Hoagy Carmichael once commented that he "found" his songs in the American spirit. The melodies were always swirling around him, enveloped in the American texture, ready to be arranged in the jazz rhythms he loved. He contributed some lyrics himself ("I Get Along Without You Very Well") and collaborated with lyricists like Mitchell Parish ("Star Dust" ), Frank Loesser ("Two Sleepy People"), Ned Washington ("The Nearness of You") and Johnny Mercer ("Skylark"). All his collaborators — none more so than Johnny Mercer — seemed to fit hand-in-glove with Carmichael's tunes.

Bringing their musical energy and clarity of diction to Carmichael and his talented lyricists, are jazz pianist/singer, Billy Stritch, and vocalist Klea Blackhurst with Dreaming of a Song – The Music of Hoagy Carmichael. While we hear shadowy vocal echoes of Ethel Merman and Mel Torme, Stritch and Blackhurst, two affable talents, hold their own interpreting Carmichael's singular sound. While Blackhurst is most persuasive with the uptempo of "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief," her sunny optimism and Americana spunk even shines through torch tunes like, "I Get Along Without You Very Well." We believe she will prevail, especially when boosted with Billy Stritch's outgoing jazz pulse.

The songs Carmichael composed are organically American, many with nods to nature like "Skylark," others dreaming of anyone's home ("Georgia On My Mind"), and fun tunes like the quicksilver jumping jack spirit of "Billy-A-Dick." A collection of Hoagy Carmichael songs inevitably includes songs still familiar today, like "Heart and Soul." One work became the most recorded and perhaps the most popular of all popular songs, "Star Dust," first recorded in 1927 by "Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals," with a perky dance beat. The tune lingered on the back shelf for several years before being recorded as a ballad, where it epitomized dizzying romanticism. This was due to the blend of Carmichael's lush melody and Mitchell Parish's introspective lyrics.

Carmichael began his long career in American songs in the 1920s, so Blackhurst brings a flapper chirp to "Easy Come, Easy Love," and revives an old-fashioned sweetness in "I Walk With Music." Reaching back to the 1940s and the film, To Have and To Hold, Blackhurst applies her own feathery, ingénue sound to the Lauren Bacall number, "How Little We Know," with Stritch's Latin beat behind her. Stritch and Blackhurst join in, "When Love Goes Wrong," from 1953's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, picking up the beat mid-stream and they are charming with the conversational intimacy of, "Two Sleepy People."

Blackhurst applies her ukulele and vocal "wa-wa" accompaniment in an easy going, "Lazy River," with Stritch stating the melody, an irresistible singalong rendition. Blackhurst renders "Skylark" in her clear, distinct tone and Stritch's smoothness melts into the bluesy mood of, "Georgia On My Mind."

Klea Blackhurst and Billy Stritch, two homegrown talents, provide here a generous sampling of Hoagy Carmichael's Hoosier stamp, always evocative and appropriate whether it's "One Morning in May" or "In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening."

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
September 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org