Round Midnight (Concord Jazz)
Karrin Allyson
Released May 2011
DownBeat Five-Star Review
Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album 2012
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About:
The 11 track collection was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City. The tracks on ’Round Midnight come from a wide variety of sources, including Bill Evans, Paul Simon, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel, Thelonious Monk, Stephen Sondheim, even Charlie Chaplin. But regardless of who wrote the songs and when, Allyson ties them all together with the same melancholy thread with which they were originally spun.
The three-time GRAMMY nominated vocalist describes her new album best in her liner notes: “Imagine yourself, in the city, walking late at night,” she writes. “It’s ‘Round Midnight. The wind is cold, but you hear some warm sounds and you follow your ear down into a small, dark club. There’s a woman at the piano singing these intimate ballads – one after the other. Maybe you’ve just recently suffered a heartache, or maybe the lyrics, melodies and harmonies evoke feelings you have somewhere deep down inside.”
This album marks the first time in 13 records that Allyson plays all the keyboard parts — piano and Rhodes. “In a way, I’m just returning to my roots. I’ve been playing keyboards more and more in my live shows for the last three years, and it just seemed like the natural thing to do on this album. The shape and emotional feel of ‘Smile’ and ‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’ grew directly from my piano playing.” In ‘Round Midnight Allyson is joined by her long time partner, guitarist Rod Fleeman, with Bob Sheppard on woodwinds, harmonicist Randy Weinstein, bassist Ed Howard, whose previous associations include balladeer Shirley Horn, and drummer Matt Wilson.
In the end, telling the story is what it’s all about – even if the story is about heartbreak. Sometimes the best way to do it is to draw people into a quiet space in the late hours ‘Round Midnight – a time and place where their guard is down and they’re open to music that speaks the language of the heart. “What I’m most interested in doing on this record – and on all my records – is reaching people and communicating with them,” says Allyson. “That’s the thing that inspires me more than anything else.”
Track Listing:
1. Turn Out the Stars (Bill Evans / Gene Less) 4:05
2. April Come She Will (Paul Simon) 3:14
3. Goodbye (Gordon Jenkins) 4:28
4. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows (Harry Carroll / Joseph McCarthy) 4:40
5. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most (Fran Landesman / Tommy Wolf) 6:38
6. Smile (Charlie Chaplin) 4:54
7. Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Mitchell Parish) 4:38
8. There’s No Such Thing as Love (Ian Fraser / Anthony Newley) 3:03
9. The Shadow of Your Smile (Johnny Mandel / Paul Francis Webster) 4:24
10. Send in the Clowns (Stephen Sondheim) 4:48
11. ‘Round Midnight (Bernie Hanighen / Thelonious Monk / Cootie Williams) 5:51
Personnel:
Karrin Allyson: vocals, keyboards
Rod Fleeman: guitar
Bob Sheppard: woodwinds
Randy Weinstein: harmonica
Ed Howard: bass
Matt Wilson: drums
Recorded at Sear Sound, New York, NY and The Village Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Karrin Allyson and Nick Phillips Mastered by Paul Blakemore
Mixed by Seth Presant
Art Direction: Larissa Collins
Review:
Karrin Allyson has long been known for gathering choice material from far-flung sources and fashioning superior albums—a skill never to be sneezed at. This ennui-soaked program is no exception; her ability to shape songs to conform to an overall vision more than justifies her production credit shared with Nick Phillips. Opening with the suicidal “Turn Out The Stars” is a challenge, but Allyson’s many shades of emotion and implication bring the mood up with Paul Simon’s wistful “April Come She Will.” The musicality is substantial yet quietly impressive: like changing keys in the middle of a line on “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most” or the dissolute piano underneath “Smile.” Allyson’s condensed alto voice telescopes much into a small dynamic range. Singing the difficult octave jump to “Sophisticated Lady” is secondary to the understated pang of her reading. “Send In The Clowns” may be a tad hoary through overexposure, but recasting as a slow bossa gives it longer legs. And a voice-bass duet on the title track yields another fine version of Thelonious Monk’s classic with an artist’s individual stamp on it. Like Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae, magical moments occur in Allyson’s live sets when she accompanies herself on the piano. Her keyboard work here is almost subliminal—as much felt as heard. The recessed rhythm vamp on “Spring” helps her to subtly swing at the absolute lowest possible tempo and dynamic. Low-key dividends abound: Bob Sheppard’s murky bass clarinet on Gordon Jenkins’s shamefully neglected “Goodbye,” Randy Weinstein’s tangy harmonica, Matt Wilson’s beautiful brushwork, Rod Fleeman’s filigreed guitar. But it’s all in service to Allyson’s evocative styling.
Kirk Silsbee (DownBeat)
