Having retired from a full time job, Marya Zimmet found that her couch was much less appealing than presumed. She resolved to embrace new experience, take risks, set goals. “If I Only Had a Brain”
(Yip Harburg/Harold Arlen) the vocalist sings wistfully. It’s understated, balladic. Even “I’d unravel ev‘ry riddle/For any individdle…” sounds like everyday speech.
Zimmet journaled, “delved”, went on a vision quest and asked ChatGPT whose sage advice was to find something she loved to do. Aria da capo, it took her back to singing. Prefaced by scales, “I Love to Sing A” (Yip Harburg/alternate lyrics- Barry Kleinbort/Harold Arlen), charmingly bounces: “I love to sing-a/About the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-…” She recorded her first CD.
Annie Lennox’s “Little Bird” stands out among otherwise happy songs. “This little bird’s fallen out of that nest now/I’ve got a feeling that it might have been blessed so/I’ve just got to put these wings to test…Vocal slip/slides, eyes scrunch, arms only rise when emphasis compels. At the piano, hard on the keys, MD Tedd Firth boogies. Zimmet is in the groove.
“I even joined a dating site – called Last Resort.” Men often post photos with dogs to show a softer side, she notes, discovering it was the dogs she wanted to meet. Patter offers a smooth lead-in to a bass-centric (Tom Hubbard) arrangement of “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” (Cole Porter). Brushes swish and tap (Warren Odze). Piano swings and dips. Zimmet’s fine grained treatment diminishes with refined scat.
A terrific arrangement of “Close Your Eyes” (Bernice Petkere) gives Hubbard a chance to play sultry with Zimmet seductive. The singer invites without exaggeration. Phrasing extends. “Travel is another great way to get out of your comfort zone,” alludes to a solitary walking tour (we don’t need the story of cows) and “A Foggy Day in London Town” (Ira and George Gershwin). Bass and drums converse. Piano comments. Fred Astaire would’ve loved this approach.
Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” with shush, shush percussion and soulful piano and Cat Stevens’s reflective “Into White” follow, the second folksy, with Zimmet playing guitar. Neither really fits the theme, but Stevens has said that “Into White” is about naivete and search for freedom and purity, a plausible reason to feature. Both emerge tender and appealing.
“No More Blues” is infectiously happy (Chega de Saudade – Jon Hendricks/Jesse Cavanaugh – English lyrics; Vinicius de Moraes – original Portuguse lyrics/Antonio Carlos Jobim). Percussion invokes Carnivale. Zimmet bobs, shoulders shift, hips comply. Piano is fleet-fingered.
An encore of “The Way You Look Tonight” (Dorothy Fields/Jerome Kern) and “Some Other Time”
(Betty Comden and Adolph Green/Leonard Bernstein) seems to address us, Zimmet’s audience.
The first is buoyant and bright, the second whispering sway.
Marya Zimmet is warm, personable, authentic. There’s a patina to vocals. One feels “with” her.
Caveats: Exemplifying getting out of her comfort zone with a something she wouldn’t ordinarily include, Zimmet sings “If I Were a Rich Man” (Sheldon Harnick/Jerry Bock). Performance is sympathetic – replete with proper inflection – but it doesn’t fit. Some others would land better bridged to theme. Also, immersed in each choice, the artist tends to close her eyes a bit too much, shutting us out. An easy fix.
Barry Kleinbort’s direction is subtle and cozy. Jazz never loses the vertebrae of melody. Zimmet seems invested without stress and very much herself.
My review of Marya’s CD: On the Road to Love
Marya Zimmet – And the LIvin’s Too Easy
Tedd Firth – MD/Pianist
Tom Hubbard – Bass; Warren Odze – Drums
Director – Barry Kleinbort
Pangea
178 2nd Ave at 11th Street
Photos by Alix Cohen
