Jazz Casual: Vocals Vol. 1 (Carmen McRae, Mel Tormé, Jimmy Rushing)

Taken from Ralph Gleason's early TV series Jazz Casual, the three episodes on this DVD, circa 1962-1964, feature roughly 5 tunes per performer and a brief interview with host Gleason. Carmen McRae is the most satisfyingly entertaining and musically appealing of the bunch, offering up smoking, yet jazzy cool versions of "I'm Gonna Lock My Heart," "Trouble Is a Man," "If You Never Fall in Love With Me," "Round Midnight" and "Love for Sale." Mel Tormé is second best (which is to say, pretty darn good) with fine renditions of "We've Got a World That Swings," "When Sunny Gets Blue" and the wonderfully playful "Dat Dere." Last and least is the Jimmy Rushing episode, whose blues tunes "Goin' to Chicago," "Good Morning Blues" and "How Long Blues" seem out of place on a predominantly jazz DVD. Viewers have the option of Dolby Digital 5.1 or the original mono, and while the age of the recordings can be heard in the low level background noise throughout, the overall program sounds surprisingly good. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)