Customer Reviews

Main Ingredient

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

 

 

This disc has the trademark Horn stylings, including her inimitable pace and phrasing. It is the most upbeat of her usually ballad-dominated discs, giving off a smoking heat and bluesy tinge that mark this record as unique amidst her notable ouevre. The immediacy of the recording process pays off in the feel of the album. She is a singer par excellence and a talented pianist. This disc is highly recommended.

Simply Shirley; simply excellent. A nice mixture of upbeat and downbeat tunes showcasing Shirley's extraordinary talents, instrumentally and vocally. If you like traditional jazz, you will not be disappointed by this CD.

Would it be her Debussy-like piano? Or the formula trio+voice with those downtempo lazy and full of silence tracks? Do you remember "Fever" as a song commonly and definitely associated to Peggy Lee or even Elvis Presley? Do you remember "The Look of Love" as a song timely linked to Sergio Mendes & Brazil'66 or even the composer Burt Bacharach rendition? Now listen to Ms.Horn's takes. There's also a delightful "Peel Me A Grape". Her formula is forever. All stars.

This is an incredible effort! The best Horn CD in my collection. Her version of "Look of Love" by far trumps the Krall version of the same name. I can best characterize the CD as bluesy, not over produced, and simply a palpable joy to listen to. The set up piece on track 1 just seems out of place given the ballad / rather maudlin context of the work. Highly recommended.

This home-made record is one of the best by Horn; it's fresh, modern... the version of The look of love is one of the best I've ever heard, and even Fever or All or nothing at all; it's a superb album, where Shirley plays piano wonderfully; I love all the songs on "The main ingredient", and I strongly suggest to buy this album.

Shirley Horn recorded this outing at her home with some of the top names in jazz and the result is smooth jazz-vocal CD with superb arrangements. It would be five stars, though, but Horn has a habit of making all selections sound the same with similar intonation and pitch. But what saves her here is a first-rate selection of tracks. This is dim the lights, quiet hour listening.

Respectful playing captures the kind of atmospherics female-vocal-driven jazz thrives on and Horn's honed smokiness compliments nicely, but some self-conscious delivery over what is at best moderately strong vocals has me doubtful of her reputation, as is the case with many overrated singers in the genre.