Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:30
Size: 177.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz, Poetry
Year: 1962/2014
Art: Front
[3:57] 1. Bellini
[4:30] 2. The Ballad Of The Water And The Flame
[3:31] 3. The Ass' Song
[5:17] 4. The Liberal Man
[3:45] 5. Johnny
[4:27] 6. Sick Man
[3:32] 7. Things
[0:50] 8. He
[3:10] 9. Go To The Wall
[5:25] 10. The Ballad Of The Ape And The Judge
[1:02] 11. The General
[2:58] 12. Western Ladies
[1:42] 13. Lithe Girl, Brown Girl
[2:07] 14. Steep Gloom Among Pine-Trees
[0:13] 15. Sometimes It's Like You're Dead
[1:54] 16. Drunk As Drunk On Turpentine
[1:43] 17. Wings Whirr By Moon And Midnight
[1:37] 18. Can You Trap Shadows Like This
[3:15] 19. Tonight, I Write Sadly
[3:00] 20. The Way You Look Tonight
[2:38] 21. I'm Beginning To Think You Care For Me
[2:17] 22. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
[3:11] 23. Everytime
[3:11] 24. The Song Is You
[2:44] 25. Jackie
[3:18] 26. The Time Was Right
[2:06] 27. I Want You To Be My Baby
English poet Christopher Logue wrote screenplays for Ken Loach and Ken Russell and appeared as Cardinal Richelieu in the latter’s The Devils. Jazz singer Annie Ross was the driving force behind the vocal group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. The two are uneasily paired in a Cherry Red’s set that reissues an album of Ross’ jazz adaptations of Logue’s poetry. Originally released in 1963, Loguerhythms‘ dozen tracks are supplemented by Logue’s own readings. The two vocalists’ deliveries could not be more different, and even though Ross is the headliner, the performing poet comes off better.
Ross’ set, recorded live with drummer Tony Kinsey’s jazz combo band begins with “Bellini,” a song in the vein of witty song play like Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top,” that namechecks Billie Holiday but also Ho Chi Minh and Jean-Paul Sartre. It’s an auspiciously playful start, but “The Ballad of the Water and the Flame” sinks the album quickly, its music and lyrics ponderous in lines like “With the water I drown Hell.” Loguerhythms gives this set its name, but it’s the weakest material here, lyrically witty but musically forced. That forced writing can come across in Ross’ phrasing, which strains to make vocal conversation out of poetry that doesn’t sound conversational at all. Ross was the star of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross because of her sex appeal, smarts and comic timing, the group’s sultry face and its most distinct musician. But her solo work shows that sometimes she needs a straight man or two.
Part of the problem is that Ross is singing music that rhythmically confines her. The vocal group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, whose vocalese repertoire took instrumental jazz compositions and wrote lyrics not just for the heads but for solos, was the best showcase for her talent. Their take on saxophonist Wardell Gray’s ‘Twisted” is classic vocalese that challenges Ross, who takes the role of lead instrument and rises to the occasion. Logue’s poetry constrains Ross, caging her rhythmic chops. The arrangements don’t help. The long “The Ballad of the Ape and the Judge” even resorts to a circus rhythm, then to nearly unaccompanied vocals which leave Ross out in the cold without a groove. This is more dramatic reading than jazz. Ross is a good actress – see her performance in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, but she’s only as good as her material, and Logue’s mannered language understandably gives Ross some trouble. Who would sound natural singing about an ape and a judge?
Logue’s own jazz version of his poetry, originally released on the 1959 EP Red Bird Jazz & Poetry, follows Ross’ set. His mannered delivery is accompanied by the same Tony Kinsey combo that backed Ross, but in a more relaxed setting. Logue’s style of dramatic readings with jazz accompaniment is not the kind of thing I seek out, but it suits his material more naturally than Ross’ Loguerhythms. Logue sounds like he’s leading the band, while Ross, uncomfortable with material that just isn’t right for her, too often sounds like the band leads her. On paper, a track like “Can You Trap Shadows Like This” sounds like it shouldn’t work. Logue performs an up-tempo reading of his poem over a bright jazz combo. The poet doesn’t have what anyone would call jazz chops, but he has good timing, and his confident interplay with the band makes it work better than anything in the headliner’s set.
Cherry Red packs the CD to run a generous 77+ minutes with Annie Ross performances of jazz standards with Gigi Gryce and other simpatico combos. This material is better suited to Ross’ gifts than the Logue material, but she still sounds curiously out of sorts. The version of “Jackie” included here lacks the confidence of the version Ross recorded with Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Annie Ross may be the marquee name on this set, but fans of Christopher Logue may find it more satisfying.
Loguerhythms
