ANN HAMPTON CALLWAY – At Last (2009) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Ann Hampton Callaway came to jazz through a background in cabaret. The rich-voiced alto has a touch of vibrato which she uses effectively. With a fine rhythm section consisting of pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Jay Leonhart, and drummer Victor Lewis, she mines the treasures of the Great American Songbook with a personal touch, showing off with a bit of effective scatting in "What Is This Thing Called Love," and delivering a playful "Comes Love" that is complemented by Wycliffe Gordon's gritty, muted trombone, along with a suitably dreamy "Lazy Afternoon." Callaway has a few surprises in store as well. She masters Chick Corea's demanding "Spain" with ease while she uncovers "On My Way to You," a forgotten gem by Michel Legrand with lyrics by Marilyn & Alan Bergman. She proves herself to be a talented songwriter with the soft bossa nova "Save a Place for Me" and the heartfelt "Finding Beauty," both of which add guitarist Rodney Jones and Latin percussionist Emedin Rivera. There are some misfires. Joni Mitchell's quirky "Carey" is an ill fit with the rest of the album, while the dull, narrow range of rocker Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" simply doesn't suit Callaway's rich voice. But these tracks are minor glitches in an otherwise outstanding release. Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1    What Is This Thing Called Love?    4:44
 Cole Porter
2    Comes Love    4:57
 Lew Brown / Sam H. Stept / Charles Tobias
3    Carey    4:46
 Joni Mitchell
4    At Last    5:30
 Mack Gordon / Harry Warren
5    Spain    6:35
 Chick Corea / Al Jarreau / Arte Maren / Joaquín Rodrigo
6    Lazy Afternoon    6:19
 John Latouche / Jerome Moross
7    Landslide    4:59
 Stevie Nicks
8    Save A Place For Me    5:23
 Ann Hampton Callaway
9    Over The Rainbow    6:03
 Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
10    Finding Beauty    4:55
 Ann Hampton Callaway
11    On My Way to You    4:36
 Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Michel Legrand
Credits :
Ann Hampton Callaway - Arranger, Audio Production, Composer, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals
Emedin Rivera - Percussion
Jay Leonhart - Arranger, Bass, Bass (Upright), Vocals
Mads Tolling - Violin
Marvin Stamm - Flugelhorn
Rodney Jones - Guitar
Ted Rosenthal - Arranger, Piano
Teodross Avery - Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Victor Lewis - Drums
Wycliffe Gordon - Trombone

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY – Easy Living (1999-2005) APE (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is Ann Hampton Callaway's seventh recording, Easy Living, is one of her very best. It's a program of well-known standards and fairly stock arrangements, but in the middle is her pristine, well-defined, flexible voice. She retains a lower-end range in her style that suggests only one singer: Sarah Vaughan. She's joined by several different rhythm sections and soloists, including pianists Benny Green (six cuts), Bill Charlap (five), and Kenny Barron (two); bassists Peter Washington or Neal Miner; drummers Clarence "Tootsie" Bean and Lewis Nash; percussionist Jim Saporito; saxophonists Andy Farber, Nelson Rangell, and Gerry Niewood; and on three selections, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. A collection of love songs sung convincingly and with no frills, Callaway shows great depth in ballad singing. Hard evidence is presented in her takes of "Skylark" and "The Very Thought of You," with Charlap's glistening piano tones ringing bells for the singer and Farber's tenor sax replies. "'Round Midnight" is the penultimate interp with Barron's wistful piano and Marsalis' spare trumpet offering advice on ol' midnight. Callaway can swing well when she chooses; "Easy to Love" brings home her lower dulcet tones, while Farber's tenor cops a Stan Getz-Joe Henderson type plea bargain. Green's intro to "Nice Work If You Can Get It" has a "Giant Steps" quote before the singer digs into this lyric. She scats a little during the middle of the program, on the melody line, and the coda, of "Bluesette," and more in the improvised bridge during "It Had to Be You." Bossa nova is always a sidebar for singers, and Callaway uses this Brazilian rhythm on an interesting arrangement of "You Don't Know What Love Is" spiked with high drama, Saporito's Latin percussion, Barron's deft piano, and Niewood's flavorful tenor. The lone composition of the vocalist "Come Take My Hand" is also bossa, with Rangell's flute chirping on this definitive love anthem. Marsalis is also bolder on the stark ballad title track and a nice version of "In a Sentimental Mood," while it's the singer getting brash and daring in a lower tone than normal for perhaps the highlight "All of You," Green's piano matching the depths of Callaway's yearnings. It's not hyperbole to understand this is the perfect singer with a perfect voice that sounds so effortless, mature, and flowing. Though the others six recordings are just fine, this one really hits the spot, especially instrumentally. Callaway proves up to the challenge with every measure, phrase, and inflection. Michael G. Nastos    Tracklist + Credits :