AUDREY
SILVER has
loved musicals since she was little. As a child, she went to Broadway
shows, watched movie musicals and listened to her father’s collection
of soundtracks. One of her favorites was “Oklahoma!,” which she
adored so much that when she turned 11, she asked her parents if they
would play the film for her friends at her birthday party. Although
her friends thought her movie selection was a bit quirky, her early
passion developed into a life-long love of the Great American
Songbook, the canon of the American popular songs and jazz standards.
On her latest recording, OKLAHOMA, Silver re-visits her
early love of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with ten of her own
jazz interpretations of songs from the show.
OKLAHOMA is Silver’s fifth CD as a
leader and follows Let Me Know Your Heart (2019), Very
Early (2016), Dream Awhile (2009), and Here in My Arms
(2004). Christopher Loudon wrote in JazzTimes, “I knew from
the opening track that Silver was something special. Indeed, if a
name ever fit a performer, it is Silver’s, for her voice is like pure
sterling. Her phrasing is exquisite, her clarity and enunciation on
par with the great Jo Stafford and her breath control – a talent so
often, and so wrongfully, overlooked – rivals Sinatra’s.”
A
regular on the New York City jazz scene, Silver wanted the album to
have an intimate, jazz chamber music feel, so she chose voice, guitar
and piano for the core group. Silver brought on board some top New York
players, including BRUCE BARTH (piano) PETER BERNSTEIN
(guitar), ADAM KOLKER (alto flute, bass clarinet) and KAHLIL
KWAME BELL (percussion). She is also accompanied on three tracks
by a string section comprising SARAH ZUN, ADDA KRIDLER, KAYA
BRYLA, and MARIA JEFFER.
With
an MBA from Columbia University Business School and jobs in marketing
for CBS Masterworks (now Sony Classical) and Chesky Records, Silver
enjoys doing research and likes to study the history of songs. The
musical “Oklahoma!” was based on the 1931 play “Green Grow the
Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs. Although the plots in both the play and the
musical are quite similar, Silver learned that important elements of
the setting were, in fact, quite different. The Native American
population, which was prominent in Riggs’ play, was not acknowledged
by Hammerstein. However, Silver pays homage to those Native Americans
in the title track, “Oklahoma.” Silver plays the Native American
flute, which she learned to play as part of her therapy to treat
depression, to introduce and end the song. The airy sounds of the
flute, along with Silver’s warm, velvety timbre and the open
arrangement with its nod to Native American rhythms and harmonies
give the song a spiritual quality. The sound of wind, followed
by the evocative harmonies of the string section immerse the listener
in the windswept grasslands of turn-of-the-century Oklahoma.
“Many
a New Day” is Laurey’s proclamation of feigned indifference after she
spots another girl flirting with Curly, her cowboy beau. The song
reflects “pride coupled with strength,” says Silver, who finds whimsy
in the words and swings the tune. In “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,”
Hammerstein extols the countryside, where “all the sounds of the
earth are like music.” But a metronomic guitar line suggests darkness
lurking.
“I
Cain’t Say No” is a comic confession by the town vamp, Ado Annie, of
her blithely philandering ways. The song, says Silver, “is about what
society thinks of you versus who you feel you are.” The stop-time,
push-pull rhythm of Barth’s arrangement echoes that tug of war. “The
Surrey with the Fringe on Top” owes its place in jazz to Miles Davis
and Blossom Dearie. Silver departs from their versions by making the
song gallop in five-eight, egged on by the hand percussion of Kahlil
Kwame Bell.
In
the sweeping fantasy waltz “Out of My Dreams,” Laurey imagines her
wedding to Curly. Silver’s version shows off her velvety low tones,
complemented by strings and an airborne flute solo by Adam Kolker.
“People
Will Say We’re in Love” is one of the shyest yet tenderest
expressions of budding romance in musical theater. Silver calls it a
“little dance of vulnerability between the main characters.” The
six-eight meter adds a lift of optimism.
The
mood is jolly in “Kansas City,” a goggle-eyed report on a town where
“everything’s up to date.” Barth channels Erroll Garner in his
rollicking solo. “Boys and Girls Like You and Me” was cut from
Oklahoma! prior to the opening. Silver’s wistful reading focuses on
the things in life that bind us all together.
Finally,
in a reprise of the title tune, she returns to the straight-ahead
jazz style that is home to her. Silver’s vision of Oklahoma! is one
of far-off characters who depict universal truths; she expresses
these with clarity, directness, and heart.
Mark
Murphy described Silver’s voice as having “that rare quality of light
infectious swing that lights up her tall willowy persona.” Indeed,
with her luminous voice and innate musicality, Silver shines a new
light on the chestnuts from Oklahoma! and imbues them with her own
distinct personality without straying from the elements that have
ensconced these songs firmly in the Great American Songbook.
About
Audrey Silver
Growing
up in a musical family, Audrey Silver was born and raised in New York
City. Originally trained as a classical pianist and cellist, she
loved jazz at an early age and co-founded Brown University’s first
coed, jazz a cappella group, The Higher Keys. She began her singing
career in earnest in 1998 when she teamed with Jon Raney, son of pianist
Jimmy Raney, and produced her first demo with the help of Ronnie Zito
(Woody Herman, Bobby Darin) and Jay Leonhart (Judy Garland, Tony
Bennett). She went on to hone her craft through private study with
Shelia Jordan and Mark Murphy. She has performed at some of New
York’s best-known jazz clubs and music venues, including Zinc Bar,
Jazz at Kitano, 55 Bar, and Cornelia Street Cafe. Nationally, she has
performed at large festivals and venues around the country, including
the Tanglewood Jazz Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival. Silver is
also an accomplished songwriter and was a semi-finalist in the 2016
edition of the international Songwriting Competition.
# # #
OKLAHOMA is set for release on October
6, 2023 and will be available everywhere.
Online:
Audreysilver.com
Facebook.com/Audreysilverjazz
Youtube.com/user/audreysilver
@Audreysilver
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