Marlene VerPlanck - A New York Singer / It's How You Play The Game

Album: A New York Singer
Size: 134,7 MB
Time: 57:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1996
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Cabaret
Art: Front

01. Go Away, Little Boy (2:31)
02. Stairway To The Stars (3:43)
03. That Ole Devil Called Love (3:39)
04. Songbird (Thank You For Your Lovely Song) (3:21)
05. The Music That Makes Me Dance (3:52)
06. Why Shouldn't I (3:34)
07. By Myself Vocalize No.5 (2:22)
08. Isn't It A Pity (5:59)
09. Music Man (3:00)
10. I Looked At You (4:23)
11. Hey, Star (3:51)
12. Red And Yellow Flowers (2:29)
13. You Keep Coming Back Like A Song (5:42)
14. Hopscotch (1:04)
15. A Sure Thing (3:52)
16. Good Old Friends (3:47)

This CD mostly brings back a middle-of-the-road pop date featuring the beautiful voice of Marlene Ver Planck backed by a string orchestra arranged by Billy Ver Planck. The charts are sometimes overblown and more suited to Barbra Streisand than to Ella Fitzgerald although Marlene generally carries it off. But the program (which includes "Go Away, Little Boy," "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and "Hopscotch") is not significant from a jazz standpoint. Much better are five selections recorded especially for this reissue in 1995 for they swing a bit and match Ver Planck with a combo that often includes either trumpeter Joe Wilder or tenor saxophonist Phil Thompson. Marlene had continued growing as a singer during the intervening 15 years and the latter date finds her in fine form; pity that it oculd not have been paired with a jazz-oriented session. ~Review by Scott Yanow

A New York Singer

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Album: It's How You Play The Game
Size: 133,1 MB
Time: 56:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Cabaret
Art: Front

01. It's How You Play The Game (3:56)
02. I Got Lost In His Arms (5:01)
03. Be Careful, It's My Heart (3:55)
04. Easy To Love (2:10)
05. May I Come In (4:24)
06. My Man Benny (4:13)
07. Only Trust Your Heart (3:36)
08. I Wanna Be In Love Again (2:47)
09. The First Thing About You (2:30)
10. Love Looks Good On You (2:27)
11. Experiment (2:00)
12. Save You Love For Me (4:09)
13. The Jazz Buff (2:55)
14. Cocktails At Dawn (4:27)
15. Maybe It's The Moon (3:49)
16. All My Tomorrow's (4:10)

Marlene VerPlanck is a veteran singer who still has plenty to offer jazz fans after nearly a half century as a professional. Her vocals are consistently clear, mellow, and swinging in this program dominated by show tunes. But her choices aren't ones that have exactly been done to death at the start of the 21st century. She soars in the bright bossa nova scoring of "I Got Lost in His Arms," while her warmth is obvious in "Be Careful, It's My Heart." The singer's enthusiasm is contagious in "I Wanna Be in Love Again," while her playful scatting seems effortless in the buoyant "Love Looks Good on You." Her husband, Billy VerPlanck, contributed the arrangements and two originals, the lovely ballad "Cocktails at Dawn" and "It's How You Play the Game," the latter, unfortunately, stands out like a sore thumb due to the annoying (and unaccredited) electric keyboards. But the band is a superb one, featuring no fewer than six members of the exciting big band Diva: drummer Sherrie Maricle, alto saxophonist Karolina Strassmayer, clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Anat Cohen, pianist Chihiro Yamanaka, trumpeter Barbara Laronga, and bassist Norika Ueda. ~Review by Ken Dryden

It's How You Play The Game

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