On Play It Cool, her debut CD for Warner Bros. Records, vocalist Lea DeLaria reinterprets 11 compositions from contemporary musical theater, including "Cool" from West Side Story, "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" from Sweeney Todd, and "All That Jazz" from Chicago. Her vocal instrument is both complementary and unique in its interpretations of the lyrics, and covers a broad range of musical theater, both comedy and drama. This is not an easy task. DeLaria utilizes several vocal techniques to bring each song to life, including scatting, elongated phrasing, swing, and balladeering. She also makes excellent use of the basic skills of music theory: harmony, rhythm, and melody. Among the more memorable highlights on the CD is her great phrasing and delivery on "Lowdown-Down" from The Wild Party. Her vocals provide an excellent foil for the saxophone voices of Seamus Blake, Roger Rosenberg, Vincent Herring, and Scott Robinson, who play tenor, baritone, alto, and bass, respectively. Her up-tempo swinging rendition of "Once in a Lifetime" is a refreshing change from the overly used ballad approach of the Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley hit from Stop the World, I Want to Get Off. She's doing great things on this CD, and it is one any collector of Broadway show tunes would appreciate having in his or her collection. by Paula Edelstein
Tracklist:
Sweeney Todd, musical play
1 The Ballad of Sweeney Todd 4:51
Stephen Sondheim
West Side Story, musical
2 Cool 5:23
Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim
Little Me, musical
3 I've Got Your Number 4:51
Cy Coleman / Carolyn Leigh
City of Angels, musical
4 With Every Breath I Take 3:17
Cy Coleman / David Zippel
Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville, musical play
5 All That Jazz 4:11
Fred Ebb / John Kander
Faust, rock opera
6 Life Has Been Good to Me 5:23
Randy Newman
The Wild Party, musical play
7 Welcome To My Party 3:24
Michael John LaChiusa
8 Lowdown Down 5:51
Michael John LaChiusa
Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, musical
9 Once in a Lifetime 4:31
Leslie Bricusse / Anthony Newley
Follies, musical play
10 Losing My Mind 5:20
Stephen Sondheim
Frank's Wild Years, rock opera
11 Straight to the Top 4:11
Greg Cohen / Tom Waits
Credits:
Arranged By – Brad Mehldau
Bass – Larry Grenadier
Drums – Gregory Hutchinson
Keyboards – Larry Goldings
Piano – Brad Mehldau, Gil Goldstein
Tenor Saxophone – Seamus Blake
Vocals – Lea Delaria
