Hummin' To Myself

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What is it about erstwhile '60s rock stars nearing 60 that draws them to standards? Just as Rod Stewart has mined the works of Styne & Cahn and Cole Porter for his bankable (if heavy-handed) Great American Songbook series, so, too, has Linda Ronstadt turned to pop classics in the autumn of her career. Of course, Ronstadt has been here before, having enlisted Nelson Riddle to guide her through three standards collections in the '80s. With Hummin' to Myself, the peripatetic vocalist eschews the robust big-band arrangements that marked What's New and its offspring for small-ensemble treatments of the likes of "Miss Otis Regrets" and "Day Dream." With either Alan Broadbent or Warren Bernhardt at the keys and Bob Mann, Christian McBride, and Lewis Nash making up the rhythm section on most tracks, Ronstadt gets more than capable instrumental support from some seasoned jazz pros, and while she won't make anyone forget Ella Fitzgerald, she brings her distinctive brand of brass to "Never Will I Marry" and "Get Out of Town." Meanwhile, she eases through languid takes of "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Cry Me a River," the latter borrowing considerably from Julie London's defining version, but substituting melancholy for London's playful sultriness. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

Her groundbreaking trio of recordings with Nelson Riddle in the 1980s made Linda Ronstadt the first pop/rock megastar to have runaway, multi-platinum success with recordings of American song standards. Hummin' to Myself celebrates her return to standards repertoire for the first time since then, with elegant small-group jazz arrangements that offer the listener intimate access to Ronstadt's glorious vocals., ISBN13: B000269QX4 ISBN10: B000269QX4 Material Type: audioCD