Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kate Reid: The Love I’m In

Kate Reid: The Love I’m In

By C. Michael Bailey
March 10, 2012
View read count

Track review of "The Lamp Is Low"

Dr. Kate Reid is a faculty member of the Fine Arts department of Cypress College in Southern California. However, Reid is no stuffed shirt, ivory tower type. No, she is a living, breathing, practicing jazz singer, one who holds on to tradition loosely, having fun with the music she performs. She belongs to that treasured group of jazz singers who also plays piano, a group that includes the likes of Shirley Horn, Blossom Dearie, Nina Simone, Patti Wicks, Patricia Barber, Dena DeRose, Diana Krall and Norah Jones. That is quite a creative tradition.

Reid is a known entity; her previous self-produced release, Sentimental Mood (2008), is a collection of the singer's favorite standards. The Love I'm In sharpens her focus to compositions with "love" at their core.

"The Lamp Is Low" is a popular song from the 1930s. Written by Peter de Rose and Bert Shefter, it is based on Maurice Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante défunte," with lyrics provided by Mitchell Parish. Mildred Bailey and Frank Sinatra covered the piece in 1939, keeping it on the pop charts for several months. Reid, back by a standard piano trio, takes up this fine pedigree, delivering a humid, flirty, sexy, smoky version. Reid is closely miked, giving her alto voice a breathy immediacy that floats above the accompaniment. Her piano is sure and true, and her voice swinging.

Personnel

Kate Reid

vocals

Kate Reid: vocals, piano; Ernie Watts: tenor sax; Steve Reid: trumpet; Chris Conner: bass; Steve Barnes: drums.

Album information

Title: The Love I’m In | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Lovers After All
< Previous

Floratone II
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.