Marlene VerPlanck - A New York Singer (1980)

This CD mostly brings back a middle-of-the-road pop date featuring the beautiful voice of Marlene Ver Planck backed by a string orchestra arranged by Billy Ver Planck. The charts are sometimes...more suited to Barbra Streisand than Ella Fitzgerald, although Marlene generally carries it off. But the program (which includes "Go Away, Little Boy," "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and "Hopscotch") is not very jazz-oriented. Much more interesting to jazz fans are five selections recorded especially for this reissue in 1995, for they swing a bit and match Ver Planck with a combo that often includes either trumpeter Joe Wilder or tenor saxophonist Phil Thompson. Marlene had continued growing as a singer during the intervening 15 years and the latter date finds her in fine form; pity that it oculd not have been paired with a jazz-oriented session for a more cohesive listening experience.~A New York Singer Review by Scott Yanow