Stormy Weather

Anglo-Jamaican contralto Cleo Laine cut her first records for the Esquire label in the early 1950s with saxophonist and bandleader John Dankworth, whom she married in 1958. Over the next several decades, Laine became established as England's premiere pop singer, actress, and jazz vocalist. As is the case with any artist whose recording career spans more than half-a-century, her discography contains enough reissued material to suggest the dynamic of a Möbius strip. Case in point: the album Stormy Weather was brought before the public by Hallmark in 2009. It is a reissue of the same label's 2008 release In Retrospect, with "Stormy Weather" moved to cut one and designated as title track. Both albums trace back to DRG's In Retrospect, which appeared in 1990 with the 12 titles in completely different order — a relevant point because the title sequence on the 2008 Hallmark edition is identical with that of Laine's groundbreaking 1957 MGM LP She's the Tops. Unfortunately, some online discographies list In Retrospect as the title of both the original 1957 release and a 1982 reissue of the same on the DRG Jazz Masters Series. These grievous errors have, as we say in the 21st century, gone viral online. In Retrospect, as the title clearly implies, was the fully seasoned vocalist's song-for-song re-creation of her landmark album, which had appeared 33 years earlier.

Compared with her later self, the Cleo Laine of 1957 worked with a higher tessitura, delivering upbeat numbers and lush ballads with a youthful, slightly sassy resilience. For all the right reasons, Laine in 1957 was fully in league with such powerful beacons of warmth as Dinah Washington and Eartha Kitt. The songs themselves suggest a keen awareness of the tradition designed and developed by Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lena Horne. Revisiting the same dozen melodies in 1990, she brought a fully bloomed elegance to each of the tunes. Everything we adore about Cleo Laine is fully present in these autumnal interpretations; the smoky, musky, honeyed immediacy of her art is here for all to experience. Whether you opt for Hallmark's Stormy Weather of 2009 or one of the preceding issues of In Retrospect, this array of 12 standards is recommended as a definitive example of Laine's refined skill as interpreter of well-loved melodies. The album of 1990 compares beautifully with her 1957 recording of the same material. Those who wish to experience this singer's artistry even more fully should pursue her 1974 Nonesuch recording of early 20th century chamber classical works by Charles Ives and Arnold Schoenberg (Pierrot Lunaire Op.21 sung in English), as well as an inexplicably overlooked reading of Porgy and Bess, recorded for Norman Granz's Pablo label in 1976 in duo performance with the mighty Ray Charles.