MABEL MERCER: Sings Cole Porter (1954)

MABEL MERCER
Apesar de ter influenciado toda uma geração de cantores nos USA, Mabel Mercer ainda é um segredo muito bem guardado. Entre seus confessos discípulos estavam ninguém menos que: Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Short, Nat "King" Cole Short, Blossom Dearie, Nancy Wilson e Mark Murphy - para citar apenas alguns. E do rol de seus amigos e admiradores faziam parte: Cole Porter, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald e muitos outros, do mesmo calibre. Precisa dizer mais alguma coisa?

(*)Ah, acho que precisa sim: Mabel era mulata de olhos azuis...
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MABEL MERCER
Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the Carlyle, the St. Regis Hotel, and eventually her own room, the Byline Club. Among those who frequently attended Mercer's shows was Frank Sinatra, who made no secret of his emulating her phrasing and story-telling techniques. Her mother was a young, white English music hall performer, and her father was a black American jazz musician whom Mabel never knew. At age fourteen, she left her convent school in Manchester, and toured Britain and Europe with her aunt in vaudeville and music hall engagements.In 1928, she was an unknown member of the black chorus in the London production of Show Boat, but she had become the toast of Paris by the 1930s, with admirers who included Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Cole Porter. When World War II broke out, she traveled to America to sing in the finest supper clubs in New York City. She also made many concert appearances across the U.S.  Her original and reissued albums are collector's items. When President Ronald Reagan presented it to her in a ceremony at the White House, he called her "a singer's singer" and "a living testament to the artfulness of the American song". She also received two honorary Doctor of Music degrees: one from Boston's Berklee College of Music, the other from the New England Conservatory of Music.Mabel Mercer died on 20 April 1984, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1985, the Mabel Mercer Foundation was established with the efforts of her long-time friend and professional associate Donald F. Smith. This not-for-profit arts organization was formed to keep Mercer's memory alive, and to contribute to the art of cabaret performing by supporting artists and providing information resources.
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ALBUM REVIEW
Mabel was singing Cole Porter songs when they were new in the l930's, and Mr. Porter considered her-- along with Bobby Short--to be the best interpretors of his music. Frank Sinatra openly admitted learning much about musical phrasing from this very special artist. Each song is almost spoken rather than sung, and listen to "Experiment" to understand how each becomes what Porter intended--a wise, witty lesson in life for the sophisticated student of love's strange way of levelling the playing field for even the smartest and most over-privileged among us.

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Frank Sinatra called Mabel Mercer nothing less than, "the greatest cabaret singer of all time." Her sensual, intelligent, unique, and somewhat "spoken" style of singing is perfect for interpreting lyrically clever or involved songs, as were most of Porter's songs. (And some of the best of Porter's stuff is on this CD.) At the time of this recording Mercer was already quite old and, frankly, past her prime. BUT HER MAGIC IS STILL EVIDENT--VERY! Any Porter or Mercer fan must have this great CD.

~Source: Amazon.com
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MINHA OPINIÃO
Dizer o que? Depois de todos aqueles nomes mencionados lá em cima, quem sou eu para acrescentar qualquer comentário? Mabel Mercer cantando Cole Porter está acima do bem e do mal.
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MABEL MERCER: Sings Cole Porter (1954)

PERSONNEL:
Mabel Mercer, vocals
Cy Walter, piano
Stan Freeman, piano
Frank Carroll, bass

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1. It's Delovely    
2. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye   
3. Experiment    
4. Ours           
5. After You    
6. Where Oh Where   
7. It's All Right With Me   
8. So In Love    
9. Looking At You   
10. When Love Comes Your Way    
11. I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple   
12. Use Your Imagination    
13. Ace In The Hole    
14. Just One Of Those Things   
15. From This Moment On    
16. All Of You    
17. Down In The Depths