At the Great American Music Hall


At the Great American Music Hall is a 1976 live album by Carmen McRae, recorded at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. McRae is joined on several tracks by the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and backed by her jazz trio of pianist Marshall Otwell, bassist Ed Bennett, and drummer Joey Baron. McRae was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards for her performance on this album.

Reception

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Stephen Cook wrote that McRae "Couched in that stellar Blue Note sound, McRae ranges far and wide on a set of standards...The whole recording is remarkable, for that matter...A must for McRae fans". Billboard described the album as an "Accompaniment is a bit skimpy with Diz Gillespie and three others but McRae's still-powerful pipes register effectively on standards.".
Joseph Vella interviewed McRae's trio for the Huffington Post on the occasion of the album's digital re-issue in 2014. Vella described the album as "...Carmen at her very best: singing jazz standards, ballads, the American songbook, popular songs of the day and some bossa nova to boot". Otwell said that "Working with Carmen I always felt like her choice of tunes was magical. I always felt that it was just so very special and I think the tunes on the album really do work. As I was listening to it, I loved it all." Baron said of Mcae's performance on "Old Folks" that "Carmen always sang it with such feeling. She gets to the essence of the song. Hearing her sing this makes me think of how she modeled respect across the age, race, gender, cultural and religious walls. That continues to inspire me.

Track listing

  1. "Them There Eyes" – 2:03
  2. "Paint Your Pretty Picture" – 6:27
  3. "On Green Dolphin Street" – 3:24
  4. "A Song for You" – 4:48
  5. "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" – 4:27
  6. "Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable to Lunch Today)" – 6:02
  7. "Too Close for Comfort" – 4:07
  8. "Old Folks" – 4:47
  9. "Time After Time" – 3:04
  10. "I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco" – 3:48
  11. "Don't Misunderstand" – 3:41
  12. "A Beautiful Friendship" – 4:04
  13. "Star Eyes" – 3:02
  14. "Dindi" – 4:36
  15. "Never Let Me Go" – 3:14
  16. "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" – 5:15
  17. "Only Women Bleed" – 4:47
  18. "No More Blues (Chega de Saudade)" – 4:14
  19. "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" – 3:52

Personnel