From Amazon.co.uk
Just in case the name is not familiar, or the title song, Michel Legrand is the composer of the infuriatingly catchy "The Windmills of My Mind" (actually "The Windmills of My Heart" in the original French) and all the songs in
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, the charming Catherine Deneuve film musical. The material on this disc ranges from the smoky melancholy of "Je vivrai sans toi" ("I Will Live Without You") to the hyperbolic camp of "Celui-là" ("The One") but mainly hovers in the realm of anguished longing. Jessye Norman uses the material to show off the extraordinary range and flexibility of her voice, and slips between a pure, almost boyish sound, and a full-throated luxurious warble with ease. But idiomatically she may not be to everyone's taste: for the most part this is the musical territory inhabited by the Billie Holidays of this world, and Norman's technique puts her at a disadvantage. Michel Legrand in his role as pianist is another matter, however. His carefully nuanced accompaniments flow with improvisatory ease, and inspire some great moments from the bass and drums. --
Warwick Thompson
Chronique amazon.fr
Une rencontre au sommet. Le chef d'orchestre et arrangeur Michel Legrand et la chanteuse Jessye Norman devaient sans doute un jour se retrouver, pour célébrer la richesse des mélodies de l'un avec la puissance du timbre de l'autre. Ce recueil possède bien évidemment ses passages exaltés ("Afterthoughts", "Les Moulins de mon coeur") mais aussi ses moments d'émotion ("Les enfants qui pleurent", "I Was Born In Love With You"). À noter, des titres supplémentaires - et superbes - où Legrand s'accompagne de Ron Carter à la basse et Grady Tate à la batterie.
--Eric Frank
