What a joy to hear Meredith d'Ambrosio sing again. She just released a new album, Sometime Ago (Sunnyside), her first since 2012. And in keeping with all of her other albums, Meredith's artwork graces the cover. She's backed once again by an extraordinary group of musicians—Randy Halberstadt on piano, Daryl Johns on bass and his father, Steve Johns, on drums. Don Sickler's flugelhorn appears on the title track and his muted trumpet is added on Oh Well, What the Hell. [Photo above of Meredith d'Ambrosio by Alan Nahigian and courtesy of Alan Nahigian]
Meredith didn't shy from the challenges of recording, taking on a batch of obscure songs that are tricky to sing. Her voice navigates their melodies beautifully. The songs are When Springtime Turns to Fall (Halberstadt), Feast Your Eyes (Halberstadt and Meredith's lyrics), In the Moonlight (John Williams and Alan and Marilyn Bergman), Sometime Ago (Sergio Mihanovich), May I Come In (Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal), I Wished on the Moon (Ralph Rainger and Dorothy Parker), My Open Heart (Halberstadt and Meredith), I Remember You (Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer), Meredith's Oh Well What the Hell, and If I Should Lose You (Ranger and Leo Robin).
Meredith's voice reminds me of Boston, probably because she's from the city and performed up there while I was in college in the 1970s. Sadly, our paths didn't cross back then. There's always an intelligence in her singing voice that's informed by jazz artists such as Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Gil Evans and so many other romantic artists who knew how to use space to their advantage, allowing songs to breathe and for their poetry to set in. In Meredith's voice, I imagine the twinkling lights of Beacon Hill, the architecture of Copley Square, the sound of the T's trolleys, the charms of Newbury Street, the taste of clam chowder and the nip of late autumn evenings, when you can smell lit fireplaces in Back Bay.
Listen to the gentle majesty of In the Moonlight; Meredith's splendid interpretation of May I Come In; how she plays with the standard I Wished on the Moon; her passionate lyrics for My Open Heart; and the playfulness of her own Oh Well What the Hell with their glorious, signature flatted notes. On her new album, Meredith sings for your heart, not just your ears, and reaches her target.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Meredith d'Ambrosio's Sometime Ago (Sunnyside) at Bandcamp here or at Amazon here.
JazzWax notes: You can read my JazzWax interview with Meredith starting here (the link to subsequent parts can be found above the red date at the top of posts).
And what about that painting by Meredith on the cover of her new album? I'll let Meredith fill you in:
The lighthouse complex pictured in the oil painting is very old and the song "Sometime Ago" means long ago as well. I thought the song and painting went together well. The lighthouse overlooks Cape Ann in East Gloucester on the north shore of Massachusetts. The painting is called "Eastern Point Light."
JazzWax tracks: Here's I Wished on the Moon...
Here's May I Come In...
And because I always feature this song when I post about Meredith, here she is singing and playing her own Love Is Not a Game (1991)...
Bonus: Here's Meredith singing Johnny Mandel's The Shining Sea (1997), accompanied by Gene Bertoncini...
Here's Giant Steps from It's Your Dance (1985),
And finally, here's Love Is a Simple Thing from Meredith's first album, Another Time (1981)...
