The Bradley Young Trio
featuring Martha Lorin
I Remember Chet
Reflections on the Legacy and Music of My Friend, Chet Baker
Pangea, NYC, October 27, 2016
Reviewed by Marilyn Lester for Cabaret Scenes
Bradley Young, an accomplished west-coast-based jazz pianist, made his New York debut with a swinging tribute to a legend of the jazz trumpet, the crooner and player Chet Baker. Young, influenced by early classical training and boogie woogie, and a friend of Baker’s in the last seven years of the icon’s life, has a light, melodic touch on the keys. He was backed by the equally lyrical Steve LaSpina on the upright bass and John Di Fiore on drums. The style was straight-ahead, with a catalog of numbers from the Baker songbook. The trio delivered nimbly on “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (Cole Porter) and “Speak Low” (Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash). Guest artist, trumpet/flugelhorn player Randy Brecker joined for several jazz standards, including “A Night in Tunisia” (Dizzy Gillespie), “Rhythm-a-ning” (Thelonious Monk), “Solar” (Miles Davis), a melodic “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (and Dream Your Troubles Away)” (Harry Barris/Ted Koehler/Billy Moll) and the closer, a spirited “On Green Dolphin Street” (Bronisław Kaper/Ned Washington).
Musically, the players produced a satisfying sound—jazz cats most always rise to the occasion—but there was something missing in the personal chemistry of the group, and even Brecker’s usually outstanding work seemed a bit diminished. Rising to the top (and despite over-micing) was singer Martha Lorin, who possesses a strong voice like fine port wine and a particular sensitivity to lyrics. Her first two numbers, “Just Friends” (John Klenner/Sam M. Lewis) and one of the most recorded songs of all time, and very much associated with Baker, “My Funny Valentine” (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart) were delivered with characteristic Lorin intensity and finesse. It’s when she went into new territory, into a head voice, that antennas perked up.
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Her rendition of “Time After Time” (Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn), beginning as a slow ballad before moving into finger-snapping swing, was beautifully phrased and especially suited her. A mournfully begun “But Not for Me” (George and Ira Gershwin) morphed into an all-out blues tour de force, a style we’d like to see Lorin explore more fully in the future.
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Unquestionably, adding Lorin to the musical mix of the evening elevated the energy in the room and provided a needed counterpoint to the experience of the show.
