1. To Lady
2. For All We Know
3. I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance
4. I’m A Fool To Want You
5. Violets For Your Furs
6. You Don’t Know What Love Is
7. You’ve Changed
8. When Your Lover Has Gone
9. I Get Along Without You Very Well
10. It’s Easy To Remember
11. Travelin’ Light
12. Music Is Forever
Annie Ross - Vocals
Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli - Guitars
Annie Ross is a singer who continues to look forward rather than through the rear-view mirror. Yet this must at times be difficult to do, given the highs
and lows of both her professional and personal life. Fondly recalled by her association with the iconic vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, which became the model for other similarly styled entities such as the Double Six Of Paris, the Swingle Singers and
latterly Manhattan Transfer. After Ross left the group in 1962, she struck out on her own in both singing and acting in various media, and gained
well-deserved above-the-title recognition. At the age of 84, Annie Ross continues to perform weekly at the Metropolitan Room in New York City. This current
album To Lady With Love is a tribute to Billie Holiday, and is Ross’s first solo release in several years.
Accompanied by the father-and-son combination of Bucky Pizzarelli and John Pizzarelli each on a seven-string guitar, Ross runs though a song list that is
more a paean to Billie Holiday rather than a Songbook. Not unsurprisingly, this is not the Annie Ross of Twisted nor of the peak Lambert, Hendricks & Ross period. This is an 84-year-old woman whose vibrato is shaky, and most of the lyrics are done in a spoken tempo
rather than sung, with little or no intonation, and no vocal range. So what can be said of a session in which, regardless of the tune, be it For All We Know, Violets For Your Furs or You’ve Changed, the interpretations are all of a piece. By a long shot, the
best thing in this release is the playing of the Pizzarellis, whether it be the intricate comping behind Ross, or offering thoughtful solos.
Reality is often cruel, and memories are best kept in a bottle. So when given a choice, stick with the memories.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Red Anchor CAP 1047
