Kate Reid: The Love I’m In

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.