|
 |
DIVA TALK: "Nancy LaMott—Live at Tavern on the Green" Plus Audra at the Rose and Ute at the Carlyle
By Andrew Gans
14 Jan 2005
 |
|
Cover art for "Nancy LaMott—Live at Tavern on the Green"
|
| photo by Martin Moskof | News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.
NANCY LaMOTT
There are singers with beautiful voices, those with perfect pitch who produce gorgeous sounds. There are singers who boast enormous ranges, belting powerful high Cs and beyond. There are singers who are also great actors, bringing a mix of high emotion to each and every song. And, then, there was Nancy LaMott.
Yes, LaMott possessed a beautiful voice: a rich, lush, rounded, honey-toned sound that could be soft, sweet and creamy one minute and big and brassy the next. She also had an incredible range, belting Cs, Ds and E flats with the best of 'em. And, she certainly acted her songs exquisitely, bringing a lyric to life as honestly as possible. Yet, there was something more to this woman, who was the finest vocalist the cabaret world produced in the last several decades.
LaMott, who died of cancer in 1995, had the remarkable ability to find the emotional center of any song she performed and often delivered what would become the definitive version of that song. Anyone who heard her renditions of "Moon River," "So in Love," "Blues Skies," to name but a few, would not argue that statement: LaMott somehow seemed to become the song she was singing.
After an eight-year wait, a "new" recording from the late singer will be issued on the Midder Music label: Featuring expert arrangements and musical direction by Christopher Marlowe, "Nancy LaMott—Live at Tavern on the Green" is set to hit stores around the country Feb. 1. That date also marks the re-release of five previous LaMott recordings, all on the Midder label: her debut disc, "Beautiful Baby" (a great introduction to LaMott that features "Skylark," "The Child in Me" and her signature tune, "Help Is On the Way"); her tribute to the lyrics of Johnny Mercer, "Come Rain or Come Shine" ("Moon River" is the song I often play first for those who have never heard LaMott); her collection of romantic songs, "My Foolish Heart" (LaMott's striking medley of Sondheim's "Not a Day Goes By" and "Good Thing Going" make this recording a must); her breakthrough recording, "Listen to My Heart," which boasts orchestrations by Peter Matz; and the posthumously released "What's Good About Goodbye?" (who'd have thought anyone could bring new life to the Petula Clark hit "Downtown"?).
What sets the new recording apart from LaMott's previous discs, however, is the fact that it was recorded live in front of an audience — where the singer truly came to life, blossoming most fully. (That said, her studio recordings are among my favorite vocal recitals.) There is also one other major difference between this and previous LaMott discs. At the very end of her life, the 43-year-old performer had finally found true love, and her song choices, delivery and in-between patter during this Tavern on the Green engagement (directed by Scott Barnes) were all influenced by this blessed occurrence. Towards the end of the act, LaMott even jokes, "Well, we've come to the part of the show that normally I do a just gut-wrenching, slit your-wrist ballad, only I'm not going to do that this evening. I know, I know, you're all disappointed, but 'ya know, you grow, you change. I thought I would try something a little more positive." She then proceeds to deliver a heartfelt version of Alan and Marilyn Bergman and David Shire's "The Promise," and her exquisite delivery demonstrates that LaMott, whether singing songs of love lost or love found, was equally riveting.
Like so many of her concerts, LaMott begins her evening with one of her signature tunes, David Friedman's "Listen to My Heart," and she imbues the rousing ballad with a palpable sense of joy as she exclaims, "I've waited all my life for this one moment. I'm not waiting anymore!" She also brings a heartbreaking tenderness to Rodgers and Hart's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," and her renditions of "How Deep Is the Ocean," "Help Is On the Way" and "Secret O' Life" are more poignant than ever. But it's not at all a sad or depressing disc; in fact, LaMott seems to be riding high on clouds of love and music, having fun with a version of Johnny Mercer's "Jeepers Creepers" set against a variation of "Bach's Prelude #11 in F" and a wonderful, belty arrangement of Irving Berlin's "I Got the Sun in the Morning" that illustrates the amazing control she had of her vocal instrument. The live recording also shows the power LaMott had to take a song one may have heard and enjoyed previously (witness her version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Waters of March") or one the listener has never been introduced to (Rupert Holmes' "The People That You Never Get to Love") and turn them both into new favorites.
And, I've saved my favorite track of the recording for last: Alan Menken and Dean Pitchford's "Sailin' On [My Dreams]." It's a song that holds a special place in my heart, one I've loved for nearly two decades, and now — like so many other LaMott interpretations — I've finally found the ultimate version. It's a touching, joyous, yet ultimately wistful rendition, and midway through the song, LaMott produces the most beautiful, ethereal tone as she sings, "The north wind took me to God know where. Oceans uncharted drunk with salt aiiiiiirrrrrr." Perhaps, with just seven weeks left of her life, LaMott was subconsciously auditioning for the lead spot in a choir of angels. I'd like to think that after a life spent battling Crohn's disease and cancer, she's now singing in a much better place.
"Nancy LaMott: Live at Tavern on the Green" is the first recording I received in 2005. Yet, I know it is the one I will treasure most, no matter what else the new year brings.
[Produced by David Friedman, "Nancy LaMott—Live at Tavern on the Green" features Christopher Marlowe on piano, Steve LaSpina on bass and John Redsecker on drums. For more information, visit Click Here.]
Continued...
Contact Us | Advertise | Privacy Policy
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2009 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
|