It's Party Time With Jayne Holding It Up, Dianne's Lovers, Electrifying Swing, Plus A Broadway Baby Secret Song!

It's party time! I don't know how long Miss Jayne's been holding up that curtain rod, but she lifts it skyward whenever company comes over for cocktails and Frito Pie. Is there anything worse than your curtains falling? 'Cause everyone knows, once they do, the gig is up. All the neighbors can gawk at the soiree you didn't invite them to. So keep holdin' up that rod, Jayne! And, hey, save some Watergate Salad for me!

Just imagine. It's 1967. You're having a party. Need festive tunes? There's no better music to play for your posse than this Joyful Jayne Cheerful Exclusive! She coos, she squeaks, she giggles (she sings a little, too). Really, you can't go wrong. Just remember, even though you'll have your curtains drawn, I have excellent hearing, so you'd better invite me.

The party's getting low down and sultry. The lights are dimming. Keys are tossed in a bowl. Couples are intermingling. It's that time, if you know what I mean. Time to take Jayne off the record player and put on some Dianne. 

"Music For Lovers" really is "da bomb" as the kids used to say - her voice has never sounded so smooooooth, baby, smooooooth - but then I have a soft spot for any singer who can really scat. And while I've enjoyed her forays into folk and world music in the past, I'm glad she keeps coming back to jazz. It's where she belongs. In fact, she's the only modern jazz vocalist I can think of who approaches greatness. Aw, hell, we're having a party, let's just call her great and pour another drink.

Oh, no! Some smart-ass brought cocaine. Limbs are shaking. Eyes are twitching. People want to dance-dance-dance! Quick, clear away the coffee table, push back the couch, roll up the carpet, and switch out Dianne for some swingin' electro tunes. I know, I know, I've included a lot of electro lately, but for reals, this is an awesome mix, and it's guaranteed to get everyone off their feet (whether they're mainlining or not).

You know it's time for a party to end when the sun is rising, you're out of hootch, and some girl - you know, that girl - is going bonkers in the bathroom:

That means taking her car keys, calling her a cab and gently leading her out the door (or pushing her, if it's called for). Then it's time to clean. Yes, I know what you're thinking, you're dog tired, but if you get the big stuff done now, you'll feel a whole lot better when you wake up around 4pm (then you'll just have to vacuum up the Fritos). So turn off the electro and put on "The Thomas Crown Affair," circa 1968, to get you through it all. This is Michel Legrand at his most scrumptious; jazzy, trippy and just a mite silly.

You want to party? Come on over to the Secret Song File's place sometime (but call first) (texts don't count). Or accompany her one night to a jazz club or salon. She loves a good jazz singer, or a Broadway baby just lettin' it rip with a piano.

Did you know? A certain Broadway baby with a spanking new CD first gained fame (and a big fat pension) for her roles on TV's "Cheers" and "Frasier," then knocked 'em dead - hotcha! - in the revival of "Chicago." Sadly, she wasn't in the movie version, but so what? She's still got it, and in her new CD, she sings, she tells stories...she...oh, c'mon, you so-o-o know who it is. And, really, what's a Broadway soiree without her?

Don't be tardy to the party, m'k?

Leave a party favor (or two) in the comments, if you like!

Bertice Is Back, Lena & Legrand, Sylvia Lovingly, Jane Just For You, Plus A Contrapuntal-Ish Secret Song!

Doesn't Bertice look luffly? And she's back today - just for you and yours - in this So Bertice Cheerful Exclusive! It's her 1976 LP (restored in 1991) "The Two Moods of Bertice Reading." Aren't you glad you stopped by? Get this. In the late 1960's, jazz fans were so bowled over by her performance at Amsterdam's Apollohal that after the finale, they stormed the stage - and it collapsed. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but the scene made the front pages of newspapers all over Europe.

Bertice could sing almost anything - jazz, pop, blues, gospel - and in "Two Moods," she swings from New Orleans jazz to pop to mellow blues and ballads. Her version of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" is a delight, and on "I Cried For You," her smoothness just barely conceals the heartbreak.

