Vocalist Maria Corsaro’s dulcet new album, Love Makes the Changes, is a hybrid of sorts, in that it merges Corsaro’s longstanding passion for jazz singing with her newfound interest in cabaret. According to liner notes, Corsaro’s recording is intended to satisfy fans of both performance genres in equal measure. But from a purely vocal standpoint, cabaret audiences will come out ahead, as it’s Corsaro’s storytelling ability that’s more evident in this collection of easy-on-the-ears jazz arrangements of songs about love. And that’s to the credit, one suspects, of the album’s producer, Corsaro’s club act director David Friedman, who the singer describes as “all about story.”
However, the real “star” of the album are its affecting arrangements, all by musical director/pianist GregoryToroian. Most of the time, Corsaro’s vocal work is less interesting, musically speaking, than what’s going on in the accompaniment, or in the instrumental interludes, which feature fabulous solos by Toroian, Mark Fineberg (sax and flute), Skip Ward (bass), and David Silliman (drums). Corsaro’s vocal instrument jumps, though not jarringly, between two very different sounds: an earthy lower register, and light, slender high notes. And while her conversational style works beautifully to convey the meaning of a lyric, Corsaro’s solid voice doesn’t “swing” easily, and we lose interest in her sound on sustained notes. There’s not enough movement, growth, or development, as each tone seems to stop in the same place it starts.
The 12-track album opens with a perky rendition of “If You Never Fall in Love With Me” (Sam Jones/Donald Wolf). A swinging sax-driven arrangement, it models what’s to come on the rest of the recording—in terms of the instruments’ paramount role in supplying musical gratification while Corsaro’s persuasive vocals convey what feel like very personal experiences involving various aspects of love.
The album’s highlights come early on, as the next four tracks are its most pleasing. First is a ravishing version of “In April (For Nenette)” (Bill Evans/Roger Schore), remarkable for how gracefully it shifts from opening bars that seem to be setting up a ballad into what turns out to be an appealingly upbeat, rhythmic event, driven by piano passages that ornament, tinkle, and talk, as if “singing” along with Corsaro. What follows is a smart pairing of “Secret Love” (Sammy Fain/Paul Francis Webster) and “Never Said (Chan’s Song)” (Herbie Hancock/Stevie Wonder), and it’s on this track that Corsaro really shines, her storytelling skills enhanced by nifty interplay with an instigating sax. Then, surprisingly, Corsaro’s deliberate vocals partner comfortably with Toroian’s delicate piano playing in a deliciously warm, country-inflected arrangement of “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am” (Larry Harrison/Jimmy Williams). And afterward, it’s off to the races with “No More Blues” (Antônio Carlos Jobim/Jon Hendricks and Jessie Cavanaugh), a brisk bossa nova in which the instrumentalists really move, while, ironically, Corsaro sings of the bliss of “settling down.”
Alas, the second half of the album is less striking, except for the absorbing “Portrait in Black and White (Zingaro)” (Antônio Carlos Jobim/Roger Schore). The recording’s most artistically rewarding track, it takes us on a moody journey, blazing the same path both musically and narratively. The instrumental introduction is truly haunting, as if setting the scene for a scary movie. Yet, the eeriness soon softens into sadness then peacefulness and finally animation—all while Corsaro’s voice traces the emotional aftermath of a terminated marriage, traveling from despair to acceptance to hopeful eagerness, ultimately arriving at the willingness to take a chance on new love.
Lisa Jo Sagolla is the author of "The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken" and "Rock ‘n’ Roll Dances of the 1950s." A choreographer, critic, and historian, she has written for Back Stage, American Theatre, Film Journal International, and numerous other popular publications, encyclopedias, and scholarly journals. An adjunct professor at Columbia University and Rutgers, she is currently researching a book on the influence of Pennsylvania’s Bucks County on America’s musical theatre.
