1. Love You Madly
2. I Concentrate On You
3. Then I'll Be Tired of You
4. Guess Who's in Town
5. Carolina in the Morning
6. Tennessee Fish Fry
7. Angel Eyes
8. Lullaby of Birdland
9. Underneath the Arches
10 Welcome To Manhattan
11. Embraceable You
12. Like a Puzzle
13. Don't Worry 'bout Me
14. Someday Sweetheart
15. Dream Awhile
Daryl Sherman - Vocals, piano
Harry Allen - Tenor sax (tracks 3, 9, 10)
Vince Giordano - Bass sax (tracks 4, 9, 14)
Jon Wheatley – Guitar
Dave Green – Bass (tracks 1-12, 14, 15)
Jay Leonhart - Bass (track 13)
There
are plenty of echoes in a Daryl Sherman performance.
Her little-girl-lost voice conjures up comparisons
with Rose Murphy and Blossom Dearie, while
the fact that she accompanies herself at the
piano puts her in a long line of lady vocalists
who provide their own accompaniment – the
most notable recent example being Diana Krall.
Yet
Daryl is unique, particularly in the way she
considers and savours every word of a lyric,
telling a story as if for the first time.
An unusually slow version of Carolina in
the Morning is a good example of the way
that she is never over-emphatic but lets the
songs speak for themselves. A possible criticism
is that the minimal accompaniment from bass
and guitar in I Concentrate on You
reveals some flaws in Daryl’s pitching. Her
intonation is sometimes imprecise but her
intimate delivery wins the listener over.
And her piano playing is no mere backing but
an attraction in its own right. For example,
hear her unhackneyed approach to Lullaby
of Birdland (the only instrumental on
the album), including a cheeky quotation from
Love Me or Leave Me.
Another
winning feature is Daryl’s choice of material,
ranging from the familiar to the virtually
unknown. Did you ever think you would hear
on a jazz album a song by British music-hall
icons Flanagan & Allen? Surprisingly,
Underneath the Arches works very well
and even includes the seldom-heard verse.
Variety is further enhanced by guest appearances
from Harry Allen with his eloquent Getzian
tenor sax and Vince Giordano on the very deep
bass sax. In fact the bass sax may be an unwise
choice, as it seems the polar opposite of
Daryl’s high voice and the incongruity may
arouse a smile in a tune like Someday Sweetheart.
Daryl
recently toured Britain with Bostonian guitarist
Jon Wheatley and British bassist Dave Green
and their mutual empathy is evident throughout
the album. In a world full of mediocre singers
who are indistinguishable from one another,
Daryl Sherman stands out as an individual
- and very likeable - vocalist.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Arbors
Jazz ARCD 19341
