© -Steven
Cerra , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
IT'S ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS. THE SUBTLE THINGS.
“It was a thought that
repeated in my mind as I listened to this album. My ear would be captured by
the very personal way Monica's voice caressed a long-known melody, or by an
oblique turn of phrase or harmony chosen by her empathetic, almost telepathic,
accompanist, Beegie Adair. A song, such as "Change Partners" or
"Lullaby of the Leaves," might have at its foundation a rhythmic
feeling that simply drew me in and wouldn't let go. Sometimes, a lyric that I
hadn't been aware of, such as one in "Witchcraft," took me by
pleasant surprise and deeper into the song. As I listened, I noticed that small,
seemingly unimportant, variations in instrumentation (George Tidwell's
harmon-muted trumpet; a duo between Monica and Roger
Spencer's warm contrabass; a cheeky, Basie-like figure from the piano; a
lyrical tenor solo by Denis Solee) gave energy and a sense of lift to this
collection of wonderful songs.
Monica Ramey sings with grace
and elegance. Sometimes her voice moves into a territory of supple huskiness
that I associate with Ella Fitzgerald. Other times, it has an agility and
precision reminiscent of Barbra Streisand, someone I know is one of Monica's
hugest influences. Monica uses these abilities to deliver the world of the song
first to your ears (sometimes it's like she's singing directly to you), then to
a much deeper place where you can really feel it. And above everything it's the
feeling that's palpable, all the way through to the closing strains of
"Why Did I Choose You," the stunning duet between Monica and Beegie
that closes the set.
As the music played, I
remained pleasurably aware of the grain of emotion, heart, musical honesty and
beauty woven throughout this album. And all along the way, the little, subtle
things continued to accumulate, creating a harmonious, luminous whole.”
-Anthony Wilson, Jazz guitarist
"Now that the trend of
aging rockers cutting albums of show tunes and standards seems thankfully to
have run its course, we're back to vocalists with a real feel for and
understanding of the jazz tradition doing them justice. Nashville
soaring and engaging
interpretations of material from The Great American Songbook."
- Ron Wynn, Nashville
I am terrible at
this sort of thing, but the title of this piece is intended as a play-on-words
involving Lester Young’s nickname for the legendary Jazz vocalist, Billie
Holiday.
Lester, himself an
iconic tenor saxophonist, called Billie “Lady Day” and she called him “The
President” which was later shortened to “Prez.”
His sound on tenor
sax blended so well with Billie’s sultry voice that they became forever
associated with one another in the minds of many Jazz fans.
Given how well
vocalist Monica Ramey works with pianist Beegie Adair, the allusion to Billie
Holiday immediately came to mind and was reinforced by the fact that Monica and
Beegie are both ladies.
But enough about
my poor attempts at word play, let’s turn our attention to Monica and Beegie.
Like Prez and Lady
Day, Monica and Beegie were made for each other.
Simple as that.
The interplay
between Monica’s song stylings and Beegie’s piano accompaniment is beautiful to
behold.
They fit together:
nothing strained or exaggerated. The music just flows between them. And
although they make it sound so effortless, what they do together and how well
they do it is really rare and very special.
Ron Wynn, writing
in the January 26, 2012 edition of The
Nashville Scene describes it this way:
“According to
Adair, Monica has a really good ear. “She can hear things in a song and do
things vocally that give me a lot of freedom as an accompanist. There are so
many singers who have pitch problems. She's also a really hard worker. She pays
attention and always strives for the right sound. Of course, she's studied
under Sandra (Dudley ), so you know she's gotten really good
instruction.’
‘Beegie is a
vocalist's pianist,’ Ramey responds when asked what she likes about working
with Adair. ‘She knows lyrics. She's thoughtful about musical conversations,
and she creates so many avenues. If I just take the right approach, I know she'll
provide me with what I need.’
‘There are not
many singers who can hear those harmonic opportunities if the pianist takes
them,’ Adair says. ‘There are some singers I've played behind that never knew
what to do if you tried to go in a different direction. Monica can make those
moves. She really allows me to take a song in any direction.’”
In an ideal world,
Monica and Beegie would be appearing together at a supper club near you every
weekend. Of course, bassist Roger Spencer and drummer Chris Brown would have to be there, too;
nothing like a bassist to frame the bottom of the chord and the swishing sound
of brushes on a snare drum and riveted ride cymbal to add dimension to the
music.
You’d take your
best girl or guy [sounds better than “significant other”] for an early dinner
and while relaxing over a nice bottle of wine, Monica and Beegie’s trio would
play two, one hour sets at 8:30 and 10:30 PM filling your soul with the beauty of Jazz
that is sung and played to perfection.
Have you ever
noticed how approachable Jazz vocalists and musicians are? Jazz is an intimate music and I love hearing
it performed in an intimate setting. It’s great when you can reach out to one
of the musicians and compliment them on their playing, or request a tune to be
played during the next set or ask them to autograph their latest CD.
Perhaps Monica
would have already sung some of your favorite tunes in the first set, songs
like – As Long As I Live, I Thought About
You [Johnny Mercer’s lyrics!], I’ll
Close My Eyes, Witchcraft, This Could Be The Start Of Something Big, or Oh! Look at Me Now.
And maybe Monica
would agree to close the second set with just she and Beegie at the piano
poignantly performing Why Did I Choose
You? sending everybody home holding hands and dreamy-eyed with the
lovely lyrics and beautiful melody of this Michael Leonard and Herbert Martin
tune still fresh in their minds.
