Ran Blake - Cocktails At Dusk: A Noir Tribute To Chris Connor '2014

Tracks list

What constitutes the Chris Connor style? After 60 years of listening to Chris
Connor-- starting with the incredible Bill Russo arrangement “All About
Ronnie” (1953), I still ask myself this question. I believe it is the tone
of her voice, her sense of dynamics, her rhythmical concept in phrasing and
accent, and most of all three qualities which I consider of paramount
importance: her intensity, or use of silence, and her ability to surprise.

Perhaps the real greatness and originality of Chris Connor lies in the first
quality mentioned: her extraordinary intensity. This intensity would often
spring directly from her manipulations of rhythm and through her breath control,
which was her greatest technical asset. She was able to extend and carryover
phrases that most other singers have to break up. She could hold onto a note or
a phrase, filling it with her tone for its whole rhythmic life. Chris would also
double the tempo at dramatic moments, subdivide the beat in original ways, lag
behind and urgently pull ahead. Chris’ personal approach to show tune
lyrics was another of her many marvelous qualities. Many show tunes have trivial
themes and inane lyrics, but when Chris sang these songs she was absolutely as
personal- and if you’ll excuse the word, “deep” - as Mingus,
Bartok, Monk, Archie Shepp, Ben Webster, John Lewis, Elliott Carter, Otis
Redding, or Gunther Schuller. You can hear anger, pathos, and great tenderness.

In a pop ballad, Chris’ voice would suddenly surge, and perhaps at the
oddest moment when the audience would least expect- keeping them on the edge of
their seats with Chris’ mercurial thrashes. “What will happen
next?” This is immediately startling for its own sake, but what makes it
even more fascinating is how this is jux- taposed within the piece, set, or
evening as a whole.

Chris’ voice quite often is low and husky, but so are those of dozens of
other singers. What particularly intrigues me is the way in which her vibrato is
introduced just before the release of a sustained note. When speaking of
Chris’ voice, we must also examine her use of dynamics and use of
silence. Virtually no jazz singer of the 20th century used dynamics in such a
thrilling and unpredictable manner.

Young people who have not been exposed to her are missing a kind of experience
which the singers they are listening to, though they may have other virtues,
don’t provide. It’s my hope that through this record dedicated to
her that people will become more aware of her incredible contribution to jazz,
and music as a whole. (Downbeat, May 28th 1970)

Tracklist:
01. Ran Blake - Ten Cents A Dance (5:00)
02. Ran Blake - All About Ronnie (5:11)
03. Ran Blake - Fine And Dandy (2:44)
04. Ran Blake - Why Can’t I (4:05)
05. Ran Blake - Where Are You? (4:54)
06. Ran Blake - I Get A Kick Out Of You (4:21)
07. Ran Blake - Moon Ride (2:31)
08. Ran Blake - Go Way From My Window (3:25)
09. Ran Blake - Almost Like Being In Love (2:10)
10. Ran Blake - Hallelujah I Love Her So (2:23)
11. Ran Blake - Speak Low (3:03)
12. Ran Blake - Anything Goes (3:07)
13. Ran Blake - Driftwood (3:44)

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