Produced by: H Clark Kee  Ostinato CD003

Being ‘at home’ with Harold Arlen is not quite as easy at it might sound, for this giant of the Great American Songbook was an eclectic and creatively diverse composer, whose musicality was not bounded by his cultural background or limited by his personal perspective. The singer who tackles the Harold Arlen songbook, especially the more esoteric selections included here, has to have an equivalent musicality and flair for interpretation.

 Audrey Lavine is more than up to the challenge, truly sounding ‘at home’ with the material and helping the casual listener gain an informed insight into the great man’s work. Together, they make a very hospitable pair!

 The most attractive aspect of Lavine’s treatment is her steadfast refusal to be rushed. Each song is given the room and time it requires, allowing Lavine to draw out a magnificently controlled, slow crescendo in the opening track, ‘Ill Wind’, for example. ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’ is given similar houseroom, with the first time through a resolutely restrained treatment of a song that all too often gallops away with the performer. Although the pace is quickened the second time round, (perhaps prompting one to wonder whether this song needs a repeat), the singer remains poised and in full command of the material.

 Lavine has managed to bring a freshness and modernity to some of the most venerable songs whilst keeping the feel of each piece authentic to its original style. ‘Look Who’s Been Dreaming’ has a pre-war lyricism but nevertheless sounds contemporary in its sensibility. The variety of pace and mood achieved throughout the album is astounding, again highlighting how well matched singer and composer are, with tender, delicate moments such as in ‘I Never Has Seen Snow’ placed alongside the bluesy angst of, say, ‘Paris is a Lonely Town.

 Musically, the highlight of the project is the breathtaking medley of ‘Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive’ and ‘That’s a Fine Kind of Freedom’. The two songs are alternated regularly, each one slipping completely seamlessly into the other’s wake. Round and round they go, a whirlwind of exuberance and energy, a tour de force for both Lavine and musical arranger (and pianist) Ross Patterson. As the medley spins on, Lavine  joyously accentuates not just the positive but indeed the superlative, as singer, composer, arranger and musicians combine to create an intoxicating musical masterpiece.