Jazz singer Vivian Buczek, born in Sweden to Polish-French musicians, celebrates composer Michel Legrand on this compelling collection, which also features Mathias Heise on harmonica, Peter Asplund on trumpet and flugelhorn, Martin Sjöstedt on piano, Jesper Bodilsen on bass, and Zoltan Csörsz on drums. The swinging set spotlights 10 of Legrand’s greatest works, such as “The Windmills of Your Mind,” and includes an infectious tribute to him, “Le Grand Michel,” that was written by Asplund.
The interplay between Buczek and band isn’t that of a singer fronting a combo, but a singer who’s part of the combo—an important distinction. She trips the lyrics fantastic, most penned by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and lands time and again in the cushion of the band. On “The Windmills of Your Mind,” for instance, Buczek twirls to stage center before swirling to the side while Heise commands the spotlight.
Another example: In “I Will Wait for You,” she hands off to Asplund for a heartfelt solo before stepping back to the fore; that, by the way, is one of two Legrand collaborations with lyricists not named Bergman. (See below for the full breakdown.) Another highlight is “The Way He Makes Me Feel,” a standout from Yentl; rather than compete with Barbra Streisand’s soaring vocals or the original’s orchestral accompaniment, she and Sjöstedt—who arranged the songs—turn it into an internal dialogue: “There’s no chill, and, yet I shiver/There’s no flame, and, yet I burn/I’m not sure what I’m afraid of/And, yet I’m trembling.” It’s quite captivating.
“His Eyes, Her Eyes,” which—like “Windmills”—Legrand wrote for the 1968 film The Thomas Crowne Affair—is another standout, with Buczek ruminating about the fate of two lovers whose eyes say more than their words. “Love Makes the Changes” is a bluesy delight—and a nice tribute in and of itself to Ray Charles, who sang it for Legrand’s 1989 autobiographical movie, Cinq jours en juin. “Summer Me, Winter Me,” which began life as the instrumental theme to the ill-fated Picasso Summer film, has been covered by everyone from Streisand to Frank Sinatra to, recently, Stacey Kent; title aside, it possesses the feel of the season most identified with love and optimism, spring.
“Le Grand Michel,” for its part, is another band showcase, with Buczek’s wordless vocals matched by Asplund’s expressive trumpet. The closing “You Must Believe in Spring” does the reverse, stripping the accompaniment to just Bodilsen’s bass. One can easily imagine Buczek alone at a microphone on an otherwise darkened stage, down from heartbreak but not giving up on love itself. Just as the darkest hour comes before the dawn, so too does the dreariest time of year give way to Earth’s cyclical rebirth.
The Old Grey Cat 