Judith Lorick – The Second Time Around – JLJ International 41:28 ***1/2:
( Judith Lorick – vocals; Eric Reed – piano; Jeremy Pelt – trumpet; McClenty Hunter – drums; Kiyoshi Kitagawa – bass; Chris Lewis – tenor saxophone)
In the notes for his unfinished novel The Last Tycoon, F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote: “there are no second acts in American lives”. Clearly vocalist Judith Lorick does not believe in these words, as she has found the love of her life after a 44 year interruption, and now has released her second album appropriately entitled The Second Time Around.
Backed by a stellar group of musicians including pianist Eric Reed, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, drummer McClenty Hunter, bassist Kyoshi Kitagawa and tenor saxophonist Chris Lewis, Judith Lorick spins out a set of songs that are predominately ballads and deal with longing, loneliness, love lost and found.
Blessed with an wonderful voice that has a lustrous tone, Lorick opens with “Why Did I Chose You” as the beginning of her story. Shaded with understated colours provided by pianist Reed and trumpeter Pelt, Lorick treats the lyric with tasteful style.
Supported only by pianist Eric Reed’s sympathetic and understated accompaniment, Lorick brings together “For All We Know/I’ll Be Seeing You” to luscious effect as she explores the possibilities of a shadowy and uncertain future that propel the lyrics.
Two tracks that work exceedingly well sequentially are “If You Could See Me Now” a wonderful ballad written by Tadd Dameron, and the Cy Coleman/ Joseph McCarthy Jr. tuneful “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life”. On the former, Lorick picks up the tricky chord changes with ease and offers the number with soulful affect. Bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa delivers a brief but appropriate interlude. On the latter number, Lorick picks up the tempo a couple of notches ( nothing drastic mind you) and shows she has laid back sense of swing and leaves the listener wanting more.
Judith Lorick lived for close to thirty years in the south of France and so not surprisingly she has chosen an Edith Piaf/Marguerite Monnot love song “Hymne à L’Amour” ( If You Love Me Really Love Me?). The opening stanza is sung with an impeccable French accent, and then eases into the English version of the number.
The final and title track is “The Second Time Around” written by Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen. It was introduced in the 1960 movie High Time and sung by Bing Crosby. However, it was a subsequent version by Frank Sinatra that picked up some Billboard chart success. It is a fitting closing as Lorick stays within the framework of the album, and is performed with heart and assurance.
TrackList:
Why Did I Chose You
Lucky To Be Me
Wild Is The Wind
For All We Know/I’ll Be Seeing You
He Needs Me
If You Could See Me Now
I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life
When I Look In Your Eyes
Hymne À L’Amour
The Second Time Around
—Pierre Giroux
Link for more info and track samples here: