This Is Lucy Reed

I encountered the name of Lucy Reed for the first time a year ago while exploring the early recording activity of pianist Bill Evans, before the great trio with LaFaro and Motian. A friend familiar with the Chicago musical scene in the 1950s filled me in a bit on her, recalling her as a mesmerizing, unique, highly intelligent singer who worked Chicago clubs for a while but had dreams of going to better places. From the evidence of her 2 or 3 recordings, I can understand why trying to entertain listeners in saloons, frequently close to empty, or full of tourists looking for a bit of fast action, must have been frustrating. She's one of the more innovative, risk-taking, challenging female vocalists I've heard--not because of some quasi-vocal improvisatory free jazz or deliberately experimental, avant garde approach but because she affords a level of "entertainment" reflective of Sinatra's artistry at its best--the Master Storyteller at his least compromising on the Capitol ballad albums with arrangements by Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins.This is not escapist, happy-time music, even when she's doing familiar standards. "Suicide songs," "wrist-slashers"--that's what Sinatra called the thematically-sequenced programs, or "tone poems," of albums like "Only the Lonely," "In the Wee Small Hours," "No One Cares," "Close to You," and "September of My Years." He looked at the darkest corners implicit in those songs and never flinched, all the while shedding light on the secret life of human desire, loneliness, mental and emotional ennui.This eponymous album, which I came upon serendipitously while combing through the Art Farmer catalog, is misleading if the prospective listener expects merely an introduction to a new singer. It's a thematic album, as carefully programmed and arranged as Sinatra's suite-like ballad collections. Reed not only tells the story of the songs but makes them all too real ("Love for Sale" is absolutely chilling--practically suggestive of a feminist reading performed at least 25 years later).She's not alone on this project--far from it. She may not enjoy the rich, artful orchestrations of Sinatra's "A Team," but she provokes from some of the most respected arrangers in jazz or 20th century music--George Russell (yes, the practically mythic music theorist, who moreover plays drums on some of the tracks) and the legendary Gil Evans (who plays piano on some of the tracks)--settings that are no less inventive, innovative, thoughtful than Reed's readings of the material. And with musicians like trombonist Jimmy Cleveland and Art Farmer providing support, there's no danger of shortfalls in the execution. (As an added "local" attraction, Chicago's best, pianist Eddie Higgins, supplies some of the arrangements.) But the spare, progressive arrangements together with Reed's candid, sensitive and respectful approach to the material make this challenging music, an acquired taste--jazz and the Great American Songbook elevated to serious modern lieder.After listening to this music another time and becoming accustomed to some of the "strangeness," I'll likely find it not only provocative but sufficiently compelling to merit a full five stars. Lucy Reed, I understand, was originally a small-town girl from northern Wisconsin or Upper Michigan and that, after tiring of the club scene and sensing no movement in her career, she retired to those same environs, where she apparently spent her last days. In some ways a sad story, but not necessarily remarkable. Ours is not a world receptive to the stories the genuine artist must tell, nor is it mindful let alone appreciative of the sacrifices of the true artist. What's remarkable is that in spite of the overwhelming odds, some of those stories actually do get told and eventually fall into the hands of a fortunate few, like you and me.

Lucy Reed is amazing. Lucy Reed is also my hubby's grandma. Her talent is pure.

This is a recording by a lesser known singer from Chicago with a very unique style and approach. Her career was limited due to refusing to tour while her was growing up.Check out her bizarre (yet cool) approach to Porter's "Love for Sale."

If you've never heard Lucy,this is a great place to start.

Lucy Reed was/is one of the most fantastic, yet underrated singers of them all. She sang with Charlie Ventura's band and recorded two 45 singles for the Chance label (with Chuck Sagle's orchestra) in the early 50s. Her two albums she recorded between 1955 and 1957 (the other one is "The Singing Reed") are pure vocal magic with an instrument unmatched by most of her contemporaries. Jeri Southern used to name her as her favourte singer. She was a highly acclaimed artist around the Chicago area and never gained the recognition she deserved. She recorded another great album in the 90s, called "Basic Reeding" (with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown) which again shows her artistry. She died in 1998. Buy anything you can by the great Lucy Reed!

Lucy Reed isn't a very good singer and I bought this because Gil Evans did some of the arrangements. They are not among his most distinctive work, however.

ルーシー・リードのヴォーカルは、クリアで繊細な表現が印象的。中～高音域までしなやかなヴォイス・コントロールを駆使し、クールな歌い方に魅了される。「There He Goes」や「In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning」、「Easy Come, Easy Go」など、落ち着いた大人の歌唱で心地よく酔わせてくれる。この曲はこう歌ってほしい、という筆者の勝手な希望に見事に応えてくれたのが「You Don't Know What Love Is」。バラードに格別の上手さをみせる彼女らしさが最もよく伝わる快唱だ。一方で、「Love For Sale」などは、ビッグ・バンドをバックにドラマチックに歌いあげる迫力のある歌いっぷり。「Born To Blow The Blues」では、トランペットの名手、アート・ファーマーがブルージーな音色を聴かせる。黒を基調にしたアルバム・ジャケットもグッド。