The Bradley Young Trio: I Remember Chet

The Bradley Young Trio
featuring Martha Lorin

I Remember Chet
Reflections on the Legacy and Music of My Friend, Chet Baker

Pangea, NYC, October 27, 2016

Reviewed by Marilyn Lester for Cabaret Scenes

Bradley Young, an accomplished west-coast-based jazz pianist, made his New York debut with a swinging tribute to a legend of the jazz trumpet, the crooner and player Chet Baker. Young, influenced by early classical training and boogie woogie, and a friend of Baker’s in the last seven years of the icon’s life, has a light, melodic touch on the keys. He was backed by the equally lyrical Steve LaSpina on the upright bass and John Di Fiore on drums. The style was straight-ahead, with a catalog of numbers from the Baker songbook. The trio delivered nimbly on “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (Cole Porter) and “Speak Low” (Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash). Guest artist, trumpet/flugelhorn player Randy Brecker joined for several jazz standards, including “A Night in Tunisia” (Dizzy Gillespie), “Rhythm-a-ning” (Thelonious Monk), “Solar” (Miles Davis), a melodic “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (and Dream Your Troubles Away)” (Harry Barris/Ted Koehler/Billy Moll) and the closer, a spirited “On Green Dolphin Street” (Bronisław Kaper/Ned Washington).

Musically, the players produced a satisfying sound—jazz cats most always rise to the occasion—but there was something missing in the personal chemistry of the group, and even Brecker’s usually outstanding work seemed a bit diminished. Rising to the top (and despite over-micing) was singer Martha Lorin, who possesses a strong voice like fine port wine and a particular sensitivity to lyrics. Her first two numbers, “Just Friends” (John Klenner/Sam M. Lewis) and one of the most recorded songs of all time, and very much associated with Baker, “My Funny Valentine” (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart) were delivered with characteristic Lorin intensity and finesse. It’s when she went into new territory, into a head voice, that antennas perked up. Her rendition of “Time After Time” (Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn), beginning as a slow ballad before moving into finger-snapping swing, was beautifully phrased and especially suited her. A mournfully begun “But Not for Me” (George and Ira Gershwin) morphed into an all-out blues tour de force, a style we’d like to see Lorin explore more fully in the future. Unquestionably, adding Lorin to the musical mix of the evening elevated the energy in the room and provided a needed counterpoint to the experience of the show.

Tags: A Night in Tunisia, American Songbook, Billy Moll, Bradley Young, Broadway Musicals, Bronislaw Kaper, But Not for Me, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, CD, Chet Baker, Clubs, Cole Porter, Composers, Dizzy Gillespie, George and Ira Gershwin, Great American Songbook, Harry Barris, I Remember Chet: Reflections on the Legacy and Music of Chet Baker, Jazz, Jazz Singers, John Di Fiore, John Klenner, Jule Styne, Just Friends, Kurt Weill, Lorenz Hart, lyricists, Marilyn Lester, Martha Lorin, Miles Davis, Musicals, Musicians, My Funny Valentine, Ned Washington, Nightclubs, Ogden Nash, On Green Dolphin Street, pangea, Popular Song, Randy Brecker, Revues, Rhythm-a-Ning, Richard Rodgers, Sam M. Lewis, Sammy Cahn, Show Tunes, Singers, Solar, Songbook, Speak Low, Standards, Steve LaSpina, Supper Clubs, Ted Koehler, Thelonious Monk, Time After Time, Venues, Vocalists, What Is This Thing Called Love?, Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams, Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (and Dream Your Troubles Away).

Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional