What the World Needs Now Is Love

Laura Theodore has one of the most striking voices in jazz — a clear mezzo that drops unexpectedly into a rich and throaty tenor and soars upward again at the drop of a beat. Her theatrical training is fully in evidence on her fifth album as a leader, What the World Needs Now Is Love; she takes such hoary material as "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "Come Rain or Come Shine" and makes it sound like something new and surprising. Her rendition of "Fever," on the other hand, brings no new insights to the song, but she manages to deepen and broaden its emotional depth by the sheer power of her voice. The album's highlight is a strangely lighthearted arrangement of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." More skillful production would have made this album an unalloyed pleasure; as it is, unfortunately, the sound tends to be compressed, claustrophobic, and brassy, especially on the songs with orchestral accompaniment. Theodore's voice is shown off to best advantage in those moments when it isn't fighting the orchestra for space; the voice-and-bass duo arrangement of "How Deep Is the Ocean," for example. Lovers of vocal jazz will enjoy this album, but those with a more casual interest may find themselves distracted by its marginal sonic qualities.