I Was Born in Love with You: Jessye Norman Sings Michel Legrand

Jessye Norman (Artist), Michel Legrand (Composer), Ron Carter (Performer), Grady Tate (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Ron Carter, Grady Tate
• Composer: Michel Legrand
• Audio CD (February 8, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00004C4Q3
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Just in case the name of Michel Legrand is not familiar, he is the composer of the infuriatingly catchy "The Windmills of My Mind" (actually "The Windmills of My Heart" in the original French) and all the songs in Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, the charming Catherine Deneuve film musical. The material on this disc ranges from the smoky melancholy of "Je vivrai sans toi" ("I Will Live Without You") to the hyperbolic camp of "Celui-là" ("The One") but mainly hovers in the realm of anguished longing. Jessye Norman uses the material to show off the extraordinary range and flexibility of her voice. She slips between a pure, almost boyish sound and a full-throated luxurious warble with ease. But idiomatically she may not be to everyone's taste: for the most part this is the musical territory inhabited by the Billie Holidays of the world, and Norman's technique puts her at a disadvantage. Michel Legrand in his role as pianist is another matter, however. His carefully nuanced accompaniments flow with improvisatory ease, and inspire some great moments from the bass and drums. --Warwick Thompson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In fact, I like it!, March 5, 2000

By 

AVEN (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Was Born in Love with You: Jessye Norman Sings Michel Legrand (Audio CD)

I also own "Lucky to be Me" and I actually find this album to be much more acceptable. Ms. Norman's crossover is quite refreshing and believe me, it is a lot better than most of classical singers who tried (except for EILEEN FARRELL, who is the best when it comes to crossover). If you are looking from the point of classical singing, you will definitely be awed at the fantastic flexibility and voice of Ms. Norman; but if you are looking from the point of popular or jazz singing... well, this is not the best album...but I do not think that it was meant to be compared with other popular or jazz album anyway.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent !, September 7, 2009

By 

Ann Marinus "Robert47" (Wilrijk, Belgium) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Was Born in Love with You: Jessye Norman Sings Michel Legrand (Audio CD)

The music of Michel Legrand and Jessey Norman's voice : a wonderful combination of quality and craftmanship. I admire those two musicians for many years in their own field, but now together, stunning !

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime, Incandescent, December 1, 2006

By 

Alfred Junior Smith (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Was Born in Love with You: Jessye Norman Sings Michel Legrand (Audio CD)

Like most of the reviewers here, this album has given me countless hours of sublime pleasure. It's pure gold. This collaboration embodies a wonderful honesty, authenticity, subtlety, and incandescence...qualities that are very rare nowadays. It's a must have for anyone who appreciates the subtle, sublime and the unpretentious. This album simply could not be better.

The silly comments made by the the first reviewer is an unfortunate testament to the murderous mediocrity of the common palate. The macdonaldization of the collective palate renders most of us incapable of appreciating anything but the expected.

Both Norman and Legrand were simply sublime.