CD Review: Deborah Shulman "We Had A Moment"

 

Deborah Shulman – “We Had A Moment"

Vocalist Deborah Shulman has just released her sixth album, We Had A Moment, and it’s a beauty. The eclectic playlist of standards she’s chosen for this CD is deeply personal — each song has a story and meaning connected to her life. The selections reflect irony, grief, grace, and love, and together they form a portrait of a vocalist who truly lives what she sings. The result is a wonderful gift to her listeners.

Deborah Shulman is one of those rare vocalists who can take a standard you’ve heard hundreds of times and make it sound completely new again. That’s not something that can be faked — it comes only from life experience, empathy, and a deep understanding of the lyric. Every track here shows that she feels and believes every word she sings.

There are ten songs on We Had a Moment, and each one is a gem.

PLAYLIST:

1. Anyone Can Whistle — Stephen Sondheim

2. No Moon at All — David Mann & Red Evans

3. Without a Song — Vincent Youmans, Billy Rose & Edward Eliscu

4. New York State of Mind / On Broadway — Billy Joel / Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

5. With So Little to Be Sure Of — Stephen Sondheim

6. Goodbye Love / Not Like This — Richard Rudolph & Jeremy Lubbock

7. The Laughter and the Tears — Randy Edelman

8. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea — Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler

9. Miss Otis Regrets — Cole Porter

10. You Must Believe in Spring — Michel Legrand, Alan & Marilyn Bergman

Seven of these tracks were recorded with her longtime pianist and arranger Jeff Colella, and three with pianist and arranger Terry Trotter. Both are master musicians, and it’s fascinating to hear their distinct approaches. Colella’s arrangements feel intimate, harmonically rich, and conversational — he creates space for Deborah’s voice to explore emotional depth. Trotter brings his own elegant phrasing and understated sophistication. Hearing both pianists on one record is a master class in how two great minds can interpret the same vocalist differently but beautifully.

In addition to these two remarkable pianists, Deborah brought together a dream team of musicians — every one of them a hall-of-fame player:

PLAYERS:

• Vocals: Deborah Shulman

• Piano & Arrangements: Jeff Colella

• Piano & Arrangements: Terry Trotter

• Guitar: Larry Koonse

• Bass: Kenny Wild and Chris Colangelo

• Drums: Joe LaBarbera and Kendall Kay

Each of these musicians brings heart, skill, and decades of experience to the project. The result is a sound that is warm, deeply musical, and refreshingly honest.

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

• Produced by: Deborah Shulman and Jeff Colella

• Recorded at: Tritone Studios, Glendale, California

• Engineered and Mixed by: Talley Sherwood

• Mastered by: Paul Tavenner

• Label: Summit Records (Released 2024)

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We Had A Moment is a brilliant CD that will bring joy to listeners for many years to come. These songs are more than performances — they’re stories, reflections, and moments of truth.

Deborah Shulman, I personally thank you for your artistry and for breathing new life into these great songs once again. Your voice, your insight, and your heart make this album unforgettable.

I have attached two songs from "We Had A Moment" for your listening pleasure.  The first song composed by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler is "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea".  The second is one of my all-time favorites, "Miss Otis Regrets" written by Cole Porter". 

                                                       "The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea"

                                                                    "Miss Otis Regrets"

Steve Tyrell On The Difference Between "The Great American Songbook" and "Contemporary American Music".

Steve Tyrell has been a favorite of mine ever since he recorded his first "Standards" CD and I love everything he has recorded. In addition, he is a great supporter of the "Great American Songbook".  I recently came across a Blog called "Wentzville Patch" that published an article about Mr. Tyrell and his upcoming May 15 performance at The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Mo. I was surprised by Mr. Tyrell's answer to the following question: "In your opinion, what is the difference between the "Great American Songbook" and "Contemporary American Music" that includes the music of Motown, Paul Simon, James Taylor and Elton John?" Mr. Tyrell answered, "The biggest difference--and I'm not knocking them in any way, shape or form--"Fire and Rain" is as good as it gets.  But you don't want to hear anybody else sing them".  "That's the difference", he said.  "I mean, I couldn't make an album of James Taylor songs, you know? Nobody would want to hear it.  Even The Beatles, you don't want to hear somebody singing The Beatles' songs.  But there's been a million versions of Cole Porter songs. Then hundreds of versions, thousands of versions, of the Gershwin songs, or Harold Arlen.  And they've been done in every genre you can think of.  And you can love 25 versions of the same song." I have heard other artists make similar statements and with all due respect to Mr. Tyrell and those other artists, I totally disagree with this opinion on the subject. Let's use The Beatles Songbook as an example.  I put together a songlist of Beatles' songs titled "The Beatles Minus The Beatles Plus Paul" that I think in many cases are at least as good or perhaps even better than the orginial Beatles' recording (My apologies to those Beatles' fans that can't deal with this possibility). My playlist has two songs sung by Paul McCartney because no one does them better than Paul! Before you reject this possibility, head to iTunes and check out these versions of Beatles' songs!

Side note to Steve Tyrell: I am absolutely sure that you could do a great new CD of songs from James Taylor and Elton John adding the Tyrell touch and style to them.  "Steve Tyrell does James Taylor and Elton John". Please give this some consideration.  I would love to see how you would approach some of the wonderful songs these great performers have recorded. I would be happy to work on a draft playlist if you had any interest.


1. Help                                                              Little Texas

2. With A Little Help From My Friends              Joe Cocker

3. Yesterday                                                      Eva Cassidy

4. Nowhere Man                                               Randy Travis

5. Can't Buy Me Love                                       Shenandoah

6. Come Together                                            Delbert McClinton

7. Something                                                    Tanya Tucker

8.The Long And Winding Road                        Ray Charles and Count Basie

9. Eleanor Rigby                                               Liz Callaway

10. Oh! Darling                                                 Huey Lewis

11. Ticket To Ride                                            Joshua Rifkin

12. Baby I Am Amazed                                    Paul McCartney

13. Lady Madonna                                           Paul McCartney