Carmen McRae As Time Goes By: Alone, Live At The Dug

A very unusual session for Carmen – a live recording that features only her vocals and piano, on spare readings of a number of sophisticated songs that ably demonstrate the class and care she was bringing to her work at the time. Carmen's credited as playing the piano on the session – and titles include "The Last Time For Love", "More Than You Know", "I Can't Escape From You", "I Could Have Told You", "Please Be Kind", and "Supper Time".

"It may have made Bogart and Bergman immortal, but the song "As Time Goes By" curiously never became one of the many jazz standards of the day. So, to find it here in the company of other perennial songs from the jazz catalog is quite a treat. And even more impressive is the fact Carmen McRae is the one at the microphone. Recorded in 1973 at Tokyo's Dug jazz club, As Time Goes By finds McRae accompanied only by her pianist. And if one wasn't quite sure whether to put Miss McRae in the same company as a Sarah Vaughan or Dinah Washington, then this collection of numbers should definitely tip the scales. Here is one of jazz's most underrated chanteuses spelling it all out."