All too often, jazz vocalists make the mistake of limiting themselves to the most obvious standards. If they embrace the songs of
Cole Porter,
George Gershwin, or
Irving Berlin, they'll automatically choose only their best known songs and ignore some of their lesser-known ones. But stressing the obvious isn't a problem on
Cynthia's in Love. Joined by pianist
Mike Renzi, saxman
Bill Easley, trumpeter
Virgil Jones, guitarist
Jay Berliner, bassist
Jay Leonhart, and drummer Gary Tate (among others),
Cynthia Crane unearths some lesser-known pieces by well-known composers. "You're My Thrill" and
Duke Ellington's "Day Dream" are among the few songs on this CD that can honestly be called standards -- for the most part, the New York-based singer devotes her time to interpreting overlooked songs that were written or co-written by such greats as
George and
Ira Gershwin ("Changing My Tune"),
Sammy Cahn ("How Are You Fixed for Love," "Please Be Kind"),
Peggy Lee ("I'm in Love Again"), and others.
Crane's vocals are an intimate and enjoyable, if less than earth-shattering, mixture of jazz, pre-rock pop and cabaret, and
Renzi's arrangements are consistently tasteful.
Cynthia's in Love doesn't quite fall into the essential category, but if you're interested in hearing a collection of mostly underexposed songs by famous composers, it's worth picking up. ~ Alex Henderson