Oh, and here's a nice little bonus. Bertice speaks! In this wonderful 1984 BBC interview, she chit-chats about her birth - it caused a literal splash - her life, her high-flying and sometimes camel-riding career and the eight LPs she'd take to a desert island:

If I had to take LPs to a desert island (I refuse to limit it to just eight), I'm sure I'd take one by Lena Horne, along with this picture:

Lena collaborated with just about everyone under the sun, of course, but her work with Michel Legrand on 1975's "Lena & Michael" is maybe her most head-turning. Why? Because she didn't just sing his catalog of songs as everyone else had - in a straight-ahead fashion, following the melody line - but instead, in her own Lena style. Trust me, you have never heard "I Will Wait For You" like this. It doesn't just swoon, it swoons, simmers, then explodes. That's our Lena.

And now, gaze upon the quintessential New York cabaret singer, the tres elegante Sylvia Syms:

When I think of Sylvia, I think of Bobby Short, Peggy Lee and all the singers who worked the cabaret circuit pre-Giuliani - back when I paid 900.00 for a huge one-bedroom with separate dining room in the West Village (it now goes for 3700.00). I was there for fourteen years, long enough to enjoy the neighborhood's last creative heyday, and then its arguable decline into a Haves-Only playground for the top one-percent (or people like this)

But I digress. "Lovingly," Sylvia's 1976 LP (yet another Cheerful Exclusive!) is silky, low-key jazz - and the kind only this Brooklyn-born singer could do. She was a regular at Cafe Carlyle, and no less than Frank Sinatra called her "the world's greatest saloon singer." As you listen to the songs on this LP, you can almost hear the faint clink of cocktail glasses, detect a whiff of lingering cigarette smoke and from the corner of your eye, catch a red-coated Carlyle waiter whisking past. It was a wonderful time to be in Manhattan. And it's gone forever.

Gone, but never forgotten, is Jane Wyman, who became famous anew after Ronnie Rayguns became President. She'd long divorced him, which prompted much commentary after he took office.

In the early 1950's, Jane starred opposite Bing Crosby in "Just For You," a lark-ish movie which had Jane smitten with Bing and contending with his two children, including that industrial-made charmer Natalie Wood (or the movie's answer to the Princess Phone). The soundtrack has several buoyant songs performed by Bing, Jane, and the Andrew Sisters, too. How can you go wrong?

Back in the day, The Secret Song File had to audition for everything - and hated it! Oh, the patience she endured when casting director after casting director failed to see her charms. When they told her to leave after a gorgeous reading, she just couldn't believe it.

That's all a memory now, thank God, but when those irksome memories resurface, they're easily swept away by listening to this upbeat, daisy-tripping, multifaceted pop group. Their newest release does not disappoint. And, yes, their name is partly a nod to a musical term which describes two or more simultaneous lines of melody performed at once - and getting along like gangbusters. Oh, happy day!

Are you happy yet? I am!

Trip on daisies or whatever in the comments, if you like!

All Legrand, All The Time (Plus A Swingle)!

There she is. Cherchez la femme! The one and only Anouk Aimee in Jacques Demy's 1961 film "Lola"  (which was inspired by Marlene Dietrich's Lola Lola). Did you know? The movie was a break-out, of sorts, for film composer Michel Legrand. Yet as renown as he became for his movie scores, he's a serious jazz artist, too; composing, performing, arranging work composed by others, and allowing his own music to be interpreted by a who's-who of jazz musicians. There's really nothing he can't do (okay, so maybe he should stay away from disco) (far away). The variety of his output still astonishes me, and it all started in 1954 with his first LP.

"I Love Paris," a buoyant orchestral romp through traditional Gallic tunes ("La Vie En Rose," "April in Paris"), was arranged and recorded by Legrand when he was just (wait for it) twenty-two. It quickly became one of the most popular instrumental LPs of all time.

If you hit once, why not hit again with the same formula? Luckily (for us), this was a smart move. 1955's "Holiday In Rome" and "Vienna Holiday" are just as charming as the Paris LP; the former with vivo Italian tunes like "Luna Rosa," the latter with wunderbar Viennese waltzes. And I know what you're thinking, it  all sounds so-o-o-o cliched. It is, of course, but then it's never sounded this good, either.

Not enough Legrand for you? Don't worry, there's more! Ready? As much as I love Legrand's orchestral LPs, it's his jazz work that I find myself listening to the most. In 1995, he was behind the piano with his trio in "The Warm Shade Of Memory." The opening track, "Watch What Happens," is one of many highlights in this blissful LP. 

