Everything I Need (Sings Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough) (CD) by Carol Fredette

0783572990329. New condition. CD. Everything I Need is an album of hip music by two of America's hippest composers (and performers), Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough, recorded by a very hip singer, Carol Fredette, over three sessions in 1995. Devoting an entire album to one or two composers can be risky, especially if they aren't in the upper echelon of contributors to the Great American Songbook (i.e., the Gershwin Brothers, Richard Rodgers, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, etc.). But the selections on this disc are sufficiently witty, sardonic, clever, and occasionally world-weary, to keep the listener near the stereo. Fredette, who has been performing professionally since the 1970s, has just the right voice for this kind of music. She can be witty, ironic, sophisticated -- whatever's needed to bring out the best in these slightly off-center songs. Her delivery and diction are crisp and her pitch is perfect. Mix these qualities with backing from some of the best jazz players around today, and you have the ingredients for an entertaining and stimulating session. The highlights of the album are the three cuts where the full band is working with Fredette: "Never in a Single Year," "Wouldn't You" (which is Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody n' You" with lyrics by Dorough and Ray Passman added), and "Zoot Walks In." These bop-tinged tunes provide an opportunity for Fredette to display her impressive scatting and swinging techniques. But it's the backing of the talented Lew Soloff on trumpet, Lee Konitz on alto, Chris Potter on tenor, and Ronnie Cuber on baritone that sets these tunes apart from the rest of the musical agenda; Cuber's deep baritone is especially vigorous. To be sure, there are other gems to be admired. "I Could Care Less," which showcases Potter's tenor and veteran trombonist Wayne Andre, and "Love Came on Stealthy Fingers," a Steve Kuhn/Fredette arrangement featuring Kuhn's glistening piano, are among the best of the rest. There's plenty of humor here as well, as on "Let's Eat Home" and the Fredette/Frishberg duet "I Got to Get Me Some ZZZ." Dorough joins Fredette at the mike for one song, "Never in a Single Year." Besides Kuhn, the other two members of the rhythm section, bassist George Mraz and drummer Billy Drummond, provide solid support. Everything I Need is an agreeable, good-natured album by a very talented singer who clearly deserves greater recognition. ~ Dave Nathan, Rovi