Natalie Douglas: Human Heart

John Hoglund | April 3, 2016

Natalie Douglas

Human Heart

(Wrong Black Girl)

April 3, 2016

Reviewed by John Hoglund for Cabaret Scenes

Natalie-Douglas-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212 There’s a reason we all stop and just listen to some singers. Like exotic wine, Cuban cigars or Cape Cod, Natalie Douglas is an acquired taste. With a history that started in piano bars and moved on to numerous sell-out shows at Birdland over the last two decades, she has brought her musical pain and passions to a cache of songs she has made her own. It’s all on this well-produced CD. Her shows have paid homage to such eclectic women as Dolly Parton and Nina Simone and shown range and respect for the genius of others. With this recording, Douglas will carve her own brand of genius. Always a versatile, if not perfect, vocalist whose rich style varies from blues and jazz to gospel and some potent political hymns, this compelling album showcases the breadth of her special talent. Billie Holiday was not a perfect vocalist, but she was unique. In an age of cookie cutter singers, Natalie Douglas is unique. This emotion-packed album is a collection of her favorites in the key of life—her life. It all works because she’s authentic. And that’s what it takes to be the real thing.

Illusive and powerful odes, like Abbey Lincoln’s “Wholly Earth” and “Throw It Away,” stand out and say a lot about Douglas’ fine interpretative abilities. From the American Songbook, she offers Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh’s “The Best Is Yet to Come” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” (Kern/Hammerstein from Show Boat). “It Never Was You” (Anderson/Weill from Knickerbocker Holiday) reveals a softer, more pensive side, helped by a haunting cello of Eleanor Norton (arranged by Brian J. Nash, who also co-produced the disc with Douglas). Other highlights include Ahrens and Flaherty’s “The Human Heart” (Once on This Island) and a few distinct songs from the Nina Simone canon that include a languid and blissfully realized “Mr. Bojangles” that is one of the album’s best cuts. A shattering “Mississippi Goddam” echoes all the divinity and rage that was Simone’s sung in a burst of vocal triumph. This is an album that deserves attention for all the right reasons.

It’s all under the watchful eye of longtime Musical Director Mark Hartman. His and Douglas’ arrangements are award worthy. In addition to Eleanor Norton, he leads musicians James Cammack (bass), Charles Ruggiero (drums), Patience Higgins (sax), Kiku Enomoto and Chris Marchant (violins), Will Curry (viola), and Joel Waggoner (fiddle).

Tags: Abbey Lincoln, American Songbook, Birdland, Brian J. Nash, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, Cape Cod, Carolyn Leigh, CD, Charles Ruggiero, Chris Marchant, Clubs, Composers, Cuban cigars, Cy Coleman, Dolly Parton, Eleanor Norton, Great American Songbook, Human Heart, It Never Was You, James Cammack, Jazz, Jazz Singers, Jazz Vocalists, Jerome Kern, Joel Waggoner, John Hoglund, Kiku Enomoto, Knickerbocker Holiday, Kurt Weill, Lynn Ahrens, lyricists, Mark Hartman, Maxwell Anderson, Mississippi Goddam, Mr. Bojangles, Musicals, Musicians, Natalie Douglas, Nightclubs, Nina Simone, Once on This Island, Oscar Hammerstein, Patience Higgins, Popular Song, Revues, Show Boat, Show Tunes, Singers, Songbook, Standards, Stephen Flaherty, Supper Clubs, The Best is Yet to Come, The Human Heart, Throw It Away, Venues, Vocalists, Wholly Earth, Will Curry, Wrong Black Girl