1985's "After The Rain" is a brisk, six-track jaunt through some of Legrand's best tunes with a septet of performers, including Legrand - again, at the piano - and Phil Woods on clarinet and alto. It's probably the best known Legrand jazz record, and there's a reason for that. It's perfect.

Miles Davis joins Michel Legrand on "Legrand Jazz," a 1958 LP that's long been considered a classic. Here, Legrand takes tunes, like "'Round Midnight" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," and brilliantly arranges them for three different combos, which include not just Davis, but John Coltrane, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods and more.

Here's a real treat. 2004's "I Will Wait For You: The Music Of Michel Legrand," is easily one of my favorite CDs. Period. It's also ridiculously unheralded. Kuhn, a post-bob pianist, along with his trio, gorgeously reinterprets Legrand's most noteworthy tunes ("The Summer Knows," "I Will Wait For You"). It's probably one of the most elegant modern jazz efforts you're likely to hear.

Pure, unadulterated fun is the best way to describe "Dingo," the soundtrack for a little-seen 1990 Australian movie starring...Miles Davis (as an aging jazz great) (what else?). I haven't seen it, but the music, composed by Legrand and Davis, is light and beautifully phrased.

Another favorite of mine is "Legrand/Grappelli," an atypical 2002 CD that brings Legrand together with violinist Stephane Grappelli. Some might find the overall effect a bit sticky-icky, but I think they largely avoid that pitfall. It's a fine, gossamer-light experience. And these days, that's rare.

Is there more? Of course there is! I don't know many performers who can make Legrand's theme for "Wuthering Heights" ("I Was Born In Love With You") such a stirring, even haunting experience, but singer Melissa Errico not only pulls it off, she makes it her own. I wasn't that familiar with Errico until my Cuban Luvuh began playing "Legrand Affair," but now I'm a fan. This is a dreamy-sounding collection of Legrand tunes - you really do feel as if you're hearing them for the first time - and unlike a lot of vocalist CDs these days, Errico's backed by a luxuriant, magnificent-sounding orchestra. Really, it's like buttah.

Speaking of buttah! Though I've largely avoided Legrand musicals in this particular post, I had to include "Yentl." Why, you ask? Because it's the crown jewel of his work for the screen - as if every musical or movie he'd ever worked were leading up to this 1983 masterpiece. As some of you know, the soundtrack was first issued on LP, then a badly transferred, muddy-sounding CD. But just for you - in this Oy! Cheerful Exclusive! - here's "Yentl" in all of its crystal-clear, LP lossless glory.

Legrand is talented, this we know, so it goes to follow that a sibling of his might have talent, too, don't you think? If you think, "Why, yes!" then you're right. His sister Christiane was the lead female vocalist with "The Swingle Singers," an early 1960's a cappella group. From the start, they knocked just about everyone's socks off by reinterpreting Bach's classical melodies with their vocals and scat. But this isn't some kitschy one-off (not by a long shot). It's enchanting and wholly unpredictable. In other words, it's great jazz.

If Legrand were buttah, would he be whipped? Salted? Me, I'm thinking beurre noir.

Spread it on toast in the comments, if you like!

Spring is Springing With Patachou, Giselle, Anita, Oscar And Disco Michel, Plus A She-Girl Secret Song!

The Easter Beagle has risen! Soon the days will be sunny from start to finish, (and we'll all fry due to global warming) (so wear sunscreen) (and stay away from those tanning beds!) (I'm only looking out for you). And if it's spring, then it must be time for Patachou, an adored French cabaret singer who made the trip across the Atlantic for her featured role in "Folies Bergere Direct From Paris!" on the Great White Way in the early 1960's, along with with singer-composer Georges Ulmer and the incomparable Liliane Montevecchi.

Unfortunately, Liliane isn't featured on this original Broadway cast recording - a Fantastique Cheerful Exclusif! - but Patachou and Georges are, along with a seriously sassy orchestra; you'll feel like you're in a rousing time-warp when the "Can-Can" kicks in. And just imagine all the glamorous les girls. Interestingly, topless nudity didn't come to the Folies until 1911 (the year Maurice Chevalier appeared) (he was labeled "painfully unfunny" on his opening night by critics, nearly derailing his career). The new bare-it-all strategy prompted critics to gush as follows: "A mesmerized hush fell over the audience, followed by an immense erection sigh of admiration." Sure, sure. Keep it in your pants, boys.

