Marlene VerPlanck - "Speaking of Love" (2015)

Tracklist

01. But Not for Me (feat. Roy Babbington)
02. Blues in My Heart (feat. Roy Babbington)
03. It Was Written in the Stars (feat. Roy Babbington)
04. What Comes After the Rainbow? (feat. Roy Babbington)
05. I Let a Song Go out of My Heart (feat. Roy Babbington)
06. Listen to the Silence (feat. Roy Babbington)
07. Jamaican Rumba (feat. Roy Babbington)
08. Romance Medley: I'll Take Romance / My Romance / Isn't It Romantic? (feat. Roy Babbington)
09. The Moment of Truth (feat. Roy Babbington)
10. A Christmas Love Song (feat. Roy Babbington)
11. What Are You Doing New Years Eve? (feat. Roy Babbington)
12. Little Jazz Bird (feat. Roy Babbington)
13. Day-Dream (feat. Roy Babbington)
14. Nearer to Your Love (feat. Roy Babbington)
15. Unless It's You (feat. Roy Babbington)
16. My Love Went to London (feat. Roy Babbington)
17. Make Some Magic (feat. Roy Babbington)
18. The Singer (feat. Roy Babbington)
19. Speaking of Love (feat. Roy Babbington)
20. My Bluebird (feat. Roy Babbington & Tommy Flanagan)



Every March, Marlene Ver Planck travels to London, where she works with the Roy Babbington. This time around, one of the additional benefits of the London sojourn is a CD which not only includes the Babbington combo, but a big band conducted by Billy Ver Planck. Ver Planck is one of the most accomplished cabaret singers now or ever. The songs she selects are based on the story they tell, not on their familiarity to the public. This, her umpteenth album, is no exception. After hearing tunes such as "Listen to the Silence" and "My Love Went to London," one asks why they are not in the play books of more performers. Then the realization hits that they sound so good because of the special treatment they get from a doyenne of song like Ver Planck. The music is split between the small group and the big band. One of the zingers with the latter involved is a Brazilian bouncer, "Jamaica Rumba," where Ver Planck shows that a cabaret singer can scat wildly, too. On the more familiar melody side is a mellow version of "But Not for Me," where the singer takes the opening measures with just Babbington's bass in support. Here, as with most of her other releases, credit must go to Billy Ver Planck's arrangements which provide the perfect musical pad for his wife's voice and interpretive preferences. "My Bluebird," written by Tommy Flanagan, is the sweet/sad icing on the cake for this fine album. Recorded in New York in September of 2001 by Ver Planck and Flanagan, it was the last time he was in the studio before passing away in November. This sad note notwithstanding, the latest Ver Planck album is one more smashing success.

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