Here's some love for sale just in time for Valentine's Day: love songs of Cole Porter with the story of his life and the story of his wife for a one-character stage piece ... Composer Harry Warren's trunk opens and melodies come pouring out, and get belated lyrics ... and two solo vocal CDs full of love songs, each having a classic Porter take on love and one by Warren.

LOVE, LINDA: THE LIFE OF MRS. COLE PORTER
ONE-WOMAN MUSICAL WITH STEVIE HOLLAND
ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM
150 Music

I guess it's hardly the traditional love relationship to look at as we round the corner to Valentine's Day: the long, platonic marriage between Southern socialite Linda Lee Thomas and songwriter Cole Porter, whom she knew to be actively gay, and who continued to write love songs to his men and find places for the songs in shows. But, as the character of Mrs. Porter says in the opening of this enjoyable album with her narration and the songs (sung by her), there are "all kinds of love." The included short spoken sections don't delve too deep into the personal and theatrical history or psychological make-up, mostly basking appreciatively in the highs of the high life of high society and success. When she mentions her abusive first marriage, the later falling out with Cole, and his horrific accident, they are not related with anguish of recollection, but rather more distanced matter-of-fact reportage. Emotion comes more in the singing. A lot of the talk has a similar tone and rhythm, a contentment and control, with the thick Southern accent and drawl almost overwhelming the content. These bare bones of the story will be a succinct Reader's Digest version of the history for those who haven't previously read a good Porter bio.

Seasoned singer Stevie Holland plays Linda and co-wrote the book with her husband, Gary William Friedman, the composer whose best-known theatre work is The Me Nobody Knows. He did the skillful, unfussy arrangements and orchestrations for the fine piano/bass/drums trio and composed the mood-setting underscoring heard in the spoken "Prelude." This is separately tracked, but the shorter commentary bits are not. Some of the singer's past recordings were in more of a cool, relaxed jazz vein, whereas her singing here is more theatrical and emotionally direct. Still attractively jazzy on some numbers, her varied singing also offers some vocalizing that is impassioned, sad, coy or reflective.

Nineteen Porter songs are here, some in medleys interspersed with narration, but most on their own. They punctuate or expand on the bit of bio setting them up. Some seem to be easier or more specific fits than others. Some, in these perspectives, take on new meanings. For example, there's new drama and a hint of loneliness suggesting the price of making peace with a relationship that will never include passionate romance or sex in "Let's Be Buddies." This number was originally presented on stage for the character of a little girl and the title character in Panama Hattie played by Ethel Merman. With a wistful slight pause and sense of begrudging acceptance, Stevie colors the lyric's words "buddies" and "pals." The usually covered-up-with-a-smile feelings come through on the line, "I may not always shout it, but many's the time I'm blue." A very effective and haunting "In the Still of the Night" is an emotional and vocal highlight as the singer struggles with the question, "Do you love me as I love you?"—it's painful because we and she know the answer. At least when heard on the disc, "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" seems out of place since its lyric is tied to being about a sugar daddy and a flirty woman. Likewise, "Love for Sale," the tale of a streetwalker, banned from radio play in its day.

"Wunderbar" from Kiss Me, Kate, a flourish-filled, grand mock operetta piece in its original 1948 intent, works here magnificently as real-feel reflection in a beautifully slowed-down, tender treatment. Beyond the better-known Porter songs, there are some rarer ones: "When a Woman's in Love" was unpublished; dated 1943, its source was a 1933 poem. As the play's final number, it gets the most intense and belted singing of all. We get part of "There's a Hollywood That's Good," cut from Silk Stockings, in the section about the highly fictionalized Hollywood bio pic of the Porter story, Night and Day. Love, Linda lets us see glimpses of the Porters through a new prism. And certainly any collection of songs by this great songwriter, so well done—or a new Stevie Holland album—would be welcome news. Her love for the love songs and the "love story" is palpable; she relishes the wit and wraps her voice and heart around the serious ones.

After a hiatus, Love, Linda with Stevie Holland returns to the stage of The Triad on West 72nd Street in Manhattan, playing every Wednesday starting March 3rd.

THE DAVID BERGER JAZZ ORCHESTRA
VOCALS: FREDA PAYNE, DENZAL SINCLAIRE
SING ME A LOVE SONG:
THE UNDISCOVERED STANDARDS OF HARRY WARREN
Such Sweet Thunder

With his music from the glory days of The Great American Songbook—hits on The Hit Parade, Academy Award winners and nominees, and songs for many movie musicals—Harry Warren was one of the major contributors. With songs including "At Last," "The More I See You," "September in the Rain," and the many memorable ones from the movie (later a hit Broadway musical) 42nd Street, it was a prolific career. David Berger and his Jazz Orchestra visited the hits in a prior CD, and their second chapter could easily have just been another drop in the bucket filled from that great well of song. Instead, they decided to find another Warren well—a hidden one. Like many songwriters, Warren had melodies that had been put aside for various reasons over the years, and with his heirs' support, the unknown are now becoming known.

