Search - Helen Schneider :: Right As Rain

The Reviewers Are Right!!!

12/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After listening to the CD Right as the Rain, I find the comments from Jazz Times' reviewer Patricia Myers very accurate: "this vocalist not only possesses an incredible range but exquisite taste. A popular European rock singer and actress, this Brooklyn born musical chameleon has opened the great American songbook for lyrics that showcase her style, sophistication and sensitivity. She's teamed up with Bob Brookmeyer, who wrote all but two of the charts, conducted the 19 piece WDR Big Band and contributed trombone and piano riffs. The music of Gershwin, Sondheim, Arlen, Porter and Mercer is sung with rarely heard verse. `My Ship' becomes a lovingly languid voyage that sails on to a lush rendition of `Send in the Clowns' that rivals Sarah Vaughn's. Schneider is boldly confident on Arlen's `I've got the World on a String', petulantly playful on Porter's `Get out of Town'. The pinnacle of the nine tracks is `Over the Rainbow', a gorgeous arrangement by Brookmeyer protégé Maria Schneider that springboards Helen Schneider to her apex. This is an album with appeal for jazz fans and everyone else who values quality music." Also, another view from the music publication Billboard states it well: "Helen Schneider...was a 70's pioneer in the resurgence of cabaret. There are ample reasons here why she remains a superior vocalist in this genre. In a wonderfully programmed set of rarely heard songs by the masters - including the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer title song - she imaginatively explores them, with conductor/jazzman Bob Brookmeyer and German ensemble the WDR Big Band behind her. As close as you can get to pop/art song performances."Enjoy..."