Celia Berk
Now That I Have Everything
(Gramercy Nightingale Music Company)
December 13, 2022
Reviewed by John Hoglund
In another era, Celia Berk would likely be swinging with a big band of the day. A late bloomer to cabaret, Berk burst on the scene in 2015 and made a serious splash with her award-winning debut show directed by Jeff Harnar. After a successful business career, she clearly was here to stay as a performer and to make her mark. She has now released her third studio CD, Now That I Have Everything, produced by the prodigious Tedd Firth along with Grammy and Tony winning sound designer Scott Lehrer. Firth has revived the classic King Cole Trio format that features (on various cuts) David Finck and Jay Leonhart on bass, Matt Munisteri on guitar, and Rex Benincasa on percussion. The disc shows how far one can grow by being savvy and having the right creative team, which are key to the success of this album.
The lush recording features some lesser-known ditties by famous standard writers including Sammy Cahn, Hoagy Carmichael, Ervin Drake, Hugh Martin, Billy Strayhorn, and Jimmy Van Heusen, as well as contemporaries Carly Simon and Stevie Wonder. These creative and intelligent choices and thrilling arrangements takes Berk to a new level in her musical journey as she ventures here into soft jazz like a seasoned pro. By broadening her musical scope, she has enhanced her power as an artist to be taken even more seriously than before and as one who will make even bigger waves as she fuses cabaret sensibilities with subtle jazz. In all, she’s found a liberating style of expression as did the great stylists of the past. This is not to compare her to Carmen McRae, et al, or even to label her a refined jazz singer, but she’s well on the way to creating her own niche, one that should be taken seriously and expanded on in future projects.
Berk has perfected a personal, conversational tone with a style that delivers her songs in a well-defined, homespun manner using a resonant clear alto that is all her own. That’s what makes her stand out, and that’s why it all works so well on this disc. This is particularly so on several cuts that stand out, such as the Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg beauty “Right As the Rain.” From 1944. This evergreen is accompanied only by Finck’s plucked bass, and it’s one of the album’s finest cuts. She invites the listener in with the lively opener, “How Are Ya’ Fixed for Love?” (Van Heusen/Cahn) and her delivery is playful with a wink. She merges the sensuous cashmere of the English version of Jobim’s “Vivo Sonhando” (“Dreamer”) on an unlikely mash-up with “The Shadow of Your Smile” (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster) using a Latin drive that adds heat to the cool surface of a brilliant arrangement by Firth and Sean Geough. Carly Simon’s “It Happens Everyday,” about losing love, is smooth and heartfelt ,with Munisteri’s guitar riffs echoing loss. The harmonies here stand out big time. Another rarity is “Sweet and Lovely” from 1931 by the team of Guss Anheim, Charles N. Daniels, and Harry Tobias; Berk uses a smooth jazz delivery that nails it with ease. “Comes Love” (Lew Brown/Sam Stept/Charles Tobias), here sung with the verse, is given a winsome treatment. That was the title of her 2019 show, created with Sean Gough at the piano, and several songs from that show are included on this recording. Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed,” a tad understated here and using a Brazilian beat, is a select cut. “With Every Breath I Take” (Cy Coleman/David Zippel), with just singer and piano, is even more sensitive thanks to Firth’s expressive arrangement that makes this cut another standout.
Other highlights include the album’s title cut which wraps the album up. It’s an overlooked gem by Ervin Drake, once tackled by some jazzers. Here, it is a cool, introspective slice of life sung by one who thought the dream had came true. It’s tricky in its sharp, purposeful message, and Berk digs deep to show that the message is more about not having it all but still being quite content. This is where Berk’s interpretive skills make the song and the CD special. Her strength has always been in finding the inner meanings of a lyric and subtly bringing them to life.
Not enough can be said about the intricate nuances and flawless arrangements on this album. Sean Gough also shares credit on several arrangements as does Berk who oversaw it all.
