on drums. Don Sickler's flugelhorn appears on Halberstadt's title track and he adds his muted trumpet on Oh Well, What the Hell, a Meredith original.

Meredith didn't shy from the challenges of recording, taking on a batch of obscure songs that are tricky to sing. The songs are When Springtime Turns to Fall (Halberstadt), Feast Your Eyes (Halberstadt and Meredith's lyrics), In the Moonlight (John Williams and Alan and Marilyn Bergman), Sometime Ago (Sergio Mihanovich), May I Come In (Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal), I Wished on the Moon (Ralph Rainger and Dorothy Parker), My Open Heart (Halberstadt and Meredith), I Remember You (Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer), Meredith's Oh Well What the Hell, and If I Should Lose You (Ranger and Leo Robin).

Meredith's voice reminds me of Boston, probably because she's from the city and performed up there while I was in college in the 1970s. Sadly, our paths didn't cross back then. There's always an intelligence in her singing voice that's informed by jazz artists such as Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Gil Evans and so many others who know how to use space to their advantage, allowing songs to breathe. In Meredith's voice, I see the twinkling lights of Beacon Hill, the architecture of Copley Square, the sound of the trolleys, the charms of Newbury Street and the nip of late autumn evenings, when you can smell lit fireplaces in Back Bay.

Listen to the gentle majesty of In the Moonlight; Meredith's splendid interpretation of May I Come In; how she plays with the standard I Wished on the Moon; her passionate lyrics for My Open Heart; and the playfulness of her own Oh Well What the Hell with their glorious, d'Ambrosio flatted notes. As always, Meredith on her new album sings for your heart and reaches her target.

JazzWax tracks: Here's I Wished on the Moon...



Here's May I Come In...



And because I always feature this song when I post about Meredith, here she is singing and playing her own Love Is Not a Game (1991)...



Bonus: Here's Meredith singing Johnny Mandel's The Shining Sea (1997), accompanied by Gene Bertoncini...



Here's Giant Steps from It's Your Dance (1985),



And finally, here's Love Is a Simple Thing from Meredith's first album, Another Time (1981)...