Janet Seidel - Doris And Me (2001)

Doris Day recorded more than 600 songs over a lengthy and successful career in the movies and recording studio. She was smart enough to quit while she was ahead. But neither she nor the special way she sang a song is forgotten. Tribute and commemoration albums abound. This latest from one of Australia's premiere singers, Janet Seidel, focuses on more sophisticated material Day sang in movies, like Young Man With a Horn and her film portrayal of vocalist Ruth Etting, as well as tunes she did with bands led by Les Brown and Bob Crosby and others. While not jazz, these performances certainly have a jazzy feel about them. Seidel wisely does only one track of vocal trivia that Day had to do in such movies as Pillow Talk. Seidel has long been an admirer, not an imitator, of Day, creating a cabaret show around Day's material. Like that singer, she has perfect pitch, clear diction, and a convincing feel for the beat. "Close Your Eyes," where she works with guitarist Chuck Morgan, is just one of the many tracks where she demonstrates her vocal skills. Unlike Day, Seidel backs herself on piano, a la Jeri Southern and Shirley Horn, with help from brother David Seidel on bass and Morgan. One of the real pleasures here is that there's no dubbing the voice on top of the instrumentation. What you hear is precisely how it was recorded in the studio very unusual in these days of high-tech wizardry where too often younger artists are less and less concerned with what they're playing and how they're playing it. This is Seidel's ninth album for La Brava, and it joins the ranks of her long line of excellent output. ~ Dave Nathan