Cheryl Bentyne has been singing with the Manhattan Transfer
since the group’s 1980 album Extensions. That
album was arguably one of the group’s most popular recordings,
and they continued to ascend in popularity throughout the
decade. Bentyne proved a valuable asset to the group, performing
trademark performances with them, including her lead vocal
on “Say You Say,” “Meet Benny Bailey,”
and “Another Night In Tunisia,” on which she collaborated
with Bobby McFerrin and for which she and McFerrin received
a Grammy award.
Now Bentyne has joined fellow Transferite Janis Siegel in
releasing a solo album for the Telarc label. Here, unconstrained
by the Transfer’s history and fans’ expectations,
Cheryl is emphatically a jazz singer, a role that she takes
on with complete confidence and in which she performs well.
Backed by an ace group of jazz musicians (pianist Kenny Barron,
bassist John Patitucci, drummer Lewis Nash, percussionist
Don Alias, saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman,
flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione, and backup vocalists Mark
Kibble and Alvin Chea of Take 6), Ms. Bentyne navigates her
way through thirteen songs that feature none of the kitschy
retro-stylings of Manhattan Transfer. Of course, the Transfer
itself has moved in a decidedly more jazz-oriented direction
in recent years, a move that is no doubt driven by the love
each member has for the style.
The song selection is excellent and gives Cheryl a chance
to show off what she can do with various styles. “You’d
Be So Nice to Come Home To” is the perfect opener, and
Bentyne is able to swing mightily as she effortlessly works
through the well-known song by one of her favorite composers.
“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” continues
to sound effortless and unforced, with Mangione provding some
beautiful playing to accent Bentyne’s vocal efforts.
Kenny Barron is one of the great living jazz pianists, and
he shines on “Little Butterfly,” the Jon Hendricks
adaptation of Thelonious Monk’s gorgeous composition
“Panonica.” Here Barron provides a solo that is
true both to his own style and to the composition without
any attempts to ‘Monk it up.’ The result is one
of the finest vocal turns on a Monk tune I’ve heard.
“The Very Thought of You” and “Love Me Or
Leave Me” are unabashedly romantic and simply sumptuous
versions that put Bentyne’s voice out front, with no
gimmicks or distractions. “Everything Happens to Me,”
with its near-comical list of tragedies, features a typically
beautiful ballad solo from Newman’s tenor sax. Before
you even realize it you’re halfway through the disc
and Cheryl’s batting a thousand!
Bentyne only recorded the Annie Ross vocalese classic “Farmer’s
Market” at the insistence of producer Corey Allen, and
we can thank Allen for his insistence, because Bentyne gives
a knockout performance on this bebop tune, and Barron, Nash,
and Patitucci absolutely smoke. Next up is the title track,
paired with another Cole Porter composition, the finger-snapping
“Get Out of Town.”
The next two numbers are Bobby Troupe compositions, and Bentyne’s
style fits well with the easy-going, Basie-esque nature of
the songs. “Girl Talk” sounds a little like a
Manhattan Transfer number as Bentyne is joined by Mark Kibble
and Alvin Chea from the vocal group Take 6. Cheryl’s
reading of Troupe’s “The Meaning of the Blues”
is introspective and melancholy, and Barron’s piano
work is stunning, with echoes of the stride style in his solo.
The album comes into the home stretch with an unusual Latin
adaptation of “It Might As Well Be Spring.” and
a heartfelt rendition of “These Foolish Things,”
and finishes nicely with an original by Allen and Bentyne,
“Still Good Friends.”
Talk of the Town is one of the best vocal releases heard
in this admittedly young year, and for folks who like clear,
straightforward interpretations of songs without a lot of
scatting and pyrotechnics will appreciate Bentyne’s
approach here. And since you get a knockout accompanying group
as well, it’s like getting two CDs in one package.
