Shadows who dance 2007, Mons Records, Germany
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ISFAHANThe wide-ranging repertoire presented on this album testifies to the fact that Ann Malcolm has pronounced penchant for the unorthodox. She is a singer who likes to set herself challenges, preferring to take chances rater than settling for the less testing options. "The feeling of moving forward", to which she referred in the note she wrote for her April 1998 Mons album, R.S.V.P., is a vital element in her musical philosophy. Another unusual feature of this production is the use of the segue device to link tracks 1 and 2 and tracks 5,6,7 and 8.
The opening track, Isfahan, was composed by Billy Strayhorn and was part of the inappositely named Far East Suite, recorded by Duke Ellington in December 1966. (Useless information note: Isfahan is a city in Iran once known as the Pearl of Persia).
Ann delivers a haunting, wordless vocal which finishes with a languid sigh - then the trio build up tension and volume with a freely improvised section before the segue into Out Of Nowhere. Ann sings the first eight bars of this standard as an introduction to the 1945 Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer standard, "Out Of This World", which she sings with real feeling, bringing the lyric alive. There's a lively piano solo from Colin Vallon, with some sparkling runs, and he receives excellent support from Öster and Terzic. The piece finishes with an extensive coda as Ann reprises phrases from the lyric.
We now move up half a century to Madonna's Secret, which was the first single taken from her 1994 and became a top then hit around the world. Ann puts her heart and soul into this song, which is performed at an extremely laid-back tempo. It is a simple but effective arrengement with an insisten rimshot on two and four and it includes an emphatic, deliberate, solid solo from Vallon.
The Miles Davis original Dig, which is bassed on the changes of Sweet Georgia Brown, was recorded by the Davis Sextet in October 1961. Ann wrote her lyric for the number about five years ago and gave it the title I'm Into You. The piece is taken at a pleasingly groovy tempo and Ann demonstrates her flair for negotiating tricky bop lines as she sings her double entendre lyric, distinguishing between digging someone and digging as in gardening. The she switches to improvising with the original Ken Casey lyric. There follow two well-constructed choruses from Vallon, with some neat variations, and the bass and drums share enterprising four-bar exchanges before Ann returns with a repeat chorus of her lyric, which concludes with a "sudden death" ending.
The Last Tango In Paris was composed by Argentinian tenor saxophonist Gat Barbieri for the 1972 Bernard Berolucci film of the same name, which starred Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. After a delicate piano introduction, Ann delivers a light, lyrical and reflective reading of Dory Previn's lyric. The piece is played at a demandingly slow tempo and Ann gets suitably spare and subdued backing from the trio.
The Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo wrote the Concierto De Aranjuez for classical guitar and orchestra in 1939 and it is undoubtedly his most popular work. It is the central adagio movement which is presented here - the one which Miles Davis featured on his 1960 album "Sketches Of Spain". After a powerful, warm-toned introduction by Bänz Öster, Ann begins the vocal with just bass accompaniment and, once again, her approach is distinctive and refreshing, as she gives a new dimension to a familiar meldoy.
It is into a lively Latin tempo for the next track, Chick Corea's Sea Journey, which he recorded with his Return To Forever group in 1985. After a repeated two-bar E minor vamp by the trio, Ann gives dramatic redition of Neville Potter's lyric, with an invitation to come with her on a sea journey to distant shores, recalling "the days when we were so young". She describes the song as representing " a weaving of the past and the future". There's a fine piano solo from Vallon, with energetic support from Terzic, the Ann returns to renew her invitation and the piece ends with a protracted flurry of the drums.
April In Paris, written more than 70 years ago by Vernon Duke and E.Y. Harburg, is taken at an unusually relaxed tempo, with Ann in reminiscing mood, giving full value to the nostalgic lyric.
Then comes another dramatic change of mood with the Sascha Schönhaus original Bruno's Dance, a complex piece in 5/8 time to which Ann has penned a well-crafted romantic lyric. There is a thoughtful, explorative andunconventional solo from Vallon, the Ann returns with a lively scat chorus which culminates in a reiterated two-bar phrase and a rallentando to end.
The delightful lyric of A Timeles Place was written by Britain's Norma Winstone, who featured the song on her 1995 Hot House album "Well Kept Secret". The music was composed by the distinctive but very underrated pianist, Jimmy Rowles, who first recorded it in April 1974. This melody, whose bridge has extremely testing intervals, is definitely not one for the faint-hearted. Needless to say, Ann performs it with flair and finesse.
Next up is the rurreal Beatles song I Am The Walrus, which the Fab Four recorded in 1967. Although credited to Lennon and McCartney, the song was actually John Lennon's. He once claimed that he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. Ann sings the lunatic lyric with great enthusiasm, with Terzic providing rimshots on 2 and 4 and Colin Vallon contributing some tasty piano fills before taking off on a well-constructed solo on an old Wurlitzer organ. Ann then takes the tune out, finishing with an unexpectedly abrupt ending.
The concluding track is the Hungarian song Holnap, Ki Tudja, Holnap, which comes from the 1941 film, "Havasi Napsütes" ("Sunshine With Snow"). Over the years this has been a highly popular favorite with Hungarian audiences. Ann gives this moving, minor key song a most poignant interpretation, once again displaying an exemplary purity of tone, perfection intonation and great control.
Ann Malcolm chose the repertoire for this album from songs that she was attached to at the time of the recording. She says: "The album's title comes from the last line of "Last Tango In Paris". The word "shadows" represents a reflection of what has been, and "dance" indicates a light-hearted and positive feeling - an awareness of the past but a desire to move on into the future."
