Photo by Andrea Canter

Just about a year ago, Carole Martin marched out of semi-retirement with the release of Pieces of Dreams, her first recording in 36 years. Fortunately she did not wait another three decades for her next recording, which will be released this weekend (November 11-12) at the Artists Quarter in downtown St. Paul. On hand will be her compatriots from the recording session, New York pianist (and AQ frequent guest) Rick Germanson, along with master bassist Terry Burns and AQ owner/ veteran drummer (and producer) Kenny Horst.

Songs From My Heart will entice, seduce, and perhaps surprise listeners expecting a playlist of standards and familiar torch songs, for there is nothing “standard” about the way this chanteuse wraps herself around a lyric and explores a melody from a deep well of passion and experience. With the Artists Quarter stage serving as sound studio, the recording has the intimacy of a small bar, a place where you can sit back and listen as the storyteller weaves her tales of love lost and found. In a world of young up-and-comers, this work of a veteran performer is a refreshing interlude. Carole Martin brings a long career to this moment, a career marked early by years of club dates, put on hold for family, and rekindled when she released Pieces of Dreams.

In her lower register, Carole’s alto has the warmth and character of a fine brandy, to be savored slowly, filled with nuance and romantic spirit. On ballads she draws out each phrase just enough to leave you hanging on for the next one—listen to “A Time for Love”, “Little Girl Blue,” “Cry Me a River,” or “Young and Foolish.” In particular, to her slow rendition of Johnny Mandel’s beautiful “A Time for Love,” Carole brings more than a touch of sadness—the aching longing of one looking back, yet realistically to the point. On “Little Girl Blue,” from the bottom of her range, Carole pulls you in, and you know you are listening to wisdom that came with a price.

However, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your [Her] Face,” from Lerner and Lowe’s score to My Fair Lady, is portrayed here more as a sigh of resignation than the longing tale of the original rendition. Carole seems to sing directly to the culprit rather than about “him” as in original title and lyric. An ostinato figure from Rick Germanson’s piano gives the song a lift that belies any real tragedy or loss—like it really is a habit taken for granted. The deconstructed improvisation from Germanson makes this track a treat as an instrumental as well as vocal.

Photo by Andrea Canter

The storyteller is at her best on “I Keep Going Back to Joe’s,” the Fisher/Segal penned, Nat King Cole reminiscence of an old lost love, the singer’s tone acknowledging the futility of her longing but with that hint of “just in case….” The rhythm section shines here: Germanson’s piano reflecting the singer’s ambivalence with both delicacy and forcefulness; Kenny Horst placing rolling bursts in just the right spaces; Terry Burns’ melodic lines holding it all together. And as she brings the slightest alteration in phrasing, we hear Carole trying to convince herself—and the listener—that she should keep “goin’ back” just one more time.

Songs From My Heart exhudes lighter and brighter emotions as well. “Canadian Sunset” starts out with a bit of calypso from Germanson’s bassline and continues with a tropical groove. Carole can swing warmly and with considerable energy as on an up-tempo jaunt through “Just One of Those Things.” And while she gives “But Not for Me” a wistful introduction, as she hits the last note in the opening, a devilish lilt announces this is a worldly woman who knows when someone is not for her! “Without a Song” also offers an inspired tale of woman who never gives up.

Photo by Andrea Canter

Throughout the recording, the supporting cast brings a creative empathy to the arrangements; pianist Rick Germanson is a perfect fit, adding a wash of lyricism to Carole’s hazy, expressive vibrato. Terry Burns and Kenny Horst keep the time with high-spirited musicality and grace. All will be on hand when Carole Martin celebrates the release of Songs From My Heart over two nights at the Artists Quarter.

Young singers today, while often displaying the technical perfections of talent untarnished by time or adversity, typically lack the depth of passion that comes with the experience of life itself, the experience that turns lyric into prose, dreams into memories, the mantle of the wise storyteller. This is a mantle that Carole Martin wears well as she sings Songs From My Heart, tales of loss and regret, stories of hope and determination, and memories that haunt and glow.

Carole Martin will be at the Artists Quarter in downtown St. Paul (7^th Street Place and St. Peter Street) on November 11-12, first sets at 9:00 pm are nonsmoking. You can purchase a copy of Songs From My Heart at the AQ, the Electric Fetus ( www.efetus.com) or CD Baby ( www.cdbaby.com).