Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Carline Ray: Vocal Sides

5

Carline Ray: Vocal Sides

Carline Ray: Vocal Sides
Vocalist Carline Ray has a musical reach that extends to the beginning of jazz. Her father played in James Reese Europe's Society Orchestra in the early years of the 20th Century. Juilliard-trained (as her father was) Ray sang and played guitar and bass in a variety of formats in the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Erskine Hawkins, all in the late '40s and early '50s. She has enjoyed a lifetime in jazz, both performing and learning. With the singer in her late 80s, it was not without a little trepidation that she releases a recording considering Anita O'Day's late-life offering Indestructible (Kayo Stereophonic, 2006). Rather than smacking of desiccation and exploitation, as Indestructible did, Ray's Vocal Sides beams only raw grace and experience and a radioactive dignity that demands respect and notice.

Produced by her singer/daughter Catherine Russell, Vocal Sides exposes Ray to a variety of formats to react against. She sings a recital that spans jazz time, that is, across time, styles, periods, the whole of the music's history. Ray vocally arranged the Hammerstein/Romberg "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" to reflect influences from Mahalia Jackson and deep gospel from the '30s to Sarah Vaughan and high jazz in the '60s. She divides the song in two between the singers separated by a Miles Davis "Walkin'" piano vamp that gently swings in that late '40s way that made Frank Sinatra so famous.

The pairing of Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee" and the standard "Back Home in Indiana" is as inspired as is Ray's singing, attacking be bop at its core and laying waste to it. Ray covers two Mary Lou Williams spiritual pieces: a bluesy "Lazarus," propelled by Gregg Skaff's staccato guitar figure and a darkly hued "Our Father." Ray duets with daughter Catherine Russell on and bouncy gospel "Land Beyond the River" and "Hold On." Thad Jones' "A Child is Born" is a highlight, as well as, Ray's husband, Luis Russell's rollicking "Lucille." Vocal Sides is a masterful achievement.

Track Listing

When I Grow Too Old to Dream; Donna Lee / Back Home Again in Indiana; Somewhere; Lazarus; Our Father; Land Beyond the River Come Sunday; Hold On; A Child Is Born; Without a Song; Lucille.

Personnel

Carline Ray: vocals, vocal arrangement (1); Catherine Russell: vocals (6, 8); Yuka Aikawa: piano (1, 2, 3, 5,10); Mark Shane: piano (6); Atsundo Aikawa: bass (1, 2, 3, 5,10); Greg Skaff: guitar (4, 7, 9); Mark McLean: drums (1, 2, 10) Akua Dixon: cello (7,9); Frank Anderson: organ (11).

Album information

Title: Vocal Sides | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.