Deanne Matley

DEANNE MATLEY   Because I Loved Self-produced DNMBIL [43:17]

 

1. The Moon Is Made Of Gold

2. Sugar

3. The After Thought

4. Catching Up To Do

5. Not My Only One

6. Open Arms

7. My Favourite Distraction

8. So Long You Fool

9. Pieces

10. Forget Me

11. Necessary Evil

12. The Wine We Drink

    Deanne Matley - Vocals

    Paul Shrofel - Piano, keyboards

    Adrian Vedady - Bass

    Jim Doxas - Drums

    Guests:

    Ranee Lee - Vocals

    Steve Raegele - Guitar

    Kiko - Percussion

    Al McLean - Saxophone

    Andy King - Trumpet

    Jean-Nicolas Trottier - Trombone

    Kate Bevan-Baker, Kate Maloney - Violin

    Jennifer Thiessen - Viola

    Thomas Beard - Cello

    The Canadian jazz-singer, Deanne Matley, is a native of Calgary, Alberta, a place where her talents are appreciated and put to good use. She is, for instance, the featured singer for Calgary's Prime Time Big Band. She has a background in a range of musical genres including rhythm and blues, classic rock and theatre, as well as jazz. This is her fifth album since 2012 but actually her first in four years. It also counts as her most personal recording, in part chronicling the end of her marriage. Alongside numbers such asForget Me, written for singer/pianist Shirley Horn, Necessary Evil, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and Stanley Turrentine's Sugar, she has contributed four compositions of her own, one of them written jointly with Andréa Petrity. This new album was recorded in Montréal and draws on local musicians for her trio (Paul Shrofel is a particular find) plus a number of guests including the highly rated Ranee Lee.

    The Moon Is Made Of Gold contains some gentle scat singing from Matley. She has clear articulation and gives a stylish rendition of the song with good support from the trio. Sugar, the title track of a Stanley Turrentine album, put me in mind of the Peggy Lee favourite, Fever. Fittingly for a track written by a saxophonist, there is some fervent playing by guest Al McLean. The ballad, The After Thought, is rueful and infused with pathos. There is sensitive accompaniment from Shrofel. The uptempo Not My Only One is probably the pick of Matley's compositions. Shrofel plays keyboards this time. Open Arms is enhanced by the warm cello of Thomas Beard. So Long You Fool was written by Paul Shrofel and Sharada Banman and the pianist plays with finesse and charm on it. Another Matley melody, Pieces, is well-delivered by Deanne and there's agile bass playing from Adrian Vidady. Necessary Evil has a somewhat stilted spoken dialogue initially between Matley and Ranee Lee before a swinging duet ensues.

    I admit to having problems with the quality of the lyrics in much of what remains. Even where that applies, however, it is still possible, for instance, to appreciate Steve Raegele's stellar virtuosity on guitar. I appreciate the confessional nature of this album will have affected the choice of material but for that reason the result is not always as successful as it might have been. In her previous recordings, Matley has shown what a fine interpreter of standards she can be. A judicious selection of songs next time round will showcase her talents to more telling effect.

    James Poore

 

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