Karen K. Edissi: Broadway Baby

Karen K. Edissi, vocals

Windjammers, conducted by Harry Currie

Eclectic Records

Playing Time: 53:06

David T. Brown

Those fortunate enough to have seen Karen K. Edissi in live performance will be particularly pleased with Broadway Baby. Edissi's debut CD proffers a generous cross-section of classic show tunes, beautifully recorded at Chelsea Road Studios but infused with K.K.'s infectious live on-stage spirit. Warren Barker's well-crafted arrangements effectively capture the ambiance of the original Broadway progenitors, and conductor Currie has chosen tempos and dynamics that are faithful to the original productions. The title of the CD reflects not only the origin of the selections within, but also the overall interpretive approach of the vocalist and the conductor. Those looking for Ella-inspired re-interpretations of the Great American Songbook won't find them here; this CD is firmly in the Broadway camp, and K.K.'s adherence to the genre pervades her vocal stylings.

Edissi is most at home onstage and live, where her commanding stage presence, active engagement with her audience, and considerable gifts for musical comedy are splendidly manifest. She is primarily a stage performer with strong vocal chops, and a transition from the largely visual setting of the stage to the more restrictive confines of aural media comes at some cost. Lost on an audio CD is K.K.'s delightful personal choreography, her engaging rapport with the audience, her delightfully campy portrayals of outrageous Broadway divas, and the subtlety and nuance of her more intimate readings that are evident in a live performance.

K.K. clearly has an impressive ability to fill a theatre with her powerful voice, and this is brought off to very good effect on such numbers as Cy Coleman's If My Friends Could See Me Now and Jimmy McHugh's I Feel A Song Coming On. More intimate and introspective material (Over The Rainbow, Star Dust) fares less well; removing her powerfully emotive stage presence from the interpretive mix leaves readings which are pleasant enough, but which lack the texture and nuance of other performers who specialize in purely auditory interpretations. K.K.'s natural break into falsetto at somewhere around C' is another distinctive vocal trait, occurring as it does in the upper midrange of much of her material. Her transition to falsetto serves her well in the theatre, where it aids with projection and distance, but in the closer confines of the studio, the break occasionally sounds a bit matronly, particularly on quieter and more introspective tunes (As Time Goes By, Someone To Watch Over Me). A notable exception to this is Edissi's self-accompanied piano-vocal rendition of They Were You from The Fantasticks. Her simple but richly powerful interpretation of this little-known, unabashedly sentimental waltz has turned it into one of her most distinctive signature pieces, and it gives rise to goosebumps, lumps in throats, and furtive eye-wiping whenever it is heard.

Though primarily relegated to the role of capable accompanists to Edissi, the recording also features a couple of noteworthy instrumental tracks by Windjammers, the unique 43-piece wind ensemble based in southern Ontario. The considerable depth and potential of this ensemble shows through even in the highly structured Barker arrangements. Opening the CD is an extended 10-minute overture entitled Broadway Showstoppers, which features arrangements of Everything's Coming Up Roses, People, Try To Remember, That's Entertainment, and others. Also featured is an instrumental entr'acte, the aptly chosen Strike Up The Band, which occurs at the midpoint of the 16-track recording.

A whimsical and entertaining touch is Edissi's duet with Windjammers conductor Harry Currie, an accomplished vocalist who has sung professionally throughout his 50-plus years in the music business. You can see the twinkle in their eyes and hear the good humour in their voices as they banter their way through Gershwin's They Can't Take That Away From Me.

The selection which best showcases K.K.'s talents is the title track Broadway Baby, from Steven Sondheim's little-seen but now legendary 1971 musical Follies. In a simple but excellent original arrangement by Windjammers bass player Michael McClennan, which features an opening clarinet solo by conductor Currie, Edissi sparkles in her musical portrayal of a ditsy but lovable Broadway wannabe dreaming out loud. She's in her element, her every phrase a perfectly nuanced piece of musical theatre in its own right. In under three minutes, we're treated to the best of Broadway musical comedy, staged entirely in our own minds.

The CD package reflects the Broadway theme, with black-and-white performance stills of K.K. on a poster-style cover photo. Liner notes feature mini-biographies of Edissi and Currie, as well as giving a bit of insight into the career of featured arranger Warren Barker. Technical recording data is copious, and full musician credits are also provided, though little contextual background on the repertoire is provided. The choice of a tiny condensed white-on-black font made the liner notes a bit difficult to read, and the occasional minor typo crept past the production editors, but on balance the Eclectic Records package is quite complete.

[For more information and to purchase, visit the Eclectic Records website - Ed]