Make Believe

John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 2004)
• Original Release Date: October 5, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: P.S. Classics
• ASIN: B0002WZSEO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,719 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
With her combination of jazzy cool and kittenish charm, it's probably safe to say that Jessica Molaskey has entered the realm of "phone book singers," i.e., those who you'd pay to hear vocalizing anything. As anyone who remembers her "Stars and the Moon" from Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World knows, Molaskey made her name in musical theater, and it's those roots she returns to in Make Believe after her previous solo albums covered the Depression era and '50s jazz. That includes chestnuts like "All That Jazz," which though familiar and obvious, still sound great, and representations from Broadway's new generation: Adam Guettel duets on Rodgers and Hart's "Glad to Be Unhappy," Brown arranges a frenetic combination of the Lambert Hendricks and Ross favorite "Cloudburst" and Stephen Sondheim's "Getting Married Today," and Ricky Ian Gordon cowrote with Molaskey "Cradle and All." As usual, husband-guitarist John Pizzarelli accompanies and vocalizes on a couple tunes, and Sondheim's gorgeous "So Many People" is another highlight. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
Her debut album, Pentimento, put a jazzy spin on Depression-era standards; the Boston Globe proclaimed, "Slide over, Jane Monheit, and make room on the retro-vocals bench; Jessica Molaskey has arrived!" Her next CD, A Good Day, took off from the song stylings of Peggy Lee; Jazz Times cheered, "She fills each breath with a sensuous charm and a torchy hint of k.d. lang twang." But Jessica Molaskey is a Broadway baby at heart, with scores of shows to her credit. Now, for the first time, she turns her attention to a dozen great theatre standards and, with guitarist-husband John Pizzarelli at her side, infuses them with her own jazzy style and sass. It's 42nd Street meets 52nd Street, as she puts it in her liner notes. You've heard these songs before, but never with the twists devised by Jessica and the Pizzarelli clan..Songs include: I Can't Say No, Guys and Dolls, Make Believe, Step Sister#s Lament, Glad to Be Unhappy, Hey, Look Me Over, So Many People, Cloudburst/ Getting Married Today, Growing Pains, All That Jazz, Right as the Rain, You#re a Builder Upper, Cradle and All, Goodnight My Someone

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Molaskey Sings and Broadway Swings, October 20, 2004

By	Robert Ray (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On her 3rd CD effort, Jessica Molaskey reaches back to her Broadway beginings and puts a Spin, a Shine and a Swing on such old chestnuts as "I Can't Say No", "Guys and Dolls", "Hey Look Me Over" and my persoanl favorite, "Stepsister's Lament".

And when she joins with hubby/producer/guitarist John Pizzarelli, the two go after the brilliant arangement of "Cloudburst/Not Getting Married" as if they were trying to set an Olympic record for "lyrics per minute." It cooks!

Her rendition of "All Tha Jazz" is reminiscent of the Depression Era pathos that surfaced in her 1st hit CD, "Pentimento"...only this time Molskey gets to show off a touch of that marvelous high-belt voice that has keep her employed on Broadway for years. But make no mistake - this is no "I can outsing all the other Divas"...no this is pure Hip, pure Cool and pure Jazz.

"Cradle and All" not only proves Molaskey's prowess in turning a phrase, but is to this writer the most poiginant omage to adolescent dreams and family disappointments to be penned since A Chorus Line's "At the Ballet".

"Make Beleive" hasn't been out of my CD player for a week - give it a listen - you won't be sorry!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, April 25, 2005

By	Anonymous "booksandcookies" (Charleston, IL USA) - See all my reviews

And a terrific singer! I'm so glad to have learned about Jessica Molaskey and am enjoying all three of her CDs. She has a delightful style - a singer who "acts", or vice-versa. It's a quality that made Barbra Streisand so special and extraordinary - well, that and her fabulous voice. Jessica Molaskey can do those things and she can really swing, too and has a sweet jazzy side. Her husband, John Pizzarell and father-in-law Bucky have long been favorites,but Ms Molaskey is a new discovery for our family and we like her! Bucky's other son/John's brother is also a standout musician in the "family business" - what fun family gatherings must be in that family!
This CD, and her others, are great - you find yourself dancing, singing along,or being quiet and listening closely, just really enjoying music. By the way, I think Jessica Molaskey's version of "Goodnight My Someone" is stunning.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An actress who sings jazz well, April 7, 2005

By	Rick Cornell "RC" (Reno, Nv USA) - See all my reviews

There are two categories: jazz singers who do Broadway tunes; and actresses who sing jazz. Examples of the former category would be Janis Siegel ("Sketches of Broadway") and Mel Torme ("Swings Shubert Alley"). Examples of the latter would be Lena Horne, and more recently, Jessica Molaskey with this album.

Frankly, I'm partial to the former category, basically because the arrangements are more interesting. (Listen to Tierney Sutton's "Show Me", for example, or Rene Marie's "Where or When", and you'll hear what I mean) But Jessica Molaskey, who for years has been a singing actress, is at the top of the latter category and creates a very fine album with "Make Believe".

Frankly, I'm stuck between a "high four" and a "low five" with this; but I wouldn't be if every cut were as good as the album's highlight, or a medley featuring Jon Hendricks' "Cloudburst." Here, John Pizzarelli does the vocalese honors of the famous jazz song, while Ms. Molaskey matches him lickety-split lick for lickety-split lick on Sondheim's "Getting Married Today." Together, they make the tune a wonderful "Do/Don't Get Me to the Church on Time" duality at warp speed. A terrific performance of a terrific arrangement.

But there's other good stuff here, too. "So Many People" and "Cradle and All" are wonderful ballads, while "Stepsister's Lament" and "You're a Builder Upper" are witty uptunes. And Ms. Molaskey shows her considerable dramatic chops with reads of Ado Annie's "I Cain't Say No" as the set-opener, and Marian the Librarian's "Goodnight My Someone" as the set-closer.

So, here's the bottom line: if you like show tunes, you should love this. If you like jazz singers, this one will grow somewhat on you. Either way, it's worth at least a listen. RC