With Respect

Carmen Bradford | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 1995)
• Original Release Date: May 26, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Evidence
• ASIN: B0000014LU
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,077 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Even Steven

2. Mr. Paganini

3. Look Who's Mine

4. High Wire

5. Finally

6. Maybe Now

7. Little Esther

8. Ain't No Use

9. Was I In Love Alone?

10. He Comes To Me For Comfort

11. Nature Boy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carmen At Her Very Best!!!!, July 4, 2005

By 

Terry (Silver Spring, Md.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Respect (Audio CD)

I think that this is one of the best vocal jazz CDs of the past 10 years or more. It is a shame that Carmen Bradford does not get more recognition. She carries on the tradtion of Sarah Vaughan and Ernestine Anderson so very, very well. The tracks that stand out to me are;
"Even Steven"= a Cedar Walton original that features an incrdible arrangement and stellar accompaniment to Carmen's
flawless sense of time and swing.
"Mr. Paganini"- You don't hear this one done much at all. The version here will knock your socks off.
"High Wire"- Chick Corea wrote this tune and recorded it with Chaka Kahn (believe it or not- another great CD by the way). This version contains just as many thrills.
"Maybe Now"- Excellent original ballad accompanied by solo piano as only the great Cedar Walton can.
The rest of this record I find to be among the best vocal music I have heard for years. Do yourself a favor and buy this disk....

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Sleep on Carmen!!, May 13, 2004

By 

"Bl'acktress" "jetblackviolet" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: With Respect (Audio CD)

Carmen Bradford's voice is a delicious blend of Natalie Wilson and Ella Fitzgerald if that is even possible to listen to without blowing your mind. From start to finish this albulm is superb, each song outdoing the next. My only criticism is that when covering Mr. Paginini she copies Ella's version scat for scat. You can't copy scat(you can but you shouldn't)it should be individual and spontaneous. With that said this album stirs the soul and should be a part of any vocal jazz lover's collection.

4.0 out of 5 stars Carmen Bradford Tears Up the Joint, May 19, 2011

By 

Gary L. Connely (Hercules, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: With Respect (Audio CD)

Carmen Bradford has been tearing up jazz joints for more than 30 years. She did a nine year stint as the "girl singer" for the Count Basie Band in the '80's. She's worked with everybody from Frank Sinatra, to James Brown, to Tony Bennett, to Willie Nelson and has been involved in Grammy winning projects with Count Basie and George Benson. She is also an educator and has taught "jazz vocals" at such prestigious schools as USC. She cut her first solo album in 1992 and "With Respect," her second solo record, in 1995.

Ms Bradford has a very clean, finely etched and brassy contralto voice with, and I'm guessing here, a 3+ octave range. She articulates clearly and phrases well. She is, as my dear old departed Daddy used to say, a "belter." She can handle a ballad with ease, but it doesn't take much encouragement for her to crank it up, (if I have one small complaint with this album, it's that Ms Bradford sometimes shouts when a whisper would work even better). If you want to get the party started on Friday night, Ms Bradford is your Lady....

"With Respect" is a set of 11 songs featuring some interesting choices: a bossa nova treat, "Look Who's Mine," a blues inflected "Ain't No Use," and Chick Corea's "High Wire," (with lyrics by Tony Cohan). I don't find Ms Bradford's version of "Mr Paganini (You'll Have to Swing It)," to be nearly as derivative as some of the other reviewers think it is, (but hey, if you're gon'a copy somebody, you can do a lot worse than Ella Fitzgerald). The album also includes "Nature Boy," which, along with "Dindi," is on my personal list of the two songs I would most like to NEVER hear again - but what the heck, that's why God made CD players programable.

Ms Bradford's band is outstanding: the great pianist Cedar Walton on most of the songs, (Donald Brown handles three cuts) - bassist James Leary and drummer Ralph Penland make up the rest of the rhythm section - and they're joined on various songs by Charles Owen on the flute and sax, guitarists Dori Caymmi, Micheal O'Neill and Wali Ali, Steve Nelson on vibes and percussionist Bill Summers.

The sonics are OK - Ms Bradford's voice is front and center and crystal clear - but the band is a little too far down in the mix for my taste - I'd like to hear more of Mr Walton's beautiful, understated piano work - but this won't detract from your listening pleasure.