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As far as her listening public is concerned, singer-songwriter Anne Phillips has led a Rip Van Winkle-like existence. Having made a promising debut album, "Born to Be Blue," in 1959, she didn't record a follow-up, "Gonna Lay My Heart on the Line," until 2000 -- possibly a record-setting gap. Yet she hasn't exactly been asleep; she's been singing behind the scenes in the commercial music industry, writing songs for shows and her filing cabinet. And she emerged at the Jazz Bakery on Monday night to answer the question: Where has this captivating performer been all our lives? If you hear Phillips' two albums back to back -- both were issued last year on the Conawago label -- they sound like the work of different singers, the first dreamy and smooth, the second more conversational in delivery and jazzy in feeling. So it was fascinating to hear the older, wiser Phillips apply her freer, more sophisticated current style to a medley of standards from her first album, exploring deeper, darker corners of "When Sunny Gets Blue" that were untapped in 1959. Phillips' own songs are in turn playful, confessional, poignant, clearly the work of a professional from an earlier era who is also aware of the value of a hook from singing jingles in the 1960s. The idea behind "To Make Them Like Me" is a touching one: the thoughts that run through an insecure mind at a cocktail party, fitted to a Richard Rodgers-tinged waltz. Steve March Torme smoothly stepped in to sing "Just When I Need You the Most." Accompanying herself on the piano, Phillips cut loose with a jaundiced view of the rock revolution that rolled over her recording career; it was mostly in fun, but you could sense some lingering bitterness. Yet those of us who love both rock and the Great American Songbook welcome Phillips' return to action without taking sides. ANNE PHILLIPS and JULIUS LA ROSA
Phillips' rendition of Born to be Blue, took its time to build its story of heartbreak. She used restraint to let the wit unfold in Fried Bananas, her own lyrics to a Dexter Gordon bebop classic. A huskiness built around the edges of her voice for Here's to Life, rendered with thoughtfulness rather than defiance. I Remember Birdland had an easy lope, and Phillips set it up with a nostalgic nod to the original club. Especially welcome were her clever original songs, including Gonna Lay My Heart on the Line. While Julius La Rosa brought to the show all the flair of a belter from the old Latin Quarter days, his voice robust and the notes exactly where he sent them, it was his ballads that were mesmerizing, emotional but never maudlin like, I've Got a Crush on You. La Rosa is a master at how to phrase a song to bring out the nuance of the lyric; his ear is discriminating and he lets the listener know what the song means to him. In As Time Goes By, instead of the line, "...they still say I love you," he sang, "I love you." Try it and see the change. His ballads should be studied by every aspiring singer. The talents of Anne Phillips and Julius La Rosa need to be seen in New York clubs more often. No, let's put it this way - New York needs to see these performers more often to hear how good songs ought to be sung. Elizabeth Ahlfors ANNE PHILLIPS Singer, songwriter Anne Phillips presents a lively evening of songs from her CDs; standards from her classic album “Born to Be Blue” (recently re-released on CD) and from her latest CD “Doubletalk” on which she sings with such long time jazz friends as Dave Brubeck, Marion McPartland, Dvae Frishberg, Bob Dorough and Roger Kellaway. The songs from these CDs include such favorites as the title song, Mel Torme’s “Born To Be Blue,” “Easy Street,” “For Heaven’s Sake,” “It Could Happen To You” and new standards such as “Here’s To Life,” and Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way,” From another CD, “Gonna Lay My Heart on the Line,” she sings some of her original songs which are, to quote Rex Reed, “For anyone who loves songs about the human condition, funny, bright, lonely or sad - intensely musical, intelligent and very much in the tradition of the classic songwriters.” They are the kind of songs that the arrival of rock and roll deprived us of - songs that spoke to us, songs that helped us to live our lives. “Some of the best songs I’ve heard in years…every listener will hear a part of their own story in each” confirms Margaret Whiting. From time to time Ms. Phillips takes over at the piano to treat the audience to special pieces of material like her tribute to the Great American Song “Have You Ever Heard a Song?” a song which also bemoans the state of today’s popular music, or “To Make Them Like Me,” a song written for a children’s musical that makes a universal statement to young and old. Her medley of some of the award winning national commercials she wrote, sang and produced . In a jazz club or concert setting she adds jazz classics to which she has written lyrics such as Dexter Gordon’s “Fried Bananas,” and George Shearing’s jazz anthem “Lullaby of Birdland” with her lyric “I Remember Birdland.” Ms. Phillips husband, renowned tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred, brings to this program “a kind of beauty and depth rarely heard” Hugh Wyatt, New York Daily News. These are almost the very words Margaret Whiting used to describe Ms. Phillips’ singing: “so honest, simple … great depth of feeling.” Its no wonder they compliment each other so well. Mr. Kindred’s interpretations of his wife’s songs is stunning. Together they perform breathtaking unaccompanied duets on such classics as “Embracable You.” It is a beautiful marriage, literally and musically. Anne Phillips’ lively anecdotes and humorous reflections are exhilarating and warming and invite the audience into a gentler musical time. POPS CONCERTS WITH ORCHESTRA: Full orchestrations of the songs from “Born To Be Blue” Orchestrations written by Ms Phillips for Mr. Kindred for his CD “That Kindred Spirit” and for pops programs. These include “The Man I Love,” “Stormy Weather,” “My Ship Has Sails,” “Tenderly” and the Johnny Mercer/Barry Manalow new standard, “When October Goes.” Ms. Phillips can also conduct for her husband. Public Relations: Virginia Wicks 2737 Edwin Place, L.A.,CA Tel: 323-822-9977 Fax: 323-822-9966 Vwickscraft@cs.com |
A symbiotic pairing of jazz singer/songwriter Anne Phillips and pop legend, Julius La Rosa appeared before a full house at the Triad, bringing a collection of the songs they each love to sing, and the audience loved hearing them. Phillips, possessing a light vocal tone with the Helen Merrill brand of cool, offered jazz tunes with a trust in the lyrics. La Rosa is a master of phrasing and breath control, driven by the power of the lyrics and enfolding the listener into the story of the song.