One would wish for the swept-away cobwebs to reveal that these are his best, most brilliant and compelling melodies ever, things that can get under your skin and touch your heart deeply, or and set your feet tap-tap-tapping like never before. A further fantasy would bring along for the ride devastatingly beautiful lyrics or eminently quotable, notable clever ones. I can't say that we have that kind of stuff, but it's a happy discovery to have these mostly happy, catchy tunes with their blithe, easygoing lyrics. For those of us who admire the great writer's work and good, old-fashioned, well-constructed melodies, this is a discovery worth hearing and having, especially since it's all so solidly played and sung—and swung.

With the exception of the one number with a little-known lyric by Ira Gershwin, "There Is No Music," things are basically upbeat. That Gershwin collaboration is quite mournful. Although its rhymes don't have the expected freshness (we get arms/charms and smiled/beguiled), at least they are more in the order of internal, packed rhymes within the bigger picture and it's a well-crafted, if morose, straightforward lament that builds logically with its language and image choices. The song was intended for, but not used in, the 1949 movie musical The Barkleys of Broadway and was previously recorded by Christiane Noll and sung by Michael Feinstein. Except for the case of "There Is No Music," there were no lyrics. For those other melodies, Paul Mendenhall, a new name to me, is the lyricist. The liner notes make it clear they were aiming at evoking the songs of the past without making them self-conscious, winking pastiche. Without character or plot to write for, the words tend to be kind of general in their references to romances and feelings and attitude. (Some song titles were chosen because they were titles of movies that Warren wrote for but that didn't have a title song.)

The kick or smoothness of a jazz band, the gliding tones of vocalists suggesting the Big Band Era suit the material most of the time. Though many songs were unearthed, a decision was made to not stuff the CD with as many of them as possible, but to repeat five titles by having them as instrumentals as well as vocal versions. That may frustrate those who want as much of this belated bounty as possible. In some cases, with the band's tight, bright instrumentals, we become aware that the melodies are really more interesting and engaging than the lyrics. In any case, they stand up well on their own.

One of those heard instrumentally and vocally is "Hard to Get," which is hard to get picky about as it seems to be concocted just for fun. Conductor Berger collaborated on the lyric which is casually sung by one of the reed players, Matt Hong, with his bandmates joining in on the repeated title line. Otherwise, vocals are handled by two soloists. On the male side, there's Denzal Sinclaire, a velvety-voiced vocalist from Canada. You won't need the liner notes' observation that he seems influenced by the jazzier Nat King Cole, as that kind of sound and approach jumps out right away. But it's a welcome, appropriate style for the material and arrangements, occasionally sticky, but lightly hip for the ingratiating "Me and You." It's unapologetically sincere for "I'm Sorry," one lyric that does have a more satisfying use of language as it employs the word "sorry" in more than one way.

Female vocals are carried off with aplomb by veteran singer Freda Payne. She has recorded in various styles, in recent years returning to her roots in jazz, doing a terrific Ella Fitzgerald tribute show. That sound is here, as she sails through the melodies in a way very reminiscent of early Ella. Her best moment is the titular "Sing Me a Love Song" because she gets something a bit deeper to dig her romantic heels into, but she gamely zips through the cheer and sugar frosting elsewhere. She sounds great on all her tracks: energetic, burnished and buoyant.

The musicianship is fine throughout; the band snaps, crackles and pops along briskly, neatly punctuating and crisply stating the musical lines. The brassy sound—half of the sixteen players here are on trumpet or trombone—is lively and invigorating. Arrangements are generally quite accessible and direct, evocative of an earlier time without drowning in schmaltz or copycat-itis.

If any of the above sounds like a familiar tune, despite its being a January release/first recording of the material, it's because the Berger orchestra has presented them in concert, with a home in New York at Birdland. They move to Jazz at Lincoln Center for a March presentation of this material. It's growing on me, and I hope there'll be more on CD from the vaults.

TRISHA O'BRIEN
OUT OF A DREAM
Azica

Songwriters have found millions of ways to say "I love you," whether the feeling brings exultation, contentment, obsession or resistance, whether the love is requited or un-. Cole Porter's straightforward "I Love You," written on a bet by a friend who thought the tunesmith couldn't hack the hackneyed title and keep it simple or find a new vista into it, is here in Trisha O'Brien's love song collection. So is a yearning Harry Warren/Mack Gordon classic about someone whose romantic feelings haven't been returned by the object of her affections, "I Had the Craziest Dream." Her Porter song finds her at peace as she delights in "April breeze" and "golden dawn." That "Craziest Dream" doesn't seem to be driving her too crazy at all, perhaps softened by relishing it while it lasts. (It's combined with the awestruck worshipful oldie that is suggested by the CD's title, "You Stepped Out of a Dream").

