Search - Claire Martin :: Linn Box: 3

My new favorite singer

02/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Claire Martin has apparently garnered a lot of fans in the UK. It's too bad she is not better known here in the USA. She has been recording for the UK label Linn since 1992. Linn is a small label and this may explain why she doesn't get promoted much stateside. I imagine Blue Note, Telarc Jazz or Concord would promote her better but that's another story. I was impressed by the samples of the songs here on Amazon and, since the box set is such a bargain, I sprung for it. I cannot get enough of her! The three CDs have been on my changer since first listening.The box consists of her first two releases and her fourth release. Of the three discs, her second release "Devil May Care" is my favorite. The song "On Thin Ice" is the attention grabber for me. Her first release "The Waiting Game" would rank right up there as a close second with great renditions of "Some Cats", "It's Always 4:00 AM" and "The Key To Your Ferrari". "Off Beat", a live recording from Ronnie Scott's nighclub, would come in third. Not that "Off Beat" is bad at all, it's just not as outstanding as the other two discs. The voice is hard to describe. It is husky, breathy and sexy. She sounds like Cassandra Wilson wishes she could sound (yes, that is a put down of Ms Wilson). Ms Martin's voice has a whiskey-soaked, cigarette-aged sound but it never slides off tune and it never falters in pitch or emotion. It's really outstanding. I'm a fanatic about the female voice. The musicians who back her swing. The recordings are a bit restrained, which is not bad but I would wish for just a tiny bit more "up front" with Ms Martin's wonderful voice.The best review I can give is simple: I have ordered all her other available CD's from Amazon. I also notice she has a more recent release that is not generally available in the US right now. I'm considering ordering it from her label direct or through an importer who might have it. Claire Martin is an addiction."

Three magical albums

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 10/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This box is made up of three original albums, each in their own CD case, housed in a cardboard slipcase. This was how I bought the albums (it's cheaper than buying them separately) although I reviewed them individually as I felt like so doing. The remainder of this review is a truncated version of each of the individual reviews, followed by a summary.



CD 1 - The waiting game



This was the debut album of Britain's nineties jazz queen. Like all subsequent albums, the songs are drawn from a variety of sources, demonstrating that Claire has learned to enjoy many different types of music.



This particular album begins with You hit the spot (from 1936) and continues with Be cool (a Joni Mitchell song - Claire also included a Joni Mitchell cover on her 2002 album, Too darn hot, so obviously loves Joni's songs).



My favorite here is The key to your Ferrari. I think this song is meant as a joke - taken that way, it is quite amusing, although I'm sure Claire would be worth the price. The title track was co-written by Claire with her pianist, Jonathan Gee. Elsewhere on this wonderful album, there are excellent versions of Some cats (a Leiber/Stoller song best known via Peggy Lee's recording), This funny world (by Rodgers and Hart) and The people that you never get to love (also recorded by the late great Susannah McCorkle).



Claire's smoky, alto voice is the main attraction of this album for me, but she is backed by musicians of the highest quality who are allowed to show their brilliance via plenty of instrumental breaks between Claire's singing.



CD 2 - Devil may care



This was another of the albums that helped to establish Claire's reputation in jazz circles during the nineties. Brilliant songs selection, outstanding musicians and a sexy, smoky alto proved to be a potent combination.



On this album, Claire shows that she can write her own songs, whether by herself (On thin ice) or with help from others (Victim of circumstance, Devil's gonna get you, Can't give enough) while another original dong, October thoughts, was contributed by one of her musicians. Sun was falling from the sky, another excellent song, may also be an original.



Claire shows her ability to interpret other people's songs, some of which you may recognize from other versions. Diana Krall is among many other singers to have covered Devil may care, a Bob Dorough song. If love were all, an under-appreciated Noel Coward song, is not recorded as often as it deserves but Carmen McRae, Judy Garland and Julie Andrews are among those to have done it. Many outstanding singers have recorded By myself but Claire's version is as good as any I've heard including those by Peggy Lee and Julie London (and their versions are excellent). A lot of other singers have recorded Close enough for love, notably Shirley Horn. Nancy Wilson and Jane Monheit are among those who have recorded Save your love for me, a Buddy Johnson song.



CD 3 - Offbeat (live album)



The tracks for this album were recorded over six days at Ronnie Scott's club in August 1995. Claire's three regular musicians were Gareth Williams (piano), Arnie Somogyi (bass) and Clark Tracey (drums), augmented by Martin Taylor (guitar on Some other time), Anthony Kerr (vibes on Monk's new tune and Wishful thinking) and Mark Nightingale (trombone on I'll close my eyes, Comes love and Something real). Claire sang and played guitar.



Apart from her smoky alto voice, Claire's music is particularly appealing because of her ability to record songs from a wide variety of different sources, generally but not always avoiding the obvious songs, yet always managing to adapt them to suit her own style. So it is with this album, featuring songs previously written or recorded by June Christy (Off beat), Carmen McRae (Would you believe), Laura Nyro (Buy and sell), Phoebe Snow (Something real), Paul Simon (I do it for your love) and Stevie Wonder (Make sure you're sure. The Great American Songbook is represented by Some other time (Leonard Bernstein) and Lost in his arms (Irving Berlin). There are also a couple of original songs - Worth the wait and Wishful thinking.



Summary



The two studio albums impressed me on first play. I did not find Offbeat as immediately appealing, but it grew on me the more I played it and now I love it as much as the others."