Review in Cabaret Scenes
By JOHN HOGLUND
June 10, 2014
KATIE EAGLESON
IN MY FASHION
Katie Eagleson’s fourth CD, In My
Fashion, is one terrific salute to some terrific classic songs by a girl
singer who stays true to the material with class and smart delivery.
This confident lady knows her stuff. Backed by some wonderful musicians,
she glides through gems like “Always True to You in My Fashion” and a
tender medley fusing “Long Ago and Far Away” with “All the Things You
Are” that is as fine as anything Rosemary Clooney or Helen Forrest would
offer in their big band days. Eagleson also has a knack for bringing a
special, yet simple, touch to songs through intelligent phrasing, along
with subtle use of her mellow alto. She never gets in the way of the
words and music the way too many singers today tend to do to“show off.”
With such talented musicians, smart arrangements and her personalized
spin on these evergreens, the easy-listen album invites us to hit the
repeat button more than once. And, as she implies in her liner notes, it
does capture the up-close feeling of a cabaret show. A perfect example
is a beautiful Irving Berlin medley that flows. Her honey-voice
simplicity pours over these gems like caramel syrup in a way that
invites comparisons to the golden age, when the masters showed everyone
how to get it right. Other particularly shining cuts include a fun bossa
romp with “O Pato” (English words by Jon Hendricks) and more fun with a
swinging “Ev’rything I’ve Got.” “Blues in the Night” may be a bit shy of
the heft of a gritty blueser like Bessie Smith, but it is still
effective. An interesting, reinvented jazzy-rhythmic “Over the Rainbow”
delivers a deft spin that scores high marks on this beloved classic that
shows off the musicians in an arrangement that soars.
Overall, Katie Eagleson is a saloon
singer in a league with some greats who are long gone. Cabaret is lucky
to have her and this album is testament to why classy classics have
endured. Her impressive musical team includes: Tom Lawton (piano);
Madison Rast (bass); Grant MacAvoy (drums); Tom Giacabetti (guitar); Len
Pierro (saxes); and Adeline Tomasone (flute). The album is appropriately
bookended with “My Shining Hour”—which it is.