{"id":4008,"date":"2014-01-01T22:21:10","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T22:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jazzusa.com\/beth-yeshaya-far-cry-live-at-studio-m\/"},"modified":"2011-01-01T22:21:10","modified_gmt":"2011-01-01T22:21:10","slug":"beth-yeshaya-far-cry-live-at-studio-m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jazzusa.com\/?p=4008","title":{"rendered":"Beth Yeshaya – Far Cry: Live at Studio M"},"content":{"rendered":"

Far Cry: Live at Studio M<\/font>
Beth Yeshaya<\/font>
(Danti – 2001)
by John Barrett <\/font><\/p>\n

Many people make live albums, but rarely like this. Beth Yeshaya hired a radio station in Minnesota and invited 45 guests … giving her an audience and studio-quality sound. The guests were served food and drink in the studio, which lent to a “live” ambience (clinking glasses, etc.) After the vocals were done, some tracks received additional orchestration – making this unusually lush for a live date. All this effort was worth it: Beth has made a strong, emotional album. <\/p>\n

\t“Lush Life” seems happy: an ing\u00e9nue’s voice mingles with piano and cello. (She then veers into a Lazy Sleeze persona; a little obvious, and I think she overdoes it.) Yawning through the words, Beth feels their weight, hurting until the end – she sings “lonely too” at the top of her range, as if in a moment of clarity. A spooky B-3 whistles through “Angel Eyes”, along with Mark Henderson’s worldly tenor. Beth pleads in the heights, and her voice slides from worry – like she’s on slippery ground. Woodwinds look up to heaven on “A Case of You”; she trips through those wordy lyrics without a care. She’s quiet, so listen closely – it will tickle your brain, as it does for the crowd. <\/p>\n

\tWe get two sets of lyrics for “A Night in Tunisia”: the original by Frank Paparelli, followed by Eddie Jefferson’s vocalese rendering. (Beth loves Eddie – she also does his “Come Along with Me”, giggling all the way. “Funny Valentine” is sung simpler than normal, in a child’s voice and innocence (with a few sultry sighs to prove she’s grown up!) Just a piano and a heartbeat bass – everything else is Beth, weeping like a flute or moaning saxlike. Her husband Adi is at the keys, in a classical turn; he sets the mood as much as she does. And “Far Cry” is all Beth’s; she laments against the quietest background. “It’s a dream, more like a memory\/When the wind blows your spirit through the trees.” This one will calm you; it’s a cry of sadness, but also peace. <\/p>\n

\tFor several tunes Beth welcomes the vocal quartet Vox One, and we steer towards the pop side of things. Sting’s “Brand New Day” gets the old swing treatment: horns frantically surge, while she twiddles the run-on words. The group’s harmonies are sharp (they compare to New York Voices) but are a little slick for my taste. It gets the crowd’s best reaction – and well it should. Dean Magraw’s guitar shines on “Manha de Carnaval”, as Beth sings in English. The orchestra is rich, deep, and woody – she is the same. The quartet adds sheen to “Diamonds on Velvet”, a fine ballad composed by Beth. She’s breathy and fragile, the way some pop singers are; I think I’d prefer something more forceful. Never mind, though: the song is good and its arrangement breathtaking. “Bye Bye Blackbird” borrows the Jon Hendricks chart; Adi’s solo quotes “‘Round Midnight”, and their 11-year old daughter is surprisingly good on the last chorus. (She gets the biggest ovation.) If you need the definition of “labor of love”, this would be it – and I think you’ll love it. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

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