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Marlena Shaw: Live in Tokyo
ByIn many ways, she's the musical equivalent of Cirque de Soleil, as graceful, risky and engaging, and with a strong undercurrent of sensuality – but whereas the Cirque characters are also slightly distanced and bizarre, Shaw is completely down-to-earth and accessible.
The first female vocalist to sign with Blue Note (in 1972), Shaw has covered the waterfront, including a four-year gig with Basie. There's a joyful, propulsive R&B feel to her up-tempo delivery, and her ballads are intimate and real. Shaw has a strong, flexible voice that can be rounded or rough; she uses a full range of textures to enhance the meaning of a lyric. And she and her band swing like crazy.
There's some fresh material on here---like the charming "Mon Cherie" and "Don't Ask to Stay Until Tomorrow," an anthem to one-night stands from the film "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." Shaw thoroughly funkifies "Feel Like Making Love," that rather sedate Roberta Flack hit, with powerful assistance from tenorist Rickey Woodard, and takes a slow torch to Dinah's "What a Difference a Day Makes." "Until I Met You" (aka the Basie classic, "Corner Pocket") is a delight, while "Round Midnight" gets a wake-up call.
When I played this CD in my car, I found myself grinning in traffic. 'Nuff said?
Track Listing
Ooh Wee - Baby You're the One for Me, Don't Ask to Stay Until Tomorrow, Feel Like Makin' Love, What a Difference a Day Makes, Rose Marie (Mon Cherie), Until I Met You, Round Midnight, My Foolish Heart, Loving You Was Like a Party.
Personnel
Marlena Shaw
vocalsRickey Woodard
saxophoneClarence McDonald
pianoJeff Chambers
bass, acousticRon Otis
drumsAlbum information
Title: Live in Tokyo | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: 441 Records
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