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Trudy Kerr: Contemplation

By Bruce Lindsay
January 15, 2015
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Subtitled The Best Of Trudy Kerr, Contemplation is a retrospective of the singer's career through selections from her ten album discography.

Contemplation takes in Kerr's career from

Blossom Dearie

piano and vocals
1926 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Blossom Dearie's "Sweet Surprise"—a track from her debut album (Sweet Surprise, Jazzizit Records, 1997)—through to "Poppies," from The Rhythm of Life: Ted And Gladys (Jazzizit Records, 2013), credited jointly to Kerr and her husband and bassist

Geoff Gascoyne

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Geoff Gascoyne.

Across these songs Kerr is acompanied by some of the finest musicians in the UK, including Gascoyne, drummers

Sebastian De Krom

" data-original-title="" title="">Sebastian De Krom and

Matt Home

drums
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Home and pianist

Tom Cawley

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Cawley. Kerr draws on a wide range of writers, from the pop stylings of Bacharach and David ("Seconds") and Gerry Goffin and Carole King ("Go Away Little Boy") to

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington ("In A Sentimental Mood," with

Michael Garrick

piano
1933 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Garrick on piano) and

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane ("Moment's Notice," lyrics by Kerr).

The range of writers is matched by Kerr's breadth of approaches to performance. "Tea For Two" is an up-tempo,

Anita O'Day

vocals
1919 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Anita O'Day-style take on the old standard with backing from Gascoyne, De Krom and baritone saxophonist

Derek Nash

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Derek Nash. "Makin' Whoopee" is a sultry, slow burn, number featuring trumpeter

Dick Pearce

b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Dick Pearce. Kerr's moving performance of "My Foolish Heart" tears at the heartstrings, while her take on

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Two Kites" mixes bossa nova groove with the romance of the Juno String Quartet. There are also a couple of Kerr/Gascoyne originals: "Poppies" and "Save Me." Both are gentle love songs, the latter given a bit of extra edge by

Ashley Slater

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ashley Slater's trombone solo.

Two of the gentler performances stand out for the beauty of both Kerr's vocals and the musical accompaniment. She gives "Happy Talk" a much more reflective arrangement than it usually gets: no forced jollity, more an acknowledgement that life isn't always like you might wish. Cawley, Gascoyne and De Krom pick up on and heighten this feeling. For the Rogers and Hart classic "Glad To Be Unhappy" she's joined by the trio of Gascoyne, De Krom and guest pianist

Mulgrew Miller

piano
1955 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Mulgrew Miller. The pianist fits right in, as though he's been accompanying Kerr for years.

Compilation albums can often create debate and even dissent, mostly about what's not included—for example, there's nothing here from the excellent Reunion (Jazzizit, 2010), Kerr's album with fellow vocalist

Ingrid James

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingrid James. Such an absence is an indication of the quality of Kerr's discography: there's much to celebrate about a compilation like Contemplation that doesn't have room for every song deserving of inclusion.

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Track Listing

Glad To Be Unhappy; Tea For Two; Poppies; They Say It's Wonderful; Go Away Little Boy; Moment's Notice; Seconds; Sweet Surprise; Makin' Whoopee; My Foolish Heart; Save Me; Two Kites; Ruby My Dear; Happy Talk; In A Sentimental Mood.

Personnel

Trudy Kerr

vocals

Trudy Kerr: vocals; Tom Cawley: piano; Geoff Gascoyne: bass; Steve Brown: drums; Sebastiaan De Krom: drums; Matt Home: drums; Dick Pearce: trumpet (9); Derek Nash: baritone saxophone (2); Ashley Slater: trombone (11); Jim Mullen: guitar (7); Mulgrew Miller: piano (1); Jan Lundgren: piano (4); Michael Garrick: piano (15); Juno String Quartet: strings (4, 12).

Album information

Title: Contemplation | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Jazzizit

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