Joe Williams & Carmen Mcrae – Riviera Summit

The Sound of Silence is a 1968 studio album by Carmen McRae, produced by Joel Dorn. Carmen McRae was at her absolute peak when signed to Atlantic Records in the sixties. Every song is tremendous in this classic set featuring the magical voice of Carmen McRae in rich and powerful sublime form with glorious tones, easily making her one of the best of the greatest ever while earning that "Singer's Singer" title.

Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter's big band (1944), but it would be another decade before her career had really gained much momentum.

Although Carmen McRae is the obvious star of her live record, she gives plenty of solo space to her notable all-star band (Red Holloway on tenor and alto, organist Jack McDuff, guitarist Phil Upchurch, bassist John Clayton, and drummer Paul Humphrey). McRae did not record in this context with an organ group very often. All seven songs (which range in length from four minutes to the nine-and-a-half-minute title track) are swing-era standards except for Eubie Blake's "My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More," which dates back to the early '20s, but McRae updates them a bit and makes them sound relevant and swinging.

If you are making a shortlist of the best jazz singers, Carmen McRae had better be right at the top. She had a distinctive voice, able to do heartbreaking and lighthearted equally as thrillingly. She had an unerring sense of melody and her phrasing is a thing of beauty. This collection covers her work in the mid-'50s for Decca both with small groups and larger orchestras. She shines on swinging tracks like "Comes Love," "Falling in Love With Love," and "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" and won't leave a dry eye in the house with her deeply emotional ballad singing.

Around the time that she was participating in Dave Brubeck's Real Ambassadors, singer Carmen McRae appeared at Basin Street East with the backing of Brubeck's trio (no Paul Desmond on this set). The resulting live album finds McRae mostly interpreting the lyrics of Iola Brubeck; all dozen songs except Desmond's "Take Five" are Dave Brubeck originals. This interesting set finds McRae's voice in prime form, and her vocal versions of such songs as "In Your Own Sweet Way," "Ode to a Cowboy," "It's a Raggy Waltz" And "Travellin' Blues" are definitive.

Romantic ballads were Carmen McRae's specialty, and her streetwise yet sophisticated phrasing carried just enough world-weariness to suggest that she actually understood what she was singing about (being in love or having been in love doesn't automatically mean you can convincingly sing about it – McRae could, though). This collection of mid- to late-'50s material for Decca Records doubles both as a collection of love songs and as a fine introduction to the singer in her early years – when she still had full control of her upper vocal register.

Sublime early work from Carmen McRae - done with backing from pianist Ray Bryant in a small group setting. Carmen's singing in a beautifully fragile mode - with only Ray's piano and a bit of bass and drums to back her up - and it's a real treat to her the McRae vocal approach in such an unfettered format, because even at this earlier age, Carmen had a sense of control, poise, and grace that shines through immediately.