Pure Pleasure / Atlantic PPAN SD 2-904 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

AAA 100%  Analogue -  Pressed at Pallas Germany - Limited Edition

Audiophile Mastering by Ray Staff at Air London - Atlantic SD 2-904 

AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only, from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

If your are a McRae fan you really have to buy this. Musicians backing her are first rate and so is the live recording.Sound 5/5 LPReview

The audio quality of this album is excellent. There is distinct stereo separation and the mix volumes adjust to the band appropriately. For vinyl lovers, the sight of the familiar red and green (with a white stripe through the middle) Atlantic label is nostalgic. The high-gloss gatefold packaging is superior. Carmen McRae – The Great American Songbook is a very good jazz album. In 1972, the commercial viability of jazz was not optimal. Now, it can be fully appreciated. 4/5 Audiophileaudition

This is a gem of an album and one of my favorites by McRae. It was recorded live for Atlantic Records at Donte's Club in Los Angeles on November 6, 1971 and released the following year.
 
What I love is not only the choice of songs, but the sound quality and the performance itself. The set not only contains established standards by Ellington, Cole Porter and the other greats, but some new (at the time) material. Including Burt Bacharach's 'They Long To Be Close To You' in the set was a wise decision in my opinion. It deserves to be a standard. Of course there is the obligatory Billie Holiday song that McRae would include in all of her performances. On this album it's I Cried for You, which was one of Billie's first recordings in 1936.
 
The sound quality is superb. The engineer managed to capture not only the energy from the live performance, but the richness of the ensemble backing McRae. Indeed, the musicians backing her are perfect for the material: Jimmy Rowles on piano (who wrote the Ballad of Thelonious Monk), Joe Pass on guitar, Chuck Domanico on bass and Chuck Flores on drums.
 
If you love hearing some of the best songs from the Great American Songbook performed by a master this album will delight you. There is a cohesiveness to the album that earns kudos from the production team as well as the performers. Interestingly McRae and her ensemble performed 32 songs the night that this was recorded. One can only speculate as to why a volume 2 wasn't released. Regardless, this is - in my opinion - some of McRae's best live material.

Diana Krall said in an interview that she wishes she had been present at this performance as "Those were the days when they were singing songs, and they weren't into worrying about whether you scat sang or not. You knew you were a jazz singer by the way you approached things

Jazz chanteuse delivers a versatile set on a vinyl re-mastering of a 1972 concert.

Pure Pleasure Records has released a remastered 180-gram vinyl of Carmen McRae – The Great American Songbook. The album (Atlantic 1972) was recorded live at Dante’s restaurant/cafe/jazz club in Los Angeles over four nights. As described, McRae and a top-notch ensemble (Joe Pass/guitar; Chuck Domanico/double bass; Jimmy Rowles/piano; Chuck Flores/drums) deliver artistic jazz interpretations of diverse musical standards. After some glib band introductions, Domanico lays down a vampy double bass line to open Duke Ellington’s immortal “Satin Doll”. McRae joins in a duet for two verses with saucy phrasing. The band finishes as Pass executes a trademark fluid solo. Switching to finger-snapping medium swing, McRae loosens up on Cole Porter’s “At Long Last Love”. It is short and sweet (just under two-and-a-half minutes). McRae just gets better with each number. Her maturity and vibrato shine on the languid “If The Moon Turns Green”. She adapts to up tempo on “Day By Day”, and nails the clever Sammy Cahn lyrics. But she unleashes her soulful resonance on the Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman masterpiece “What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life”. In a stellar duo with Pass, all of this song’s haunting imagery and lyrics are given a worthy jazz treatment. McRae explores lower-register vocals with unflinching commitment.

McRae takes on “I Only Have Eyes For You” with a saucy, jazz/blues shading. She interacts with the band in a more pronounced way as a vocalist. Of course, there is the dreaded “medley”. McRae even jokes about it in her intro. “Easy Living” is personal and Joe Pass contributes more dynamic guitar licks. On “The Days Of Wine And Roses” (can’t go wrong with material from Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer), McRae’s softer tone and peerless elocution showcase her artistic range, The transition to a samba/bossa nova arrangement of “It’s Impossible” brings a near ten-minute medley to a satisfying close. McRae and her band hit a jaunty groove on the under appreciated “Sunday”. This song is an ebullient antidote to “Stormy Monday.”

Most of the setlist is chosen well. McRae utilizes a deliberate phrasing on Leon Russell’s brilliant “A Song For You”. Rowles’ soulful piano and Domanico’s bowed double bass are transcendent. Heading back in time, “I Cried For You, Now It’s Your Time To Cry Over Me” is unadulterated high energy swing and may be the best group performance on the album. McRae does a pair (or as she pits it “two groovy tunes”) of Rowles’ compositions. Her verbal patter is sublimely hip like Sinatra. The second opus is a country and western tribute (no joke!) to Monk (“The Ballad Of Thelonious Monk”) that is funny and wildly creative. Not all of the material works. Anthony Newley’s “There’s No Such Thing As Love” feels like a derivative of “For Once In My Life”. Burt Bacharach/Hal David’s pop ditty “They Long to Be Close To You” isn’t suited to this band. There are many other songs from this terrific songwriting duo that would have sounded better. However corny works on the old standard “Three Little Words”, which includes a deft up tempo transition. A certain highlight is McCrae accompanying herself on piano for “Mr. Ugly”. With superior compositions, the band finishes strong with “It’s Like Reaching For The Moon” and “I Thought About You.”

The audio quality of this album is excellent. There is distinct stereo separation and the mix volumes adjust to the band appropriately. For vinyl lovers, the sight of the familiar red and green (with a white stripe through the middle) Atlantic label is nostalgic. The high-gloss gatefold packaging is superior. Carmen McRae – The Great American Songbook is a very good jazz album. In 1972, the commercial viability of jazz was not optimal. Now, it can be fully appreciated.                                                                             

Musicians:
Carmen McRae, vocals, piano
Joe Pass, guitar
Jimy Rowles, piano
Chuck Domanico, bass
Chuck Flores, drums

Selections:
Side A:
Introduction
1. Satin Doll
2. At Long Last Love
3. If the Moon Turns Green
4. Day By Day
5. What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life
Side B:
1. I Only Have Eyes For You
2. Medley: Easy Living / Days of Wine & Roses / It's Impossible 
3. Sunday

Side C:
Introduction
1. A Song For You
2. I Cried For You Now It's Your Turn To Cry Over Me 
Introduction
3. Behind the Face
Introduction
4. The Ballad of Thelonious Monk
5. There's No Such Thing As Love
Side D:
Introduction
1. They Long To Be Close To You
2. Three Little Words
Introduction
3. Mr. Ugly
4. It's Like Reaching For the Moon
5. I Thought About You

Recorded live at Donte's, Los Angeles, California, November 6, 1971.

Produced by Jack Rael
 
Recording engineer: Ray Thompson for Wally Heider
Supervised by Michael Cuscuna