[.ca] Ann Hampton Callaway

Pipes, Power, Passion:
And she swings like crazy. If her treatment of "Like Someone in Love" or "All the Things You Are" doesn't knock your socks off, you must not be wearing them. Ann's gifts invite comparisons with the likes of Cleo Laine, Diane Shuur, and other female vocal phenoms. And unlike some of them, she doesn't use the song merely as a "vehicle" for showing off sound, range, and phrasing. At the same time, I find this album a very mixed bag. Ann does have a tendency to overwhelm an evocative Rodgers & Hart ballad, as though she's going to "will" it into your consciousness with her musical rhetoric while unwittingly competing with the song's own charms (I confess I'm no Barbra fan). And the arrangements, replete with synthesizer and contrived interludes (even on "Like Someone"), occasionally get in the way, undercutting some of the exhilaration of the singer's inspired inventions. This is my first Ann Callaway album, and I suspect she's "mellowed and matured" since this release of over 10 years ago. Now that the performer has proven she's a major contender in a large and highly contested field, perhaps she and her arranger can afford to reflect on the lessons of Mabel Mercer or Billie Holiday.

Better Late Than Never.....:
I came to this cd (and Ann Hampton Callaway) a few years late. I first discovered her on her 1999 "Easy Living" album. I liked that cd so much that I went in search of other releases by this artist. That's how I came to own this fantastic, exceptional cd. Not only are the song selections the kind of standards one just loves listening to over and over, but her delivery of the titles is simply outstanding. This woman has a truly beautiful vocal instructment. She should be as well known as Streisand or Sarah Vaughan or Dianne Reeves. She's that good; and lately I can't stop playing this ten year old album! It's worth a listen to.

Ann Hampton Callaway sings beautifully here!:
This is an amazing album. From the first song, which Ann Hampton Callaway co-wrote with Cole Porter (no small accomplishment), to the rest of the selections which span the great American songbook, the performances and arrangements are superb. Ms. Callaway's original composition of "Perfect" is a true inspiration lyrically and musically. Her performance of "How Deep Is the Ocean" by Irving Berlin is quite possibly the definitive version of this wonderful standard, infused with a breathy emotion and fire and longing. "Our Love is Here to Stay" by George and Ira Gershwin is joyfully rendered, with charm and intelligence. Ann Hampton Callaway's ability to arfully handle phrasing and nuance of meaning and emotion resounds in every song in this collection. She is a wonder, and this group of songs is impressive and heart-stirring. What a joy! Ann's voice calls up memories of Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and even Barbra Streisand-! -so varied and rich is it in this offering. If you truly appreciate vocal music, add this to your collection, dim the lights, light a few candles, and share Ann Hampton Callaway with someone you love.

ANYWHERE YOUR MUSICAL TASTE WANDERS............:
.....follow it. it knows where it's going. that's how i found ann hampton callaway. i wasn't looking for her...i had never heard of her. i found mary cleere haran because i was looking for anyone who had recorded 'this heart of mine'....i was in a video/audio store one day in l994 and i found a cd called 'anwhere i wander -- liz callaway sings frank loesser'. i found it not because i knew what i was looking for. i found it because i let my taste...my feelings....my judgement do the searching. and when they they discovered what they knew i would want to own....they know me like they know my back ordered oscar peterson cds....and they knew that here was something special. i had never heard of liz callaway....i just trusted her taste because i figured how bad could she be if she chose to do a complete disc of frank loesser? her heart had to be full of the desire to express her respect and her admiration for mr. loesser's incredible contributions to a musical world made so much richer and warm all over by his talents. so i bought the cd. then, not too long ago i discovered that liz had a sister named ann hampton callaway and i figured...well...maybe there's a sibling rivalry here but that could result in two people growing, artistically, because they knew they would be open to a lot of comparisons. the cd i chose just happened to be ann hampton's (i feel i kind of know her on a first and middle name basis by now) debut adventure and that's how i have the cd called 'ann hampton callaway'....and you thought this was going to be your run of the mill 'i discovered her first' show biz story. there is something very nice about her. there is something very new and fresh and even original about her. and then there are the huge influences and suddenly she seems to want to be associated with those who inspired her and she, temporarily, gives up her originality to be THEM. but when she gets to 'my foolish heart' and 'i live to love'....forget about all the great ladies she feels she owes so much to....they did what they did and it's still there for us. now ann hampton callaway must do what she does best and it will be there for us and for her for a long time to come. there are times when her voice seems to be coming from another place...another space...another time. and maybe that's this spiritual thing that she absorbed in her dedication and love for ....well, just listen to her and you will hear them...but stay with it. you'll also get to hear something new and real and something so valuable....even the name 'ann hampton callaway' won't throw you off. she is an original. when she gets to know that....look out! she could really 'happen'.

• I Gaze in Your Eyes
• But Beautiful
• Too Late Now
• I've Got Just About Everything
• Time for Love
• How Deep Is the Ocean?
• I've Got the World on a String
• My Romance/My Foolish Heart \o*\c
• Lush Life \o*\c
• Like Someone in Love
• Here's That Rainy Day
• All the Things You Are
• I Live to Love You
• Love Is Here to Stay
• Perfect