The musicianship that Monica and Beegie display is so good and made for such a delightful evening for you and your guest that you drop by the bandstand on your way out to thank them for the treat and promise to return the following weekend.
The musicianship that Monica and Beegie display is so good and made for such a delightful evening for you and your guest that you drop by the bandstand on your way out to thank them for the treat and promise to return the following weekend.
And when you do,
Monica and Beegie’s trio sing and play more of your favorite songs among them: Lullaby of the Leaves, Whisper Not and Will
You Still Be Mine?
They also
introduce you to some music that is new to you like You Fascinate Me So and It
Amazes Me – both by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh and Fly Away with words and music by Lori Meecham and Beegie Adair.
Unfortunately,
this ideal world does not exist as many of us do not have a chance to drop by
our local Jazz bistro and supper club and listen to Monica and Beegie on a
regular basis [although if you are in the NYC area, they will be appearing at
Birdland on May 2, 2013].
So what’s the next
best thing?
How about a CD of
Monica, Beegie, Roger and Chris performing all of the tunes, one that you can listen to
over and over again to your heart’s content?
If this is the
case, then your heart will be contented because such a CD is set to be released
next month.
Chris DiGirolamo
and his team at Two for The Show Media is handling the press and publicity for
the forthcoming CD by Monica and Beegie Adair’s Trio which will be available
for purchase on February 26, 2013.
Chris has this to
say about Monica, Beegie and the recording in his media relations release:
© -Chris DiGirolamo/Two For The Show Media;
used with permission, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“Vocalist Monica Ramey and The Beegie Adair
Trio release Self-titled debut from the Adair Music Group. February 26'",
2013
Vocalist Monica
Ramey's much-anticipated new album, 'Monica Ramey and the Beegie Adair Trio'
(Adair Music Group) is coming! Ramey's sophomore album accentuates the
undeniable chemistry of one of the world's most successful jazz trios (Beegie
Adair, piano; Roger Spencer, bass; Chris Brown, drums) with a
vocalist (Ramey) who elegantly interweaves lush, lyrical sophistication to an
already immaculate musical conversation. Produced by Adair and Spencer, the
album also features on two of the trio and Ramey's most beloved musical mates,
jazz masters George Tidwell and Denis Sole, on several tracks. The result is
the introduction and re-introduction of some of jazz's much adored and forgotten
songs and the introduction of an original tune, co-written by Adair.
"The album is
special because I learned these songs listening to the trio, live, over the
years at their weekly Nashville
"Producing
this project with Roger was an absolute joy." Adair states. "I'm extremely proud
of this album and believe the trio's fans will thoroughly enjoy it. Monica's
growing fan base will surely adore it as well. There are really so many reasons
to love this album, including the fact that it really swings!"
About Monica Ramey:
This kind of
reaction is a reoccurring theme in the case of Midwest native Monica Ramey and
artists like Donna McElroy, Jim Ferguson, Denis Solee, Jeff Steinberg, Lori
Mechem, Roger Spencer, George Tidwell, Sandra Dudley and
Beegie Adair are just a few who are singing her praise.
Monica is a native
of Francesville, one of Indiana Indiana Los Angeles County High School
This break would
become one of the most important opportunities in Monica's life. Being one of
12 selected nationally for the choir, Monica had little jazz experience, but
while performing with some of the music industry's finest, she discovered the
impact of jazz music in her own life and in our society. The responsibility all
performers have to its preservation and authenticity left a profound and
lasting impact on her.
Monica studied
Music Performance at Indiana State University Los Angeles
In 2000, she moved
to Nashville Nashville Roger Spencer, Sandra Dudley, Beegie Adair, Jeff
Steinberg, Rod McGaha, Jim Ferguson, Roy Agee, Annie Sellick as well as create
a family away from home.
On her debut
album, Make Someone Happy, Monica is joined by the Lori Mechem Trio
and special guest, Beegie Adair. This special project hosts many standard tunes
with horn arrangements by Denis Solee and two original tunes by Lori Mechem,
Beegie Adair and Hal Stephens. Produced by Lori Mechem, Roger Spencer and Sandra Dudley, the album
captures the finest example of Monica's musical capabilities at this point in
her career. Make Someone Happy is receiving international airplay on jazz
radio, Pandora, Music Choice and DMX to name a few.
Her
much-anticipated second album, Monica Ramey and the Beegie Adair Trio,
accentuates the undeniable chemistry of one of the world's most successful jazz
trios (Beegie Adair, piano; Roger Spencer, bass; Chris Brown, drums) with a vocalist (Ramey) who
elegantly interweaves lush, lyrical sophistication to an already immaculate
musical conversation. Produced by Adair and Spencer, the album also features on
two of the trio and Ramey's most endeared musical mates, jazz masters George Tidwell
and Denis Sole, on several tracks. The result is the introduction and
re-introduction of some of jazz's most beloved and forgotten songs and the introduction
of an original tune, co-written by Adair.
Monica performs
regularly in various venues, festivals and private events throughout the U.S.
Here are two links
at which you can purchased the CD after its release date of 2/26/2013 :
This video montage
is set to Monica’s duo with Beegie on Why
Did I Choose You? The sheer beauty of this piece may tempt you to hold your
breath for 4:54
minutes. Probably not a good idea.
