Cheryl Bentyne - Sings 'Waltz for Debby' (2004)

Since Cheryl Bentyne joined the Manhattan Transfer, replacing Laurel Massé in 1978, the vocal quartet has released 22 albums, including four greatest hits compilations. Remarkably, that’s precisely the number of solo albums the foursome – Tim Hauser, Janis Siegel, Alan Paul and Bentyne – has collectively recorded.

In terms of solo productivity, the guys lag way behind the women. Paul’s first, and to date only, release is Another Place and Time, from 2003. Hauser, the group’s founder, waited until 2007 to make his solo debut. His Love Stories, released on the King label in Japan, remains available only as a pricey import.

Siegel and Bentyne have been significantly busier in the studio. Each has, to date, released ten albums. The Siegel discography dates back to 1982’s Experiment In White and continues through Live In Milan from four years ago. With the exception of the hard-to-find Milan Siegel’s albums, including two with Fred Hersch (1989’s Short Stories and 1999’s The Tender Trap, both available via Siegel’s web site, have all been domestic releases, including three for Atlantic (back when the Transfer where on the same label) and four for Telarc.

Though Bentyne has been equally prolific, her albums haven’t all been as visible, at least not on this side of the Pacific. Of her ten solo projects, beginning with 1992’s Something Cool (a one-off for Columbia), six have been released on King in Japan and one, the soundtrack companion to her turn-of-the-millennium show Dreaming of Mister Porter, was distributed primarily via the Manhattan Transfer fan club and has long been out of print.

Bentyne’s King catalog begins with 2002’s Talk of the Town, a lovely, all-standards set featuring Kenny Barron on piano, Lewis Nash on drums, John Patituticci on bass and a host of special guests, including Chuck Mangione (adding a flugelhorn solo to “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”), saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman on two tracks and Take 6 members Mark Kibble and Alvin Chea, adding background vocals on “Girl Talk.”

A second standards collection, Moonlight Serenade, followed in 2003, with pianist Corey Allen and bassist Kevin Axt, plus guest turns by Kibble, Kevin Mahogany and Voicestra’s Roger Treece. Allen has since become integral to Bentyne’s solo oeuvre, appearing on all but one of her subsequent albums. That same year, Bentyne took a slightly altered course with The Lights Still Burn, augmenting such standards as “Black Coffee” and “Little Girl Blue” with more contemporary material, including Jimmy Webb’s “Shattered,” Bacharach and David’s “What the World Needs Now,” the Roberta Flack megahit “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and Allen’s own “Tango Del Fundo,” plus two selections from the Dori Caymmi songbook.

2004’s Sings Waltz for Debby, recorded solely with Barron and bassist Ray Drummond, brought Bentyne back to the land of jazz standards. Then, after a four-year break from King, Bentyne returned to the label in 2008 for Songs of Our Time, an all-contemporary collection that extends from Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Jesse Harris’ “Don’t Know Why.” The standout tracks are Bentyne’s mellow, tender reading of Brenda Russell’s “Get Here” and her sparse, haunting treatment of Bob Telson’s “Calling You.”

2004 was also the year Bentyne joined Siegel on the Telarc roster. Her debut Telarc release was actually a domestic, track-for-track rerelease of Talk of the Town. In 2005, she paid album-length tribute to Anita O’Day with Let Me Off Uptown, featuring Jack Sheldon on two tracks. Her clever concept album The Book of Love, which traces seven stages of romance from longing to loss, followed in 2006. Telarc label-mate John Pizzarelli joins her for a sprightly, Django-influenced “Blue Moon,” and Kibble and Chea return (this time accompanied by Bentyne’s daughter, Zoë) for the Stephin Merritt-penned title track.

Cheryl Bentyne - vocals
Kenny Barron - piano
Ray Drummond - bass (#1-11)

Tracklist
01. Last Night When We Were Young (4:37)
02. Blue Moon (4:48)
03. The Boy Next Door (4:04)
04. I Must Have That Man (3:09)
05. But Beautiful (5:12)
06. Thou Swell (2:25)
07. When Your Lover Has Gone (3:55)
08. Easy Living (5:01)
09. In a Sentimental Mood (3:21)
10. Stompin' at the Savoy (2:51)
11. I Get Along Without You Very Well (4:59)
12. Waltz for Debby (2:38)