Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mary Kay Riley: My Take

Mary Kay Riley: My Take

By Jack Bowers
November 20, 2021
View read count

Actress and singer Mary Kay Riley dips her toes gingerly into the recording pool with My Take, an amiable yet concise album whose five songs encompass a total playing time of twenty minutes. This may (or may not) be Riley's first such endeavor, as there are no liner notes and scant information about her on the web, save that she has had small roles in a handful of TV series.

Be that as it may, Riley has chosen three standards ("Violets for Your Furs," "Sophisticated Lady," "La Vie en Rose") and a pair of lesser-known themes,

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk's silky "Pannonica" and David Yazbek's "You Walk with Me." What matters is how she interprets them, and here the verdict is mixed but leaning more toward positive than negative. Riley has a pleasing voice with a nice intimate quality, and proper respect for a lyric, but her pacing is at times less than precise, as is her modulation. Even so, her grade is higher than many other vocalists with greater experience.

Riley is at her best on the last song, a brief rendition of "La Vie en Rose," sung in French. On

Matt Dennis

b.1914

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Dennis & Tom Adair's "Violets for Your Furs," she changes the lyric to "you bought me violets for my furs," which works well enough.

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," which follows, is more problematic, but that may only be when compared to the many other splendid versions already recorded. "Pannonica" and "You Walk with Me" are presentable but no more than that. There is room enough along the way for a handful of solos, by pianist

Max Leake

piano
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Max Leake, tenor saxophonist

Langston Kelly

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Langston Kelly and guitarist

Eric Susoeff

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Susoeff, and they are fine. Bassist

John Caldwell

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">John Caldwell adds a backup vocal on "You Walk with Me."

As to the album's purpose, it could be a stepping-stone, designed to introduce Riley to a wider audience, as twenty minutes of music, no matter how well performed, may not lure many paying customers. If so, it is an admirable showcase, one that certainly will not do her any harm. The rating, however, reflects that twenty-minute playing time.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Violets for Your Furs; Sophisticated Lady; Pannonica; You Walk with Me; La Vie in Rose.

Personnel

Mary Kay Riley

vocals

Langston Kelly

saxophone, tenor

Eric Susoeff

guitar

Max Leake

piano

John Caldwell

bass, acoustic

Album information

Title: My Take | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Wandersphere
< Previous

U2's The Joshua Tree: Planting Roots...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.