Sisters and Tony Award-nominated actresses Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway have delighted and enthralled crowds with BOOM!, their hit concert celebrating the soundtrack of their childhood with unforgettable songs from the 1960s and '70s. Now, this hit show in which, The New York Times raved, the sisters 'lift these songs to expressive heights rarely attained by any singer,' has been recorded during the Callaways' engagement at New York's famed Birdland in May 2011. BOOM! is a joyous, exultant evening -- sometimes zany, often moving, always surprising -- that features tunes made famous by Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Webb, Stevie Wonder and others, such as 'A Case of You,' 'Yesterday,' 'You've Got a Friend,' 'Always Something There to Remind Me,' and 'Blowin' in the Wind.' The sisters, who alternate expressive solos with radiant duets, also share heartwarming, humorous stories of their years growing up in Chicago and New York. They are backed by musical director, arranger and pianist Alex Rybeck, bassist Jared Egan, and drummer Ron Tierno, with Rybeck and Egan doubling on background vocals. Their second live CD (following the popular Sibling Revelry), BOOM! brims with a warmth, joy and love that will transport listeners back to a time when the songs on the radio were the soundtrack of life.

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Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 3-FEB-2009

Callaway’s new album is a dynamic and stirring collection of American Songbook classics, mixed with potent and witty original songs. The recording contains several jazz standards, but with arrangements and interpretations that are far from standard.

Over the past few years, Ann Hampton Callaway has evolved from a top cabaret singer (e.g., Sibling Revelry, her brilliant collaboration with sister Liz Callaway) into an ever-improving jazz one. As she got over her eager-puppy­like tendency to overdo it (her scatting was often just too much), this wonderful album shows she's finally learned that simplicity is the hardest trick to master, but also the most rewarding. Backed by the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Baron, Frank Wess, and Lewis Nash, Callaway goes over a series of standards associated with Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, and, of course, Ella Fitzgerald (Callaway once made an album titled To Ella with Love). Despite such a tricky endeavor, Callaway puts her stamp on these songs. A newfound velvety smoothness and casual sense of ease to her voice are both enchanting. Not only is Signature Callaway's finest achievement yet, it's also one of the year's best jazz vocal records. --Elisabeth Vincentelli