Here in her second CD, the songstress sounds rather laidback and relaxed no matter what the lyric states. Nothing seems to ruffle her mellow mood too much at all. More variety and involvement on the songs that have emotional struggle at their (broken) hearts would help. "Help Me" (Joni Mitchell) and "If I Should Lose You" don't have the worry and concern you'd expect and (I think) want. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" reveals little of its sleepless struggle of loneliness. There is, however, undeniably pretty, sweet, competent singing throughout.

When she sticks with material that presents a serene, confident mindset, things work. The opener is one of the best; it set the bar and my hopes pretty high. It's the old Nat King Cole hit, "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup," refreshingly void of any coy cutesiness in its broken French, making it just charming and très bien, merci. There's a burst of joy with a singing playfulness on "'Deed I Do" where things briefly come to life in this ballad-heavy album. (Irving Berlin's "Let's Face the Music and Dance" faces the challenge of having a little more zip but its surface reading totally misses the darker metaphorical aspects of the possible "trouble ahead"). Other livelier excursions seem almost reluctant and she seems distant, distracted or disengaged.

Although she's in a jazzy setting with her superb musicians, Miss O'Brien does not compensate for not digging into lyrics by presenting adventurous, liberty-taking improvisations with melody lines or scat-sing. The instrumental breaks are generous, are fleet, and hold interest. Pianist Shelly Berg is particularly rewarding to hear as he sensitively explores and accents the melodies and brings out the songs' feelings and moods, picking up the emotional slack, deepening things significantly. Ace players Peter Washington on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, and sax man Ken Peplowski guest-wail on three tracks.

If you want vocals that are wrapped in a comforting Valentine blanket with a singer staying in her comfort zone, this drama-resisting outing may be up your alley. (Trisha O'Brien's press release states that this woman who switched careers from social worker to singer sees her chosen style of singing as a way to promote healing and hope.) Your drink of choice may be a sweet, goes-down-easy lemonade rather than a stiff, bracing drink on the rocks (whether love is on the rocks or rocking your world).

DENNIS BONO
THINKING OF WHEN ...

Starting off with an impressive pow and a blast, with Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" and continuing through a thoughtful reading of Harry Warren/ Mack Gordon's "There Will Never Be Another You" and other classics aced, Dennis Bono continues to show what a pro he is on his latest album. His "If I Should Lose You" sparks with active, edgy feelings as he anticipates what things could feel like if that loss of a lover should happen.

Equally terrific on swingers, ballads, and mid-tempo numbers, he's super and super-solid. "Old school" in the best sense of the word, he respects the mostly well-trod songs without things ever sounding stale and—hooray—he does not resort to gimmicks to keep things fresh. His aching, searing ballad readings of such numbers as "Drinkin' Again" and "I'm a Fool to Want You" echo with the bleakness of a tortured soul's intense loneliness and hopelessness. He sounds invested on everything, whether he's down and out or up and swinging.

Dennis is a singer/ talk show host based in Las Vegas, but don't let the cliché image of a lounge lizard or brash, brassy presentation make you quiver with worry. He has the best aspects of energized performance and an aiming-to-entertain style and polish. Frank Sinatra is the mold and predecessor, and many Sinatra-associated songs are here: the aforementioned "I'm a Fool to Want You" (which he co-wrote), his first hit "All or Nothing At All," and "It Was a Very Good Year" (the least effective, it doesn't quite linger enough on the memories and perspective). However, Dennis doesn't copy the musical attack, stance, phrasing or trademarks of Sinatra, and his timbre is sufficiently different. At times, he reminds me more of the tender phrasing of Jack Jones and others. Many have attempted and stumbled in an attempt to emulate and carry the torch of the Sinatra era of singers, but Dennis Bono can do it. He shows the intelligence and panache and sense of self others can only manage to get a suggestion of.

Aided by arrangements and playing that is musically professional and etched with real insight, the vocalist's interpretations burn or soar. The Bob Rozario Jazz Ensemble, named for its very-much-worth-listening-to and non-showy pianist, is consistently on its game. Prominent in the mix, Bob Sachs on bass becomes the throbbing heartbeat—not just keeping the beat—of these heartfelt songs. There's more heart with Dave Hart on guitars (he occasionally takes out a harmonica for good effect) and Mike Mechem is the fine drummer. There are guests playing sax, brass and percussion for variety and well-chosen accents. They all are on the same page, supporting, enriching and illuminating the material.

The whole album stands up to repeat plays: intriguing at first and revealing newly-appreciated nuances of phrasing and shading each time. Things feel in the moment, the occasional more rough and raw, less pristine note adding color and grit. Dennis makes me believe in him as he projects that he believes in himself as a singer or when he presents the guy who believes in himself from that bathroom mirror scene leading to "I Believe in You" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He succeeds, and there's nothing trying or trying-too-hard about this swell album. Bravo, Bono!

As the winter thaw in new releases is at hand, we'll have some interesting things to catch up on, and we still have things in the older pile to present. Meanwhile, there's the Valentine's Day week pile of love for a toast or for crying in your beer.

- Rob Lester

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