Karen Oberlin - My Standards (2000)

The title My Standards does not mean that this CD is a play list of standard entries in the Great American Songbook. Rather, the standards are tunes that Karen Oberlin has listened to and adopted over the years, from Irving Berlin's to Elvis Costello's. Not only does the variety of music make this album refreshing, but so does the way it is presented. Oberlin's style leans to cabaret with a smattering of musical comedy. Yet she takes fascinating turns with the music within that framework. Her pure and crystalline-like-a-mountain-lake voice emerges loud and clear on an a cappella rendering of "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep." Fortunately, her tone is warm, not cold like a mountain lake. Although her voice has a classical bent (both her parents were classical musicians), she manages to inject a feeling of jazz on such tunes as "Barangrill." "Theme From Valley of the Dolls" mixes lamentations by Oberlin with the funky jazz guitar of Dan Carillo. She also takes on one of the saddest songs ever, "Where Do You Start?." Unlike versions by Shirley Horn and Susannah McCorkle, which focus on the emotional disaster caused by the impending separation that forces the divvying up the possessions, the direction that Oberlin takes stays with the process to make sure that each gets what belongs to them and nothing more. Things change once more with an injection of a folk song element in "Shipbuilding." The demeanor changes again on such classics as Billy Strayhorn's "Something to Live For," where a decidedly passionate, yearning spirit comes to the fore. And finally, she can be cute and coy on "Happiness Is Hard to Sell." Her chameleon-like ability to change her delivery to meet the needs of the song prevents her from falling into a rut. ~ Dave Nathan