Two for the Road

The only recorded meeting between George Shearing and Carmen McRae took place in 1980 for Concord, and it's a shame there wasn't a follow-up date. Although the pianist's backing of singers on recordings is relatively infrequent, he always provides them with richly textured and inspired accompaniment. McRae is in great voice on this date, before her lifetime smoking habit brought on the emphysema that forced her 1991 retirement and caused her death in 1994. Although her voice had deepened over the years, she still retained the ability to bring out the best in songs with her emotional and dramatic interpretations. Most of the works on this CD are gems from the Great American Songbook, including a jaunty take of "Gentleman Friend," which has some lively scatting, and the moving ballad "If I Should Lose You." The only reservation about the CD reissue is the removal of the color cover photo of the two musicans in the studio, which is replaced by a very dull cover with only bland lettering — hardly an imaginative piece of packaging. This topnotch duo date should be of great interest to fans of either Shearing or McRae.