Judy Renaud and Eddie Tobin - Something Cool (2017)

The songs on this album are ones that have woven their way into my heart and my soul over the years because they speak to me personally and they feel good musically. They invoke feelings and memories that make me reflect and reminisce, and remind me that love is the basis for everything in life. Singing is, for me, about sharing the lyric and the melody with as much truth and emotion as possible so that you, the listener, actually feel it and get it. I hope I succeed. And Eddie Tobin, my very special and talented and hard working friend, thank you for always resting on my shoulder and having my back while providing the musical background and sharing this experience with me. Making music with you is always about the love and always seems like Carnegie Hall. It's special! And for you, the listener, thank you for sharing in my musical world.

Judy Renaud has waited a long while to deliver this gift to lovers of great music (mostly by virtue of her dedication to family), but as you'll soon learn, her timing is sublime. Properly assaying these songs demands a depth of feeling that is unattainable without a lifetime of leading with one's heart, and - lucky for us - this is precisely how she has lived. So much has been written about most of these songs, that there's nothing for me to contribute here; what I will say, is that in my years of enjoying her work in various musical venues, I've never once heard Judy make an ill-advised choice in either her material, or the way she conveys it, and this recording is no exception. Her accompanist (and musical kindred spirit) Eddie Tobin, orchestrates as he goes; putting his consummate pianistic skill, marvelous harmonic sense, and constant good taste, in the service of his duo partner and her nicely diverse repertoire, resulting in a reading of the tunes which stays true to the intent of the lyricists and composers at once. Judy Renaud is immersed in the catalog from which these titles are drawn, and her husband Tom (a gifted saxophonist and singer in his own right) is a gently encouraging force for good, cheering her on at every turn. Keep it up, Tom - hopefully, lots more people can now be lifted by the expressive and touching vocal stylings which Judy brings to all these great songs; most likely, they'll wind up being as beloved by them as they obviously are by her! David Pruyn

Singers come and go (most often not quickly enough). The great majority never progress beyond the anonymity of the shower, the karaoke bar, or one of those cacophonous nightmares referred to variously as “jam sessions,” “jazz jams,” or “open mics.” Some conspire to torture club musicians by engaging in that private hell called “sitting in.” All that needs to be known about how most musicians regard this predicament is most eloquently portrayed in Dave Tull’s insightful masterpiece, “The Minutes Pass Like Hours When You Sing.”

Occasionally, however, a singer comes along who can properly be referred to as a musician whose instrument happens to be the human voice. These relatively rare individuals exhibit all the traits that serious instrumental musicians possess: spending countless hours developing their craft, expanding their musical knowledge, selectively exploring repertoire, and so forth. Whereas the dilettante merely uses music to further his or her own trivial agenda of self-aggrandizement (much in the same way that one uses a Kleenex), the real musician devotes herself or himself entirely to the service of music, sacrificing ego to render the most authentic performance possible.

In the context of this template, Judy Renaud is a musician. The first time I heard her sing, I told her that the word that best applies to her style and presentation is “genuine.” Nothing has dissuaded me from this assessment since. This CD illustrates the point beyond anything further that I can say. Listen to it, enjoy it, but not in the shower stall! Bob Hores, Indiana University Berkelee College of Music, U.H.K (University of Hard Knocks)

It has been my pleasure to play for Judy and accompany her with these songs. The world always has room for more happiness and beauty and this has been both for me. It was fun to record and is enjoyable to listen to the results of our collaboration. I hope you all feel the same way after you listen. Thank you to Judy for the beauty that she gave to the recording so nicely and naturally.

TRACKLIST

01. Almost Like Being In Love
02. It Never Entered My Mind
03. Girl From Ipanema
04. It's Magic
05. Love Is Here To Stay
06. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
07. Sand And The Sea
08. I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
09. Haunted Ballroom
10. Stronger Than Us
11. Something Cool
12. Mean To Me
13. I'll Be Seeing You