A founding member of the vocal quartet
Manhattan Transfer and now an established solo artist as well,
Janis Siegel steps out as a leader on the Telarc label for a second time with a program that couldn't be more different from her last effort. Where
I Wish You Love found her delivering jazz-inflected renditions of classic pop tunes, on
Friday Night Special she leads an organ/tenor quartet through a set of more obscure material. Hammond organist
Joey DeFrancesco provides powerful support throughout, but is tastefully (and a bit uncharacteristically) self-effacing in his playing; tenor saxophonist
Houston Person, drummer
Buddy Williams, and alternating guitarists
Peter Bernstein and
Russell Malone round out the quartet.
Siegel shines brightest on the slow ballads and the sultry torch numbers; her rendition of
Eddy Arnold's "You Don't Know Me" is especially effective, as are her takes on "I Just Dropped By to Say Hello" and the
Harold Arlen composition "Ill Wind." She's a bit less convincing as a straight blues vocalist, and her tepid version of "My, How the Time Goes By" threatens to derail the proceedings early on. But by the end of the program, when she kicks into a delightful and surprisingly uptempo arrangement of "Misty," she has proved all over again why she's one of America's favorite jazz singers. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson