Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jaymie Meyer: What You'd Call a Dream

Jaymie Meyer: What You'd Call a Dream

By Dave Nathan
May 1, 2001
View read count

Cabaret singer Jaymie Meyer's resume is impressive. It includes one woman shows, an appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., gigs at prominent New York City rooms, work with Mark Murphy, several off Broadway appearances all capped off by the Bistro Award for Outstanding Female Vocalist. On her first album, she applies her clear as a mountain lake mezzo soprano to a play list of contemporary pop tunes and standards.

The program has been carefully and wisely selected to bring out those special storytelling qualities unique to cabaret singers. Meyer has included several songs written by other cabaret performers. There's Francesca Blumenthal's "The Lies of Handsome Men", a lovely, poignant "Ship in a Bottle" by Amanda McBroom and the sad "It's the Little Things" by Portia Nelson. These are balanced by two standards which help Meyer to ply her cabaret trade. "How Deep Is the Ocean" reveals a passionate romanticism and "I Got Lost in His Arms:, dreamily happy. And no album can earn the cabaret stamp of approval without at least one tune by those sophisticates of song, Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. Here it's "You Fascinate Me So" with some good walking bass by John Loehrke. But for the most part those who accompany cabaret singers must be satisfied with anonymity. You know they are there, but in the background as the singer as commands the spotlight. One more exception to the rule is Andy Dressler's bright flute on the tale of the secret, erotic life of the dull appearing "Miss Byrd". This is a fun cut. In fact, the whole album is thoroughly entertaining and will be a welcome addition to the cabaret section of anyone's collection. Recommended. Visit Jaymie at www.jaymie.com.

Track Listing

The Friendliest Thing; Miss Byrd; How Deep Is the Ocean; You Fascinate Me So; Stars and the Moon; My Favorite Year; Ships in a Bottle; It's the Little Things; The Lies of Handsome Men; No Fear; I Got Lost in His Arms; Beyond Compare; What You'd Call a Dream; My Mother Was a Singer

Personnel

Jaymie Meyer

Jaymie Meyer - Vocals; Wes McAfee - Piano; John Loehrke - Bass; Dave Ratajczak - Drums; Mia Wu - Violin/Viola; Andy Dressler - Flute

Album information

Title: What You'd Call a Dream | Year Released: 2001

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Cynthia Sayer
< Previous

Larry Fuller: It's a Dream to Play w...
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.