Search - Lorraine Feather :: Cafe Society

Terrific

Victor Vail | Rockville, MD USA | 07/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I tend to take chances on CDs - and almost always am disappointed. There may be one or two good tracks, but after listening to the CD all the way through, I'm done with it - I don't want to play it again.Not so with this CD.I bought "Cafe Society,", put it on the CD player - and now play it daily. It's such a true joy to listen to a singer and think to myself "Wow - this girl knows what she's doing." And she does.Instantly, you zero into her pitch. Her pitch is awesome - always accurate, never falters. Her vocal tone brilliantly clear. Her phrasing is intelligent - while still being emotional. Lorraine Feather is clearly someone who understands the female voice - and enjoys "playing" with it. She is someone - to put it simply - who loves "making music."Her lyrics are also terrific. There's plenty on this CD to adore & recommend - but my personal favorites: "Something Like My Own," "Love Call," "The Right Idea," & "Cafe Society."This is a wonderful, wonderful CD. In two words: Buy it!"

Some Magnificent Musical Moments

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 02/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After listening to the magnificent lyrical moments in Lorraine Feather's "Such Sweet Thunder" and "New York City Drag", I looked forward to more of the same with this album. But this one is a bit of a surprise: this album is likewise magnificent, but its magnificence is in the musical moments.



This is the best album I can think of for background vocals. The team of Morgan Ames, Randy Crenshaw, Michael Mishaw, Shelby Flint, Carmen Twillie, and Ms. Feather herself sounds gorgeous, and is perhaps the highlight of the entire album. They enhance the title cut, "Love Call", "Jungle Rhythm" (Ms. Feather's entry into the Disney tune sweepstakes, from "The Jungle Book II", and a very worthy one) and "Days of Old", and turn these into very special songs. Yet, the voices truly accompany Ms. Feather, rather than overpower her and steal her thunder. Good thing, because Ms. Feather is a terrific singer in her own right, and one who needs to be heard.



The whole album is full of subtle delights like that. I loved Ms. Feather's wordless vocalese on "Love Call", evoking the title of the song. "Something Like My Own" is a gorgeous duet with pianist David Benoit, which evokes that "I'm on the Outside Looking In" feeling beautifully. Equally as gorgeous is the "the more I see you, the more I want to see you" feeling of the set-ender, "The Way We Say Goodbye," complete with some beautiful fills by trumpeter Oscar Brashear. And the tom-tom beat with the voices and instruments bring an almost feral feeling to "Jungle Rhythm" and "Big Fun." Finally, this album has original Feather vocalese to my favorite Duke Ellington tune of all time, "Rockin in Rhythm", and for me is worth the price of the album alone.



Between the three albums, I'm very slightly partial to "Thunder" and "Drag." But that's like saying I'm slightly partial to amesthysts and rubies over tanzanite. If you like tanzanite at $12.95, I recommend this album to you. For that matter, I recommend all three. Lorraine Feather is just a terrific artist, and one who is criminally underrated to date. RC"

Our greatest contemporary lyricist?

Gary Coffrin | San Jose, California, USA | 01/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This music on Café Society is shimmering, sophisticated and delightful. Lorraine Feather gets kudos for assembling top west coast talent (Mike Lang, Peter Erskine, Oscar Bashear, etc.) and producing music that is always interesting to the ear. Ms Feather writes stunning lyrics for songs from various collaborators and for a couple Ellington compositions as well ("Rockin' in Rhythm" and "Creole Love Call"). Songs are mostly in a classic, pre-bop jazz style with acoustic instrumentation, although a few lean toward the sounds of soft, contemporary jazz.



Lorraine Feather is the daughter of Jane (former big band singer) and Leonard Feather, famous jazz critic, record producer and pianist/lyricist/composer. After some early theater jobs, Ms Feather sang with various jazz and rock bands. In the 1980's she sang with the vocal trio Full Swing and began writing lyrics. Her works were recorded by Patti Austin, David Benoit, Diane Schuur, Eric Marienthal and Cleo Laine, among others. In the 1990's, her lyrics for the songs of various television shows earned her seven Emmy nominations. More recently, Lorraine wrote the lyrics of songs in the movies Jungle Book II and Princess Diaries 2.



Ms Feather's vocal dexterity, clarity of diction and purity of tone will win over nearly anyone. She has the agility to tackle intricate passages at an insane pace, yet every word is easily understood. She has an unmannered sound. Her voice is not big and showy, but her range is large and her upper register in particular has purity and warmth. She reminds me of Susannah McCorkle in her attention to the lyric, but she uses almost no vibrato.



Album favorites? "We're Rocking in Rhythm" has speed and good cheer. "The Right Idea" has a delicate interplay with saxophonist Don Higgins. "Big Fun" is a rhythm driven number that I could image Peggy Lee singing. My appreciation for the slower paced numbers increased with each playing, in part because the arrangements are so well conceived.



Lorraine Feather is my candidate for today's best jazz lyricist. Her four CDs from 2001 to 2005 have set a new standard for intelligence and wit. Feather's inventive and sometimes humorous lyrics make her a worthy successor to Bob Dorough and Dave Frishberg. Like Jon Hendricks, she oftentimes composes words to challenging jazz instrumentals; however, unlike Hendricks, she usually writes her lyrics to pre-bop classic jazz. (Visit her website to download lyrics.)



Café Society contains superb singing, accompaniment and arrangements. Ms. Feather sings so well and attracts such strong collaborators that you might at first miss the brilliance of her lyrics. (I also highly recommend Feather's "New York City Drag" featuring the music of Fats Waller and "Such Sweet Thunder: Music of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.")"