Keely Smith is known as the “Queen Of Swing,” and indeed she has
had a long and storied career in swing and jazz vocalist, including
discovery by and a marriage to Louis Prima. Influenced by such
sources as Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, Smith’s work is
smooth, sweet jazz; music to dim the lights and sip cocktails by.
On
Keely Swings Basie-Style With Strings, she sweetens up her
swing sound with a 22-piece string section and an 18-piece brass
band, and it works really well.
This is the third in Smith’s ‘tribute’ series of recordings. On
each of them, she has done a series of songs in the style of a
given performer; not necessarily songs that they themselves
recorded, but songs as they might have recorded them. This is a bit
tough to get your brain around in concept, but in practice it works
just fine; it occasionally results in combinations that seem
initially odd (Count Basie does the old Motown/James Taylor hit
“How Sweet It Is,” for example) but which work in execution. More
importantly, Smith is having fun. Because Smith self-finances her
own recordings, she keeps the right to choose her songs and set up
the recordings as she wants — so this is all what she wanted to
do, and it shows. The joy and the love in these songs is
palpable.
Production and engineering on the recording is flawless. The
brass sound is fat and round, contrasting well with the crisp bite
of the string section. Smith’s vocals are a wonder in and of
themselves; while it’s impolite to discuss a lady’s age, suffice it
to say that there’s a young woman’s fire and power in her fluid,
languid delivery. The backing musicians are all excellent.
Songs of particular note include the sweet and wondrous
“Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe”; Smith’s take on the classic “I
Can’t Stop Loving You”; a unique cover of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t
Take My Eyes Off Of You”; and a kick-out-the-stops romp through
“Take The A-Train.” I also confess to being a sucker for the
spoken-word, announcer-style intro and outro on the record.
Keely Swings Basie-Style With Strings is a brilliant piece
of work. Fans of jazz and swing shouldn’t miss it.
