February 14, 2008

Make Someone Happy ⁰

If there’s anything I’d recommend listening to on a Valentine’s day, it would be Sophie Milman and her album Make Someone Happy. I first heard her live at the 2004 Beaches International Jazz Festival. I remember picking up her self-titled album a few months later, the album impressed me so much, I decided to continue to purchase her Make Someone Happy album last year.

The album starts off with the highly flirtatious “People Will Say We’re In Love” to get the listener in the mood. Milman’s confident vocal makes this a solid album opener. Shifting mood, we’re given a bassa-nova treatment of “Something In The Air Between Us”, which adds an extra romanticism to the piece. “So Long, You Fool” offers great swing by pianist Paul Shrofel, Milman surprises the listener with soft vocal and happy swing, this juxtaposed with the “break-up” themed lyrics achieves a very interesting, fun, and carefree layer. “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” showcases harmonica player Gregoire Maret and pianist Shrofel with Milman’s honest vocal. “Like Someone in Love” features flugelhornist Guido Basso as we’re once again treated with Milman’s happy and light vocal. “Make Someone Happy”, the album single, offers great music arraignment by Cameron Wallis, add this to Milman’s torchy interpretation to the piece makes this song… instant sex.

“Reste” (“Stay”) spins us back to the bassa-nova vibe with a French twist. A load of fun and quite possibly spring itself is unleashed in “It Might As Well Be Spring” as Milman and rest of the band races through this fantastic, doubled-timed version. The fact that a women is on the vocal in this track makes it a particularly interesting interpretation as well.

While this album offers a fresh take on numerous repertoires, some I didn’t find as exciting. A pop cover of Steve Wonder’s “Rocket Love” felt out of place in the mix of all these great jazz numbers. While the addition of a droning opening vamp in “Fever” updates Peggy Lee’s hit along with its hypnotic effect, the number just gets covered too much by other artists. A cover of the Guess Who’s “Undun” sounded quite bogged down despite its fast pace, and “Eli, Eli” (“A Walk to Caesarea”) was a weak ending to the album overall.

This album definitely have faults, but it’s not enough to upset the other great tracks presented in Make Someone Happy. If anything, I applaud Milman for making bold choices in her repertoires, and some of them definitely payed off, making Make Someone Happy Milman’s solid sophomore album.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Make Someone Happy

Make someone happy
Make just one someone happy
Make just one heart the heart to sing to

One smile that cheers you
One face that lights when it nears you
One man you’re everything to

Fame if you win it,
Just comes and goes in a minute
Where’s the real stuff in life to cling to?
Love is the answer
Someone to love is the answer
Once you have found him, build your world around him

And Make someone happy
Make just one someone happy
And you will be happy too

Ooh, Fame if you win it
Just comes and goes in a minute
Where’s the real stuff in life to cling to?
Love is the answer
Someone to love is the answer
Once you have found him, build your world around him

And make someone happy,
Make just one someone happy,
And you will be happy too.
You’ll be happy too.

It Might As Well Be Spring

I’m as restless as a willow in a windstorm
I’m as jumpy as a puppet on a string
I’d say that I had spring fever
But I know it isn’t even spring

I’m as starry eyed and gravely discontented
Like a nightingale without a song to sing
Oh, why should I have spring fever
When I know it isn’t even spring?

I keep wishing I were somewhere else
Walking down a strange new street
Hearing words that I have never heard
From a man I have yet to meet

I’m as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
I’m as giddy as a baby on a swing
I haven’t seen a crocus or a rosebud
Or a robin on the wing
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
That it might as well be spring
Yes it might, might as well be spring

Ooh, I keep wishing I were somewhere else
Walking down a strange new street
Hearing words that I have never never heard
From a man I have yet to meet

I’m as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
I’m as giddy as a baby on a swing
I haven’t seen a crocus or a rosebud
Or a robin on the wing
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
That it might as well be spring
Yes it might, might as well be spring