Where is Love? by Irene Kral

There are many excellent jazz singers who make understatement an art, and my favourite of these is Irene Kral. Her pitch and phrasing were always impeccable and she also had a knack for selecting her repertoire. In these aspects, she is a real role model. Some of the liner notes on this album are by her friend Carmen McCrae, who says she stole tunes from Irene regularly. It is easy to see why. I think what I enjoy most about her singing is that she sounds entirely natural at all times. This is subtle, civilized music, which won't exactly wring your heart out but will make you sit still and listen to the quiet intensity. Yeah, classy stuff.

Where is Love? is my favourite of her albums and it has apparently been reissued, although I wasn't able to find it online. It is worth hunting around for, with excellent versions of classics like Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most and Never Let Me Go. The link I've added her is to a live album that includes here smoothly swinging version of Gentle Rain, and a tune that I think sums up her style best, I Like You, You're Nice. I mean, your tone has gotta be super honest to get away with a lyric like that!

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