Customer Reviews

Dooji Wooji

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When it comes to captivating, swinging vocals and witty lyrics few can hold a candle to Lorraine Feather. Her latest contribution Dooji Wooji is her best effort to date! Whether it is a hilarious rapid-fire tale of a female runner in her song" Indiana Lana" or the opener "Calistoga Bay," a swinger backed by a big band, Lorraine leaves no doubt that she is a singer whose lyrics will stand up and grab your attention.

Melodies on this CD compliment her lyrics. "Remembering to Breathe" is a graceful, sentimental ballad
on the lessons learned when young ladies take ballet. The snappy "Cicada Time" reminisces about the
seventeen year cycle of these noisy insects. There is irony in the swinging "Shameful" and warmth in the
sensuous "On the Esplanade." The floating vocals of Lorraine matched with a 1929 instrumental by Duke
Ellington in "Tryin' to Get Over" is just one of four pairings between these two.

In "I Know the Way to Brooklyn" the singer is able to kill the worst case of blues with her wit. The bluesy
and sensuous "Sweet Honolulu" has a solid boogie-woogie vamp to carry the listener through. Clever and
delightful lyrics matched with her vocals and the contributions of her collaborators make Dooji Wooji an
outing with Lorraine Feather that will entertain and stand the test of time!

Here, in the early 21st Century, jazz singing seems to have evolved (devolved?) into white chanteuses singing swing-styled numbers: Diane Schuur, Diane Kraal, Madeleine Peyroux, Dena DeRose and Lorraine Feather among them. Of course, however, there is a wealth of talent difference between them, as well as a sliding scale of listenability. Schuur and Kraal, for instance, have (to my ears) unpleasant voices but swing like mad; Peyroux, though she plays fine jazz guitar to accompany herself, basically does the most letter-perfect Billie Holiday imitation I have ever heard (though I do love her versions of "Was I?" and "Dance Me to the End of Love"); and DeRose is, far and away, the greatest overall female jazz talent we have seen since the flowering of Toshiko Akiyoshi, sort of a modern-day feminine Nat King Cole.

Lorraine Feather, daughter of one of the most famous jazz critics of the past century, grew up wealthy and wanting nothing. She also grew up totally immersed in jazz, as well as somewhat lonely and remote. As the child of a famous jazz scribe, something great was expected of her, a talent that did not blossom for many years. As someone who received, in her own words, "brains but not beauty," she was socially ostracized in the exclusive schools she went to, often isolated during her growing-up period.

But Lorraine has triumphed, and in a way that I'm not sure her famous father would have envisioned. She has become an excellent jazz singer - more on her quite unique style in a moment - but, more importantly, she has become the single greatest writer of vocalize lyrics in the entire history of jazz. There is not a single track on this album that does not contain brilliant, touching, funny or wry lyrics; and Feather is not only adept at re-imaging the music of Duke Ellington (five numbers on this CD alone) or Fats Waller: seven pieces here are original numbers written for her to "play with," and they inspire some of her finest words (pride of place, for me personally, goes to "Remembering to Breathe").

Lorraine's style lies somewhere between the straight-but-swinging style of any number of jazz singers (Carmen MacRae, Lee Wiley, Rosie Clooney, etc.) and the more varied improvising of singers like Ella, Sarah, Connee Boswell or Sheila Jordan. She has evolved a style that eschews scatting or overt pushing of the voice; her tone rides effortlessly on the breath, wrapped totally around the lyrics and projecting an inner warmth that is far more attractive than the swinging-but-brassy style of Schuur. In short, there are moments when the listener suddenly realizes, to his or her surprise, that Lorraine Feather sounds like no one else. And yes, that IS a compliment.

This disc is very highly recommended. I loved every single track except the last one - a little too sedate of a closer for my taste, and the weakest music on the disc, but not weak enough to warrant my giving it less than 5 stars.

Miss Feather has three magnificent talents.
First, an awesome gift for incredibly zany and intelligent lyrics that blend seamlessly with marvelous music.
Second, a great voice with perfect timing, enunciation and amazing precision.
Third, the ability to attract and collaborate with an incredible number of tremendous song writers and hot musicians.

Between her excellent work pulling gems out of Ellington's archives and her great interaction with some of today's best, she continues to create awesome tracks.

From the very tender sweetness of "Remembering to Breathe" to the runaway antics of "Indiana Lana"; from the wild entomology-meets-jazz piece "Cicada Time" to the fully believable "I Know the Way To Brooklyn", Ms. Feather has put together a marvelous treat. I found myself yearning to join the party on Calistoga Bay. There is nothing shameful about this album but one song title; Lorraine Feather is definitely NOT tryin' to get over on us, and when you listen in, you'll be happy you were there.
I guarantee that you will marvel at the skill level of all those involved in this splenid project.

Bravo!!

