"Songs of LEONARD BERNSTEIN & IRVING BERLIN"

ALISON BENTLEY Alison Bentley: vocals Dave Frankel: piano Dave Jones: bass Paul Cavaciuti: drums Steve Waterman: trumpet and flugelhorn, (Tracks 1,2,7,9,10) Martin Speake: alto saxophone, (Tracks 1,4,6)

Recorded and mixed at Gateway Studios, Kingston, London, UK, 21st Jun. 1998 & 21st Feb. 2002.

SLAMCD 248 Bar code 5 028386 024828

TRACKS:

1 Let Yourself Go. Irving Berlin 4m 15s

2 Reaching for the Moon. Irving Berlin 4 23

3 Cool. Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim5 00

4 Lucky to Be Me. Bernstein, Comden & Green 6 31

5 Puttin' on the Ritz. Irving Berlin 3 34

6 Morning Sun. Leonard Bernstein 5 36

7 Blue Skies. Irving Berlin 6 06

8 For the Very First Time. Irving Berlin 3 53

9 Let's Face the Music and Dance. Irving Berlin 4 29

10 America. Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim 5 16

Jazz Journal June 2003

Although this is Bentley’s third CD, she is new to me. She has a very good, strong voice and inclines quite definitely towards the jazz end of the current genre of young jazz-pop singers. Even so, her very imaginative interpretation of the standards in her repertoire is such that I feel she will win over those of you who like to recognise the tune. The accompanying band has hard bop leanings and add vigorously to the proceedings. The core trio swings fluidly and all take fine solos as do Waterman and Speake. I might mention that all the instrumentalists get rather more solo space than is usual on sets by young singers. I have a feeling that this young lady is a serious contender for high honours. Whether she gains the mega-success that some have found will probably depend upon the degree to which she is persuaded to dilute the jazz content. While it might be a shame if she does, who am I to grumble at the fortune she might well make if she should choose to move towards pop. Anyway, whatever course she follows this is certainly a singer to look out for and a CD to recommend. Good sound with brief notes on the songs by the singer herself.

Bruce Crowther

Growing in stature with every release (this is her third CD), Alison Bentley has become a formidable talent in the UK jazz scene. Blessed with a true, strong voice, she is somewhat more inclined towards the jazz end of the jazz-pop spectrum than are many of her contemporaries in the field. Here, she is joined by a very good band with hard bop leanings: Dave Frankel (p), Dave Jones (b), Paul Cavaciuti (d) and sharing solo spotlights, trumpeter Steve Waterman and alto saxophonist Martin Speake. With CDs like this one to her credit, international recognition must surely be beckoning. Certainly, Alison has enormous potential, and should she decide to move towards a more pop-oriented style she will do wonderfully well. The financial benefits of that aside, I rather hope she stays where she is; the jazz singing scene needs singers like this. Bruce Crowther

Alison Bentley gets to grips with a number of familiar songs and a couple of lesser known . Much of her delivery is brisk, her phrasing allowing her voice to glance over the words at times. ‘Let Yourself Go’ and ‘Let’s Face The Music’ both celebrate dancing and the words do ‘dance’ lightly over the propulsive rhythms of her band. ‘Cool’ from ‘West Side Story’ is given a somewhat staccato treatment and benefits from the Dave Frankel’s shimmering piano. Apparently Bernstein said the music should be ‘solid and boppy’. It is. Her arrangement of ‘America’ from the same musical turns the song into a samba and is fine, with deft piano and some incisive trumpet from Steve Waterman, until she takes a little ‘scat’ solo. Why do they do this, jazz singers ? What is wrong with singing the words ? I hate those wordless interludes. Let the drummer solo. Anything, please. She does it on a couple of tracks and it just grates. However, when she sticks to the tight arrangements, exploring melodic nuance and generally moving with the rhythm of the songs it works well. For instance, her reading of Bernstein’s ‘Morning Sun’ teases out the irony inherent in the picture of ‘the little white house’ in suburbia, sweet but stifling. Martin Speake’s alto glides effortlessly over the understated rhythms. Perhaps less well known, Berlin’s ‘For the Very First Time’ is attractively low-key in its delivery and contains a warm, resonant bass solo from Dave Jones.

This is not an album to compete, commercially, with the likes of Diana Krall or the equally ubiquitous Nora Jones. Nevertheless, it is worth listening to the musicianship of all involved and the way they have revived well worn standards, maybe reminding some of us why the songs have such longevity and were so memorable in the first place. PAUL DONNELLY

La cantante inglese Alison Bentley ha scelto per questa sua incisione dedicata a Leonard Bernstein e Irving Berlin di attorniarsi dei migliori musicisti del mainstream inglese. Le composizioni dei due compositori americani sono da sempre veicolo per le improvvisazioni di tanti jazzisti ed hanno esercitato un grande fascino su Alison Bentley che ha tuttavia scelto alcuni temi meno noti dandone un´interpretazione abbastanza moderna ed originale. Prendiamo ad esempio il conclusivo "America", tratto da West Side Story, affrontato a tempo di samba e con un bell´assolo del trombettista Steve Waterman. "Puttin´on the Ritz" è trasformato in un brano bop con un ritmo coinvolgente da parte del batterista Paul Cavaciuti, molto bravo con le spazzole. "Blue Skies" è introdotto da momenti free di voce e tromba, prima di partire con un tempo veloce di tipo bop. Gli improvvisatori inglesi non mancano di idee per rendere questa incisione interessante all´ascolto. Alison Bentley ha molto swing e appare sicura sui tempi swinganti dei suoi accompagnatori. La caratteristica di questo gruppo è la capacità di muoversi in modo elastico, pieno di relax, una cosa ovvia per gli americani, un pò meno per i musicisti mainstream europei. Valutazione: * * *Vittorio Lo Conte All About Jazz