RIP DAVID ALLYN

One from the jazz singer Pantheon, David Allyn, died on November 22 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Haven, Conn. He was 93. The Twilight of the Gods, I tell you. . .the Twilight of the Gods. Hear here.

Welcome back, Sue

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Part Tribute, Part Torch, a Voice Goes All Out

Sue Raney at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency

by Stephen Holden, New York Times, November 13

While being soothed and exhilarated by the voice of Sue Raney at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency on Thursday evening, I was reminded that for certain singers there is no better description than the quaint euphemism “songbird.” Ms. Raney, who was playing her first New York engagement in 25 years, may be 72, but her voice is young, her singing infused with hope.

Even while delivering the saddest of torch songs, like Rodgers and Hart’s “He Was Too Good to Me,” her sound conjured early-morning sunlight on a glistening lawn, a mountain brook percolating in the distance and carefree children running through the woods.

Ms. Raney, who was accompanied by Alan Broadbent on piano, Harvie S on bass, and Bill Goodwin on drums, is something of a jazz legend, having recorded her first album, in 1958, with Nelson Riddle when she was 17. 

      

More than half a century later, there are few signs of vocal wear and tear. She ascends to near-supersonic heights where she scats and twirls phrases. Turning her voice into a soft, mellifluous siren, she extends notes up and down an octave. Her middle register has a rounded, emotion-charged vibrato reminiscent of Judy Garland’s. 

      

She also has great taste in songs. Two of the high points on Thursday were the Dave Frishberg gems “Heart’s Desire” and “Listen Here.” Both are about remaining true to yourself and heeding your inner voice. “Heart’s Desire” is outfitted with a gorgeous chromatic melody by Mr. Broadbent, whose pianistic lyricism is of the Bill Evans school, and his accompaniments showered Ms. Raney with rainbows. 

      

Part of the show was a tribute to Doris Day, a major influence, whose voice has the same innate sunniness. Before Ms. Day, Ms. Raney added, her idol had been Betty Grable. But Ms. Raney is more of a jazz singer than Ms. Day and is not afraid to take risks. Her rendition of “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” was dramatically slowed, the better to convey its advice to sit back and let things take their course. That laissez-faire attitude, expressed in nursery rhyme language, is worth pondering.

 

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Cosmic Charm: After a 30-Year Drought, Sue Rains Down From the Sky in a Refreshingly Smart Set

She was in better vocal control than ever, full of intense feelings that were never sabotaged by craft

By Rex Reed 11/14 12:20pm

New York Observer

 

Despite the spate of inclement weather, New York lit up like a shooting star last week in the presence of Sue Raney’s luminous cabaret show at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency. A singing legend in the circles where serious jazz aficionados gather, her radiance, taste and incredible musical savvy have been missing from the New York scene for three decades. She more than made up for the absence with vocal artistry that can only be described as out of this world.

Pensive and informed by beauty, intelligence and charm, she is the whole package—brainy, talented and loaded with personality, the very image of class. A wish-list trio led by ace pianist Alan Broadbent, the dream accompanist of every aspiring singer, provided a hammock of chords for Ms. Raney to swing in on ballads and tunes hand-picked to dazzle. From Peggy Lee’s “I Love Being Here With You” to a cornucopia of selections featured in their recent CD A Tribute to Doris Day: Heart’s Desire, the Sue Raney-Alan Broadbent dream team covered familiar bases where groovy singers have gone before, but every arrangement sounded brand-new. I never thought I could bear to listen to “Que Sera Sera” again, but the poignant glimpse into the heart of a woman looking back on the days of her youth made this tired old Doris Day chestnut sound like I was experiencing it for the first time. Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness of You” and Dave Frishberg’s winsome ballad “Listen Here” lulled her listeners into a state of bliss more calming than any Valium. On “Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair,” a jazz classic from her first Capitol album with Nelson Riddle, recorded when she was 17, she was in better vocal control than ever, full of intense feelings that were never sabotaged by craft.

Though not a bombastic performer, Ms. Raney’s singing has a pulse and a rhythmic subtext that is thrilling. She feels it as she goes along, like a method actor. A romantic instead of an athlete, she still has the power to reach Eydie Gormé altitudes. Not a technical whiz like Mel Tormé or Ella Fitzgerald, she can still scat with the best, and the joy she exudes in a spotlight is contagious. I suffer through so much mediocrity in New York cabarets that a breath of oxygen as pure as Sue Raney is an indescribable reward that is inspiring. She’s in a class by herself. I hope she comes back to town soon—and often.
rreed@observer.com