Customer Reviews

Easy Living

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"easy living" has the feel, the texture, of a live performance and a live performance by AHC is a very special thing.

Ms. Callaway's smooth voice and great range, coupled with arrangements of standards we all know, somehow make all these songs sound brand new. This was my first experience with Ann Hampton Callaway, but after listening to this CD, it will not be my last. What a great piece of work!

I have all Ann Callaway's recordings, including those where she's only recorded one or two cuts on a collection, and this is her best. Consistently involving and intelligent, exceptionally well engineered. If you like this, try Sibling Revelry with her sister, Liz Callaway.

Ann Hampton Callaway has managed to issue another great recording blending an old time cabaret sound, classic songs, jazz background, modern recording quality and her stellar talent and voice. She seems to bounce her way through the lyrics and impart the jubilation, pensiveness or whatever other emotion is called for by the text.

I like some of her other recordings better but there is nothing about this one which is unlikable. It is, in a word, GREAT!

"Skylark" in particular deserves to be singled out for praise. She was singing MY song.

I think that Ann Callaway that no other artists in her class have , that's clarity, and her music comes from within not just from her voice.
Every type of music I have from here never disappoints me.
She has few boundaries that I have heard..
She is a Classic Lady who is into her music and you can feel it as she reaches out to bring something new in her talent bag to you!!!!
I enjoy all of her music.

There are no dud tracks on this CD. For me, my favourite tracks are "Bluesette" and "It Had To Be You". It is refreshing to listen to a female jazz singer who is so strong in the upper register. Can she scat? Oh yes! She's also prepared to take risks. Ann and the band performed together during this recording session (not in separate booths). It was in effect a live performance, which gives it that spontaneous feel so important to jazz, for it to be genuine.

this is a great cd by ann hampton callaway - the tunes are classic and she sings beautifully with a variety of musicians. if you enjoy listening to ella, you'll enjoy "easy living".

I was introduced to Ms. Callaway's work through Music Buddha. Delicious. Her voice is as smooth as butterscotch. Rich overtones topped with a knowing smile, much like Ella at her best. I can't wait to hear more.

"Spontaneous and smart, romantic and exuberant, intimate and fun, Easy Living is the kind of jazz that made jazz popular music, when Nat Cole and Ella Fitzgerald were making records and they were made like this one. I can't think of many singers today who have the surety and talent to pull it off." ~ David Hadju, March 1999 ~

Recorded and released in 1999, "Easy Living" is one of the most impressive vocal jazz albums ever produced. It deserves to be in any vocal jazz lover's music collection. Many thanks to producers Warren Schatz and Lisa Schiff for this first-rate project. The magnitude of this recording lies not only in Ann Hampton Callaway's remarkable vocal style but also the presence of some of the renowned musicians in the history of jazz--Kenny Barron, Benny Green, Bill Charlap (piano), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Lewis Nash, Clarence "Tootsie" Bean (drums), Peter Washington, Neal Miner (bass), Jim Saporito (percussion), Nelson Ranger (alto sax/flute), Andy Farber and Gerry Niewood (tenor sax).

Singing with passion and emotional honesty is Ann Hampton Callaway's greatest musical attribute. To be able to interpret everblooming standards such as "The Very Thought of You," "'Round Midnight," "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "In A Sentimental Mood" in a fashion that will surely make an impact to the listeners is not easily attainable by just mere singing. It takes a great deal of vocal flair to pull it off effortlessly. And she does justice to these songs through her intensified renditions. Her reading of "In A Sentimental Mood" would have made songwriters Duke Ellington, Manny Kurtz and Irving Mills so proud. With the backing of Bill Charlap's flawless chops on Steinway piano, Tootsie Bean's drums, Neal Miner's bass and Wynton Marsalis' terrific trumpet solo, she stamped her signature on this brilliant interpretation and made it her own.

This is one of the loveliest CDs in my collection that I don't normally listen once but with a few repeats in one sitting. It's worth the time...and time well-spent it is. With my heartfelt recommendation. You'll love it as much as I do.

This is be a first for me, buying a cd by A.H.C. I must report that I haven't been disappointed with this jazz singer. Ann really has the voice and style to sound perfect for this venue. I can see now why see has so many fans, she really entertains her listener.

The only dark spots I find about this cd is these few things. For one, I thought the song selection could have been a little better and two, I didn't like some of her tracks where she scatted. I thought her band gave a good performance.

I will plan to buy more of Anns' product in the near future.