Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Rickie Lee Jones, BMG Modern Recordings 2023.
I’ve recently received several albums that could be considered as nostalgic, where artists delve back into the American songbook.
The recently reviewed album by Anne Burnell, dedicated to the music of Harold Arlen, is a case in point.
And now the wonderful Rickie Lee Jones will be releasing her tribute to the great American songwriters with Pieces of Treasure due for worldwide release on April 28.
The album was recorded over a five-day period at Sear Sound in New York City with an exclusively selected quartet of musicians chosen by producer Russ Titlman, who produced Jones’ first self-titled album (1979) and also her hugely successful Pirates album (1981).
The quartet consisted of Rob Mounsey on piano, Russell Malone on guitar, bassist David Wong, and drummer Mark McLean and their elegant and restrained backing beautifully underpins Rickie Lee Jones’ deeply emotive vocals.
Rickie Lee explains the process thus: “On this album Russ masterfully picked players who are exceptional musicians, who listen and respond. And that’s partly why this sparse thing sounds so totally complete. Because everyone responds to each other and builds this perfect room.”
This album isn’t the first time that Rickie Lee Jones has dabbled in jazz.
Throughout her career the Grammy winning singer has interpreted an extraordinarily wide range of songs.
She’s recorded celebrated jazz-leaning albums including Girl at Her Volcano (1983) and Pop Pop, (1991) but until now she hasn’t dedicated an entire album to the American Songbook.
Jones has released the first single from the album, Just In Time (written by Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green)
The track list is:
Just In Time (Styne, Comden, Green), There Will Never Be Another You (Harry Warren, Mack Gordon), Nature Boy (Eden Ahbez),One For My Baby (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer),They Can’t Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin),All The Way (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn),Here’s That Rainy Day (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke),September Song (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson), On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields), and It’s All In The Game (Charles G Dawes, Carl Sigman).
You can listen to Just In Time via YouTube.
