mike.holmes's Full Review: Take Love Easy by Sophie Milman
"Take Love Easy" is the third Sophie Milman album and my third review of her music. Ms. Milman was born in Siberia but moved to Israel at 7 and on to Canada at 16. She listened to jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson and now sings with some of the finest jazz musicians around including Chick Corea, Chris Botti and the Manhattan Transfer.
Her second CD, "Make Someone Happy" won the Juno award for best vocal album of the year. She has received praises from all of the major jazz magazines and most reviewers. I like what an NPR review said about her:
she has..."a classic jazz voice that evokes smokey lounges, softly clicking glasses and the cool of the night."
She does indeed. Ms. Milman points out that the very concept of "Taking Love Easy" is quite different from her personality. She is constantly working and has toured many of the great venues over the last year including the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center, the Blue Note in NYC and just last month she toured her native Russia for the first time.
As Ms. Milman's cite points out, "almost all of the songs on this CD deal with ambiguity of love and life."
Sophie brances out to other genre composers on the album although she sings the songs in the jazz medium.
Joining Sophie on the album are her "regulars":
Paul Shrofel-pianist and musical director Rob Piltch-guitar Kieran Overs-bass Mark McLean-drums
Special guests on the album include Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson on sax, Guido Basso on trumpet, Robi Botos on piano and Michael Davidson on vibraphone.
The first song on the album, "BEAUTIFUL LOVE" was written by a quartet of Haven Gillespie, Wayne King, Egbert Van Alstyne and Victor Young. Sophie's smooth, sultry alto grabs me from the very first note which she sings with Overs' bass only. The smokey bar room atmosphere connects immediately. After a few bars, the tempo increases and the rest of the rhythm section joins in. Shrofel plays a fine piano solo before the first tempo returns and Sophie again wows me with her beautiful voice.
Next up is the title cut, "TAKE LOVE EASY" by Duke Ellington and John Latouche. Here, Sophie opens with a scat over McLean's pounding drums before she moves into the lyrics with the guitar and bass joining in. This is not one of the better known Ellington songs but it sounds great here. P.J. Perry plays a sweet soprano sax solo before Sophie comes back in and finishes with a romantic touch.
Cole Porter's "I CONCENTRATE ON YOU" has been covered countless times. Sophine dedicates the song to an unnamed special man in her life. Along with her gorgeous vocal, there's a beatiful alto sax solo from "Warmdaddy" who has played with Wynton Marsalis for years. The song has a gentle Latin twist and rivals many of the greater versions of the song from the past.
"DAY IN, DAY OUT" by Rube Bloom and Johnny Mercer is another standard. The song opens with a drum solo backed by a horn section and then Sophie sings the song at a rapid tempo that showcases her jazz-singing ability. Her phrasing here reminds me a little of Sarah Vaughan as does her full powerful voice. Warmdaddy again shines on an alto solo.
Joni Mitchell's "BE COOL" is not a song heard on many jazz albums (if ever). Sophie does not try to sound like Joni but she manages to communicate the song's message just as effectively: control your emotions which Sophie says she sometimes has a problem doing. Sophie, along with a "cool" rhythm section and a fine muted trumpet solo by Canadian Guido Basso proves the song belongs on a jazz CD.
"MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE" by Robert Mellin and Guy Wood opens with a plaintive guiter solo by Rob Piltch. This song is another standard that isn't performed all that often. Here, Sophie sings it with a passion that brings to mind the romantic vocals of yesterday and there's a nice touch by Tom Szczesniak on accordion. I can see this song fitting perfectly into a romantic film soundtrack.
"I CAN'T MAKE YOU LOVE ME" by Mike Reid and Allen Shambln has what Sophie calls "pop sensibilities." As performed here, however, the song is a sensitive reminder of what a jazz singer can do with almost any song. The lyrics concern a "complete surrender that is heartbreaking" according to Sophie. Her voice here has a "trimbling" aspect that adds to the emotional content.
I'm going to stop here with individual discussions of the songs on this remarkable album.
The other songs are all wonderful:
"THAT IS LOVE" by Paul Shrofel and Sharada Banman-although the song is "new", it has a classic feeling to it
"LOVE FOR SALE"-Cole Porter-sung and played with some interesting Latin twists-sultry Sophie at her best!
"I'M ON FIRE" by Bruce Springsteen-the "Boss" song is slowed down and re-harmonized and is flatout gorgeous
"TRISTE" by Antonio Carlos Jobim-beautiful arrangement of another great Jobim standard
"50 WAYS TO LEAVE A LOVER" by Paul Simon-I've always loved this song but never thought I'd hear it on a jazz album-here, the song is fairly "straight" in part but includes some great Afro-Cuban work on the choruses
"WHERE DO YOU START" by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Johnny Mandel is not only one of the most beautiful songs ever written, it's one of the most moving, emotional songs. Sophie's treatment with her pianist Shrofel gives me cold chills
Sophie Milman is planning a tour of the U.S. If you are anywhere near where she sings, treat yourself and your significant other and catch her show.
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