Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Diane Marino: On The Street Where You Live

105

Diane Marino: On The Street Where You Live

By

Sign in to view read count
Diane Marino: On The Street Where You Live
On her second album, singer-pianist Diane Marino presents eleven tracks of standards, jazz standards and five Brazilian-oriented selections. Her preference for the latter songs reflects her fluent Portuguese. These tunes are delivered with what sounds like a more Hispanic vocal and certainly has no affectations of American vocal versions of the same material. It would the difference between hearing Jobim being sung by Gal Costa and then by Joyce. Only "Once I Loved" is performed in English. "Toucans Dance," a Dori Caymmi composition, is given a lengthy Flora Purim vocalese intro followed by the lyrics.

There are several songs on which Marino alters the melody by intentionally singing in a lower register. On Bobby Timmons' classic, "Moanin'," every time that the title word is mentioned (at the end of alternate lines), it is sung more darkly than usual, thus changing the feel and texture of the song.

On the title song by Lerner and Lowe, the same occurs. For example, in the following quatrain

Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour out of every door?
No, it's just on the street where you live.

The emphasis changes on the words "heart," "lark," " of town," "enchantment," "every," and "street where you live," resulting in an entirely different tone from that suggested by Mssrs. Lerner & Lowe. It was the singer's intention to depict this tune as a sad song, using a "pedal tone re-harmonization and complementary melody line re-construction" by putting the emphasis on those words and "de-emphasizing the standard melody line." A lovely soprano sax solo by Mitch Reilly ensues.

On Gilbert Becaud's "What Now My Love" another minor alteration of one word in the title line had the same effect.Yet, on the Dorsey/Mertz standard, "I'm Glad There Was You," the vocal is delivered in a straight forward fashion. Apparently, it is the artist's intention to show that popular songs can be altered in meaning and texture by a fairly sophisticated use of harmonics, and while it serves to awaken different and new applications for oft-heard standards, my own preference is for the improvisation to follow the standard melody line, even though that would defeat Diane Marino's intent.

The combo gets an instrumental chance to shine on "Bernie's Tune" done up in a Latinized flavor, and the other supporting performances by the group are fine.

Track Listing

Moanin', O Amor Em Paz(Love In Peace), I Concentrate on You, On the Street, Toucans Dance, I'm Glad There Is You, Retrato Em Branco E Preto (Picture In Black and White), Bernie's Tune, So Danco Samba (Jazz 'N' Samba), Once I Loved.

Personnel

Diane Marino
piano and vocals

Diane Marino, piano/vocals; Chris Brown, drums; Mitch Reilly, sax/flute; Frank Marino, bass.

Album information

Title: On The Street Where You Live | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: M&M Records


Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Slow Water
Stephan Crump
Contrafactus
Spike Wilner Trio
Psychedelic Rio
Vinicius Cantuaria

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.