Margie Baker & Shota Osabe A Bit Of Jazz and More...

Baker & Osabe

A Bit of Jazz and More

This kind of music has just about died out, but thank goodness there are few acts still working in this genre because this retro-sound is so cool. If you have ever ventured into a lounge, supper-club, high-class bar or svelte, urbane restaurant with entertainment, this is what you should have been hoping to see and hear. This was the original easy-listening music popularized during the Sinatra/Rat-Pack days with lots of terrific female singers from Ella Fitzgerald to Dinah Washington to Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, Morgana King and on and on. Now Margie Baker is not that well-known because she is in her 70s and only has one previous national album (five years ago), but she is a treasure to behold and enjoy. One can only imagine what her chops were like a half-century ago. And Shota Osabe is the consummate accompanist, primarily on piano, but showing lots of versatility here with multiple instruments. Plus, he is spotlighted on a third of the pieces which are all-instrumental. There are tunes here that are very well-known ("Georgia On My Mind"), quite a few that you know you have heard but perhaps cannot place ("Last Date") and several obscure pieces (including a couple from one of Jobim's first recordings). Baker did compose one song too, "Dizstory," a sort of history of her friend Dizzy Gillespie whom she sang with many times. It's never too late to put on a black-tie or a full-length dress (pettycoats optional) and go hear some of this music down at the local lounge while sipping a martini, scotch-and-soda, or whiskey/water-back. If you cannot find this type of entertainment, I guess you will simply have to track down this album (try the record company website: www.jazzbeat.com).