In keeping with our springtime theme, isn't it time to break out the bonnets?

Actually, I'm not sure what's on top of Gisele MacKenzie's head (a teeny baby dinosaur?), but I do know she's ready for the season given her "look" on the album cover below. Those inquisitive eyebrows, the carefully pursed lips, those fabulous tiny blue octopi earrings. Perfect, don't you think? 

Actually, it is. This delightful Canadian-American singer - a staple on popular variety shows in the 1950's and early 60's - coos wonderfully in her namesake 1958 LP, "Gisele," a Peppy Cheerful Exclusive! "Peppy" and "perky" get a bad name in some quarters, but not in this case, since Gisele embodies them both to a T on songs ranging from "Hey, There!" to "Answer Me My Love," and more. Fair warning; the album starts with a somewhat glum version of "Stranger In Paradise," but don't be scared. Everything gets sunshiny in a jiffy. 

And now on to a lady who's fantastic no matter what season it is. Yes, it's the one, the only, Anita O'Day:

Her 1963 LP "Anita O'Day & The Three Sounds" is an anomaly in her catalog. Her jazz vocals are restrained (yes, restrained), and some O'Day purists prefer to ignore it altogether. They are foolish, mindless little peeps. Why? Because O'Day's minimalist vocals are obviously in keeping with The Three Sounds' minimalist arrangements (duh!). And make no mistake, she's just as deliciously precision-oriented here as she is elsewhere. So, yes, it's an unusual O'Day LP. It's also one of my favorites.

He's one of the greatest piano players of all time, we know this, so what's to say? I know, let's say springtime isn't complete without Oscar Peterson. Which is totally true. Dont'cha think?

"Night Train" isn't just a masterpiece, it's also a blast. Take "The Honeydrippers," with Oscar's winged arpeggios, or the buoyant "Georgia On My Mind" and "C-Note," the latter with breathtaking trills and runs. Everything here glistens and makes you happy. What more can you want for the season?

Actually, you might want a little more, though be careful what you wish for, because today we're finishing up with Michel Legrand...the disco years. I'm not joking. I sort of wish I was, yet I'm sort of glad I'm not (if that makes sense), because this is as prime a chunk of cheese as any you're likely to find anywhere.

But then, people in the 70's wore things like this, and snorted coke with them, and did the "walk of shame" in the early morning hours like this, so it kind of makes sense. I'll admit, some of the music on this 1978 LP is genuinely hair-raising, but you must. If only for the epic opening track "Disco Magic Concorde." Trust me, you so-o-o want it.

Many people want the Secret Song File, and even try to force their way. She'll have none of that, springtime or not. Sure, you can back her against a wall, but then she'll GLARE at you (with her eyes at half-mast) (that's when you know she really means business). What else will she do?

She'll sing, yo! Specifically, the fourth song on a spanking new CD, in which a soulful poptart tells you - and how! - that "you ain't all you're cracked up to be." Ooo, burn! This is only her second CD, but it was worth the wait. See how I'm not mentioning her name? Is she, um, Alice in Wonderland? Or Willow Smith? Hmm. Let's just say that italics are your friend.

Bunnys are your friends, too, so don't run them over.

Hippity-hop all over the comments! It's fun!

J'adore Legrand, Ti Amo Velia, A Stately Danse, Plus A Sparkling Secret Song!

Have you ever seen "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg?" It's probably the perfect sung-through musical - far better and more affecting than all those clodhopping monstrosities like "Jekyll and Hyde" and God forbid, "Les Miserables" (the next time I want to get thisclose to Hugh Jackman's schnoz, I'll let you know, thankyouverymuch).

Not only is the Michel Legrand music blissful perfection, the movie itself is just flat-out gorgeous to look at (it was designed by Bernard Evein, a French art director whose work in "Cherbourg" is still eye-popping and modern). Directed by Jacques Demy, who also wrote the lyrics, the movie stars Catherine Deneuve at her most beautiful and the ridiculously handsome Nino Castelnuovo, who play a fated couple experiencing the trials of l'amour. Ooh la la!

