I Like Men: Reflections of Miss Peggy Lee

The success of Carol Welsman's I Like Men: Reflections of Miss Peggy Lee defies the odds. The idea of doing "tribute" albums to more famous performers in the jazz genre is as commercially enticing as it is artistically dicey. It's hard to gain a footing in jazz, and associating oneself with a well-known name is an obvious way to get attention. But the jazz section of record stores (brick-and-mortar and in cyberspace) is strewn with failed efforts in which performers were saddled with material unsuited to them, and with which they were unfamiliar before the call came from their managers. Then, too, the tribute concept works better in a live setting than on disc, since the question always comes up, why not just listen to a recording actually by the original artist? Peggy Lee, distinctive singer and songwriter both, is a particularly difficult case as, see, for example, the misbegotten attempt Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. So, why does this one work so well? For starters, Welsman, a singer and pianist for whom this is her eighth release, clearly knew Lee's work before this project began. In fact, it sounds like Lee was a primary influence on her, and while she certainly isn't imitating Lee here, she has several aspects of Lee's vocal approach pinpoint correct. She uses the breathiness of her voice as Lee did, and she recognizes Lee's timing, remaining exactly on the beat. She also has some of Lee's humor, particularly in "I Like Men," and a bit of her air of command, though, truthfully, not a lot. (Her "Fever" aims more for seduction than domination.) In fact, Welsman is so good at doing Peggy Lee that she gets away with things, for one, interpolating her own original song, "Dance on Your Own," which is more vernacular than Lee ever got. (A kiss-off song, it uses terms like "b.s.") For another, some of her song choices are somewhat tenuous; "Remind Me" probably belongs on a Mabel Mercer tribute album, instead. But these are the liberties taken by someone who is so sure of herself that she can afford to take risks, which, too, is true to Peggy Lee. And by the way, when Welsman isn't singing, she is playing some tasty jazz solos along with a small band that follows some unusual contours in the arrangements, such as the tempo changes that pace "Just One of Those Things." Like so many other tributes, this is one that probably works better as a live show, but it also works awfully well on disc, and it is that rarity, a tribute that actually does pay tribute by demonstrating an affectionate knowledge of the one to whom tribute is being paid.