Cheryl Bentyne – Talk of the Town
Cheryl Bentyne
Talk of the Town
(Telarc Jazz – 2004)
by Paula Edelstein
As one of the members of Manhattan Transfer, Cheryl Bentyne has enjoyed international critical acclaim and performing in world-class venues with her award-winning colleagues. With Talk of the Town, her solo debut for Telarc Jazz, she gets the opportunity to show what she can do in another setting with other world-class musicians accompanying her vocal talents. The CD feeatures Kenny Barron and Corey Allen on piano, John Patitucci on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, David “Fathead” Newman on tenor saxophone, Chuck Mangione on flugelhorn and Mark Kibble and Alvin Chea of Take 6 doing background vocals.
Ms. Cheryl Bentyne is definitely the Talk of the Town and is riding high on the jazz charts at this writing. Bentyne is not a torch singer, but one that has a voice with perfect pitch and a style that sure to lure you into her web.
The sexy vocalist sings such great songs as “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To,” “The Very Thought Of You,” “It Might As Well Be Spring,” and other great jazz and Broadway standards. Toned down and singing mostly ballads, Bentyne’s renditions of these special arrangements are what make this CD so inviting. One of the many great highlights is Mel Torme’s arrangement of “Love Me Or Leave Me,” on which Bentyne’s phrasing and scatting are so rooted in the 50s that you want to take out the vinyl and reflect back on the heart of the matter. She sings over a a fine guajeo arrangement of “It Might As Well Be Spring” but it is her rendition of “These Foolish Things” and “The Meaning of The Blues” that makes this set a keeper.
Reprinted with permission of…
