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ROSEMARY CLOONEY
Sentimental Journey (Concord Jazz)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Having grown up in a house where the exquisite voice of Rosemary Clooney was frequently filling the rooms, thanks to my father's record collection, I've come to have the illusion that I know her in some way. Strange thing, that. It happens. I've heard her through all the decades of her life since she's been in the public eye, through her associations with Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman and others, and I heard a ton of platters recorded with house bands. She STILL sounded like Rosemary Clooney, with all the ooohs and aaahs that implies.
Now, at the age of 74, she's found a truly great band again, and though the years are evident in her voice, she sounds like mature Rosemary Clooney. Oooh! Aaah! With the assistance of Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack, Clooney delivers these old big band numbers with flair and joy, obviously happy to once again be fronting a band that is the genuine article. (Concord also has a CD by Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack entitled Shake Those Hula Hips that is highly recommended. This is a very entertaining 12 piece band.) The sub-title of this album is The Girl Singer And Her New Band, and the picture on the back shows Clooney surrounded by 12 mostly very young people. It would seem youthful energy and enthusiasm was helpful and appreciated. She takes on the vocal parts with an attitude, and not just the fast, rollicking tunes. Even the sultry "I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues" has hard edges that set it apart from other versions. When she sings a duet with Copa Cat leader Matt Catingub on "Ya Got Class," she's having so much fun you can't help but do the same.
So many artists of Rosemary Clooney's stature would insist on an anonymous band to play muzak behind her, but not our Rosemary. She happily shares the stage with the Copa Cat Pack, who turn dozens of dynamite solo moments and one continuous first class backing performance, establishing themselves on an album likely to be heard by far more people than their own solo CDs were up to this point. Clooney's star power is still valid with fans of vocal jazz, and they will buy this CD, and the ones who also like swing bands will discover Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack, because they're among the best.
On the inside cover, Rosemary Clooney writes "Thanks to Matt and the Copa Cat Pack for making me feel twenty five again - even if only for a little while." As I said before, you can hear the years in her voice; this is a 74 year old woman singing here, and yet, as I listen to "They Can't Take That Away From Me," I can swear I'm hearing her fifty years younger. It's intoxicating and a little startling. Maybe my imagination, or maybe she really meant it when she said she felt twenty five again.
© 2002 - DJ Johnson