Norma Desmond, as you may know, once said, "We didn't need dialogue, we had faces." She may as well have been referring to Catherine and Nino above, don't you think? Oh, and even if you haven't seen "Cherbourg," I'm willing to wager that you'll know the main theme song. Don't believe me? Try out a snippet of this song:

Did you watch it? Did you get chills? You know you want to hear more. Luckily, there's a fabulous 2-CD soundtrack - in lossless, bien sur - with practically every bit of music from the movie (I'm deliberately not telling you a thing about the story in case you haven't seen it) (and you should) (some things really should be watched fresh). On a related note, I don't know why this hasn't been turned into an English-language Broadway musical. It could be so wonderf...oh, never mind, they'd just fuck it mess it up.

Movie sequels are seldom a good idea. Sequels to movie musicals are always a bad idea. Can you think of one that worked? I can't (and no, I can't watch more than a few minutes of this). "Cherbourg's" sequel, "The Young Girls Of Rochefort" wasn't to everyone's taste, to put it mildly. There's Deneuve, of course, and this time she's joined by a game, 50-ish Gene Kelly, "West Side Story's" George Chakiris, as well as Francoise Dorleac, Deneuve's sister (who at the time was more famous) (she died tragically in a car accident at age twenty-five). 

And yet for all the silliness of the story about twin sisters who run a ballet school and dream of meeting their ideal mates, I've always found "Young Girls" to be a dream-like treat with its bursts of color and music in tribute to old Hollywood musicals. It's worth seeking out - after you've seen "Cherbourg" - and this 2-CD soundtrack is just delicious. 

Speaking of eye-popping and designed like a dream, "The King Is Dancing," which charts the tumultuous, sometimes kinky, rise of France's "Sun King," or King Louis XIV, ravishes the eye and the ear. 

Why this movie wasn't released in the U.S. is a big mystery (the director's previous feature "Farinello" was nominated for an Oscar). If you haven't had a chance to catch it, it's similar to "Amadeus" given the artistic rivalry with music - and dance, too - set amidst ruthless royal power struggles in Versailles. It's all very tempestuous. Ooh la-la, encore!

The 2-CD soundtrack is a treat for classical music lovers - there's Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jacques Bordier, opera composer Robert Cambert and more - and it's just as sprawling and lush as the movie.

Okay, I'm all Francophiled out for the day. Let's move south of the border to Cuba. Ai! It was my Cuban Luvuh who introduced me to the wily beauty below, the beloved comedian, singer and nightclub diva Velia Martinez! Ella era multi-talentoso, si? Si!

If you know of Velia (which I didn't), it's likely because of "Que Pasa, USA?" a hugely popular series which aired for gringos on PBS in the 1970s (she played the smart-tongued abuelita) (pictured below, to the right, next to a very young Steven Bauer). She also acted in movies opposite Errol Flynn, and starred in "The Devil's Sisters" (which sounds wonderfully trashy), in addition to thrilling the cabaret circuit with her singing and wisecracking.

It's the latter which comes through in full force in "Bon Voyage!" which features her performing in English, Spanish and French. Trust me, this old broad knew how to throw down. From her rousing opener, "Lover Come Back To me," to the galvanizing "El Cha-Cha Rock!" she never lets up. How do you say fabulous in Spanish?

Who doesn't like a good smoke while you're waiting for mack-daddy to set you up with a couple of "lunch dates?" You're on hold for a bit - he runs a very busy enterprise - but luckily, there's none of that awful "on hold music," which means you can listen to you own CD. But which one should that be?

How about a Greatest Hits collection? But please, no foolish games. You want something that'll make you feel like a stronger woman. Why? Because you've been down so-o-o-o long - and those two hearts breaking are still mending. You just want something that makes you feel like a diamond or a sapphire or an emerald, or collectively, like the single name for this snaggletoothed (I like that she hasn't gotten it fixed) "I once lived in my car!"-type singer. And if you still haven't figured it out yet, then the Secret Song File has some genuine diamonelle earrings she'd like to sell you.

Or wait, that's gen-you-wyne. Pronunciation is everything.

Feel free to get your tongue around anything you like in the comments!