Search - June Christy :: Impromptu

Classic June

Jim Andrews | Chicago, Illinois USA | 10/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album came as a surprise to everyone as we figured June, who had stopped recording years before, would never be heard from on record again. Then came this thoughtful, thoroughly intelligent, thoroughly lovely album out of the blue. June's voice was deeper and thicker at this point but her sensivity to a lyric and inimitable jazz sense had if anything richened. The songs reflect her own wide musical interests and talent for spotting unusual and worthy material floating in the wide river of the unexceptional. As a young band singer, June was considered unusually hip. As an international solo star she was considered one of the best jazz singers who had ever recorded. In her retirement she was considered an elder stateswoman of music. She was known also for being adorable and yet also being strong and straightforward; she loved what she did but she wasn't beyond putting a noisy audience in its place. I used to pen pal with her and she was so unshowbizzy and so articulate--when I couldn't find two of her Capitol albums she unbelievably had her producer Bill Miller send me HIS copies! There are MANY famous people out there who are June Christy fans and MANY other singers who consider her the best of the best. The people who worked with her LOVED recording with her as she could take on the trickiest arrangement and toss it off perfectly, she was truly in love with music rather than in love with fame, and of course she was unusually personable (her arranger Pete Rugolo said a June Christy session could always be counted on as pure pleasure both musically and personally)...if you ever hear live air checks including June talking to members of the band you can sense immediately her warmth and presence--I'm told she was one of the those people who are charismatic not only on stage but off--you couldn't help but be impressed by her. You will love this beautiful, provocative album, an autumn surprise from a sunlit artist."

June's interaction with the music is loving and sensitive

Scott Luster (ratesearch@aol.com) | St. Louis, MO USA | 03/07/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was June's last album. The voice is burnished, the virbrato more noticable and the arrangements drop dead gorgeous. June's impeccable phrasing is evident throughout. She exudes an intimacy that you can feel. Pure pleasure."

June Christy as you've never heard her before.

Mary Whipple | New England | 08/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In her final album, recorded in 1988, June Christy, by then sixty-three, is on a completely different creative plane from where she was thirty years before. Far more adventurous in her jazz interpretations, she sounds completely free here, confidently singing whatever she wants, on her own terms, with the Lou Levy Sextet backing her vocals perfectly. Her timing and phrasing enhance the lyrics of these (mostly) slow, emotional songs, and a sense of melancholy pervades the album.



Christy's voice is no longer the sultry, silky instrument it once was. Her voice is worn--deeper and rougher, no longer that of a young woman--but the harsh edge and her obvious maturity give some of these songs a powerful, interpretive kick. "Everything Must Change," in which a sweet jazz flute (Bob Cooper) contrasts with her voice, has an anguish which I have never before heard in Christy's voice. "The Trouble With Hello is Goodbye," in which Jack Sheldon's trumpet plays a key role, reflects on time's changes, and as Christy sings "summer's not for evermore, no matter how we try, the trouble with hello is goodbye," there's an unmistakable note of finality when she says "goodbye."



"Autumn Serenade," despite its upbeat tempo, sounds world-weary, and "Angel Eyes," sung slower than usual, is darkly ironic. When, in the latter song, Christy quietly sings "have fun, you happy people, the drink's and the laugh's on me," the moment is moving in its poignancy. Though her voice has changed, Christy is stronger than ever in her jazz interpretations, and she uses the depth and edginess of her mature voice to build dramatic power. A memorable, final goodbye from Christy to her fans. n Mary Whipple

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