Customer Reviews

Let Me Off Uptown

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

 

 

In last year's review of "Talk of the Town", I likened Ms. Bentyne's effort to an ice skater: I said that she proved there that she could do a fine single axle; but I knew she could do a triple toe loop, and I was looking forward to her next album where she (hopefully) would do that.

What can I say: Here's that triple toe loop! This album is sensational.

Whereas that album was a sort of directionless group of standards, this is an album of songs made famous by Anita O'Day, sung in Ms. O'Day's style. Precious little scatting; but a lot of bending and reshaping of lyrical lines. Check out "Tea for Two", done at warp speed, for example. Wow!

And to my ears, I vastly prefer Cheryl Bentyne to Anita O'Day. The way she caresses songs like "Little Boy Blue" and "Waiter, Make Mine Blues" is just heavenly. Her voice is just so smooth, in a way that few singers' voices are.

And something about this project got to everybody. All of the musicians seemed to drive it up a notch. The whole album sounds sensational.

This is one of the best of the year, so far, and rates a solid 5 any year. Highly recommended. RC

I have the wonderful opportunity to write my own thoughts on this new CD by the amazing Ms. Bentyne. Here, she pays a long-overdue homage to the divine Miss O - Anita O'Day, by selecting from the very best of her repretoire.

From the opening title track "Let Me Off Uptown," where Jack Sheldon brilliantly captures the essence of Roy Eldridge's contribution to the original, to the closing "Waiter Make Mine Blues," and everything else in between, Cheryl brings her superb talents (on display for many years both solo and with the Manhattan Transfer) to the fore.

Kudos to Mr. Corey Allen for his insightful arrangements and playing, and to the amazing Bill Holman for his brilliant horn charts. Cheryl is one of the few singers who can do justice to the music of this still surviving grande dame of jazz. This rates much more than 5 stars (maybe 100)in my book!!

Some really good stuff here. Skylark and A Man with a Horn two of the best. Back up musicians first rate. Will be looking for more Cheryl Bentyne music with anticipation. She may become my favorite female jazz vocalist.

This latest release by Cheryl is a worthy successor to last year's stellar "Talk of the Town," which was, in my opinion, the best female jazz vocal album of the year. "Let Me Off Uptown" might be considered no less indispensable, especially given the importance of the muse who inspired it: Anita O'Day. If a "tribute album" really means what it promises, this one is inarguably successful. It's even led to my holding Anita in higher esteem as a major if not seminal jazz voice in the '40's, '50's, and '60's.

In comparing Cheryl's versions to the originals, what I particularly noticed was the "grain" in Anita's voice, a slight huskiness betraying every one of the hard knocks she experienced as a hard-swinging, hard-living diva. Moreover, despite her utterly unique way of fracturing syllables and displacing accents at fast tempos, you understand every word. She's at once "kittenish" and "dangerous," a potential wild cat whose femme fatale persona is not the least of her attractions.

By contrast, Cheryl's smooth and effortless elocution, especially in combination with that bell-like, honeyed, infectious sound (dig those little trumpet-like shakes at the end of her phrases), has its own irresistible appeal. Hers is a voice that "lights up" a room like no other singer currently on the scene. And if you need additional reasons to add this one to the small but thankfully growing number of Bentyne solo recordings, there are the arrangements of the legendary Bill Holman, the contributions of savvy veterans like Lanny Morgan and Pete Christlieb and, above all, an appearance by the redoubtable Jack Sheldon, who sounds as good on trumpet here as he does on some recordings he made almost 50 years ago. In fact, he's to Roy Eldridge what Cheryl is to Anita--not a clone but a state-of-the-art original who nonetheless represents a vital tradition.

(The primary reason I've withheld a star is to encourage listeners to pick up some Anita O'Day--"Anita Sings the Most," "Pick Yourself Up," "Anita Sings the Winners" are all good starts--as well as Cheryl's own "Talk of the Town" ahead of this sterling successor.)

Had I not heard "Talk of the Town", her previous CD, I'd have said that this is one great release. But though her voice is still incomparable, the songs selected are not quite as sparkling as on that earlier CD. Some of the problem may be that this is a tribute to Anita O'Day and the style may not be the best fit for Bentyne. Favorites on this CD are Whisper Not and Waiter, Make Mine Blues. The biggest disappointment though, was to find out that she's married to the hairy brute who produced the CD. Oh well...

It is very hard not to like this disc if you enjoy female vocal jazz from the classic genre.

Having been recommended Cheryl Bentyne's music, I almost grabbed Talk of the Town but something swayed me to choose "Let Me Off Uptown." I'm glad it did. She has a wonderfully brassy, sassy, sultry voice, that seems to move around from song to song as if floating. It doesn't hurt that the music backing her up is first-rate. The song selection is commendable, bouncing around as it does from up-tempo to cabaret. Lots of good horn work too. All around Ms. Bentyne is a class act and her voice is certainly one of the best in jazz/pop right now.

The songs chosen here were made famous by others. The title song, for example, was made famous by Anita O'Day, Roy Eldridge and the Gene Krupa Band back in the 40's. At that time singers had a hard time keeping up with the band. Anita was one of the first singers to not only keep up with the tempos, but make them sound relaxed, easy and full of fun. All the while she'd still be kissing every bar line right on the money - but so sweetly you hardly noticed she did it. Let Me Off Uptown: The Best of Anita O'Day

Cheryl is no O'Day and unfortunatly it is much the same with the other songs. It is a pity because Cheryl does have a pleasant voice, and she does her best to make the songs fun. But song after song I couldn't help comparing her with the original singers. Naturally two singers are never the same, but in this case it is more than just a matter of different styles. I started to notice that Cheryl occasionally had some slight difficulties controlling her voice, was forcing the rhythm slightly here and there, and once in a while her notes were slightly sour. I don't think I would have noticed these flaws if she had sung some other group of songs, but... well, in this case I did.

On the positive side, you can tell she really likes these songs and enjoys singing them. That comes through and somewhat makes up for the other things. In the end, however, I would recommend you listen to the originals. They are not only technically better, but they have more style and emotion.