When Billie Holiday is your godmother, the trickle-down effect is inevitable. In fact, you almost expect Lady Day to show up on "Dooji Wooji" for a guest vocal. Feather, an extraordinary lyricist and vocalist, has crafted a musical time capsule that takes you back to the Big Band era. Her jazz is old school, filled with swingin' rhythms, playful lyrics and sweet singing. And she's no slouch at vocalese (the art of writing lyrics to an instrumental jazz song). The first track, "Calistoga Bay," turns Duke Ellington's "Harlem Air Shaft" into a playful romp that's such a perfect fit, it's hard not to imagine Sir Duke and Lady Feather banging it out at the piano together. Close your eyes, and you can picture Feather fronting a big band, singing into a boxy microphone and filling the dance floor.

It is quite evident that Lorraine Feather has a love affair going on with the music of Duke Ellington. Her last album, "Such Sweet Thunder" was all Ellingtonia; and her album before that, "Cafe Society", had a few Ellington cuts which were among the strongest ones on that album. But considering that Ellington was arguably the finest songwriter in jazz history, and Ms. Feather is (IMO) the top contemporary vocalese lyricist in jazz today, I hereby bless this musical marriage with a "You Go, Girl!"

And in that spirit, Lorraine Feather's newest, "Dooji Wooji", has 4 out of 12 cuts that are direct Ellington/Feather productions, and most of the rest sounds like the songwriter could have been The Duke. The whole album has a marvelous '30's-'40's feel about it, and its consistency makes it the best vocal jazz album of 2005 through the first 4 months of the year.

Lorraine Feather is an incredibly witty lyricist, and you hear her marvelous warp speed rhyming schemes in such tunes as "Indiana Lana", "Calistoga Bay" and "I Know the Way to Brooklyn." (I note that her lyrics don't sound early 20th century, however; I doubt that Duke's lyricists ever would have rhymed "Cicada" with "Yada-yada", or that they would have complained about not being able "to work the buttons on the damned remote"!) She is also a terrific singer, and best displays her vocal chops on one of the album's highlights, "On the Esplanade."

For me, the album's highlight is the last cut, "Happy You Were Here", which is the least "Duke-like" composition on the album. This works as a heartfelt eulogy to anyone or anything that ever mattered to you. (I understand that Ms. Feather wrote this song for her late dog. Works for me!) It is one of the finest original jazz ballads in years. A close second is "Remembering to Breathe", a song of which every budding ballerina or parent of one will smile and nod in immediate recognition of its sentiments.

Lorraine Feather is one of those artists who, right now, is in the groove. She doesn't seem capable of making a bad album. Buy this album and enjoy the ride, while it lasts. If I could give this 6 stars, I would. RC

I first heard Lorraine Feather's voice while driving in Seattle and listening to the jazz station. The song was "Remembering to Breathe". My first thought was "What a beautiful voice". Then I started listening to the lyrics -- at which point my second thought was "I've GOT to get this CD. This song is so poignant and captures the essence of both my occupation and my belief system". Now, how often does that happen? To be honest, that song actually made me both cry and smile -- it was that beautiful. So, I took myself to the store, came out with "Dooji Wooji" and popped the CD into my car CD player. You know how, sometimes when you buy a CD for one song, the rest of the CD is just so-so? Not so with "Dooji Wooji". The ENTIRE CD is fantastic. Lorraine Feather's lyrics show sensitivity, heart, soul and a keen sense of humor. Her voice is superb -- so pure and rich -- you savor every single word. Then there's the arrangements and orchestrations. What an amazing group of musicians she has assembled -- Billy Elliott, Eddie Arkin, Shelly Berg, Russ Ferrante...I am now a huge fan and have since purchased other Lorraine Feather CDs, but it is "Dooji Wooji" that initially stole my heart. I will be giving this CD to my dearest friends for Christmas so that they too can experience hours of listening pleasure!

listening to internet jazz sites can not only be a great experience if you love jazz like i do but also can be an enlightening experience. especially when you discover an artist like lorraine feather. i am usually not a fan of original music i prefer standards but this cd is loaded with exceptional lyrics and great orchestral arrangements. from the whimsical calistoga bay and i know the way to brooklyn . her voice is as fresh as the country air and her broadway influence is evident in her lyrics. the most haunting beautiful song is HAPPY YOU WERE HERE which will become a standard for me i am sure its designed as a love song but i cant help but think of my late father when i hear it i listen to it over and over thanks lorraine for such a beautiful song .

Lorraine is just good, she is consistent also, When you pick up one of her CD's you know for sure that you are getting great talent from a wonderful artist.
Try any of her CD's, I'll bet you agree with me if you love Jazz and Blues female vocalists.

Despite the strange title this is a superior musical offering from this talented singer. The third cut is an especially
delicate and expressive piece.