Mira Choquette: “In Reel Time” (2023) CD Review

Mira Choquette is a jazz vocalist based in Montreal. She released her first album, Something Cool, in 2015, and followed that with an EP, It Felt Like A Fall Affair, in 2021. Her new full-length release, In Reel Time, was recorded in classic fashion, with all the musicians performing together, doing only a couple of takes of each song, with just a bit of vocal overdubbing done on the third day. They used analog equipment, and recorded the tracks at the home of Josh Goldman, who plays bass and produced the album. The results are wonderful, the album having an intimate quality, which is perfect for the songs chosen. In addition to Josh Goldman, this album features Ewen Farncombe on piano, and Morgan Childs on drums.

The album opens with “No Moon At All,” a song written by Redd Evans and David Mann, and originally recorded by Doris Day. Mira Choquette delivers an absolutely wonderful rendition, featuring some excellent work on piano. She has fun on the lines, “I could cheer/Hold me, dear/Closer, dear/Tighter, dear,” then gives us a bit of scat. There is a great, light atmosphere, and she is so endearing as she sings, “Don’t you make a sound, it’s so dark/Even Fido is afraid to bark/What a perfect chance to park/And there’s no moon at all.” I love the timeless feel of the recording. If you want to escape from the present, or make the present a little better, this disc ought to be of help. “No Moon At All” is followed by Cole Porter’s “Just One Of Those Things,” written for the 1935 musical Jubilee. Mira Choquette’s handling of that first section is beautiful, and, as always, I appreciate the Shakespeare reference: “As Juliet cried in her Romeo’s ear/Romeo, why not face the fact, my dear.” And then the band starts to cook, particularly Josh Goldman on bass, and Mira’s tone changes accordingly. Everything is great fun, Ewen Farncombe racing on piano during that lead section in the second half, and some delightful scat, punctuated by short bursts on drums. I love it. This sounds like a private party in your home, with a good group of thirty or forty close friends cutting loose deep in the night when the outside world is completely forgotten.

“Love Crime” features a playful vocal delivery that is just delightful. And while this song has a classic feel, it is an original composition by Josh Goldman and Mira Choquette. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “If you found a wallet, would you give me the cash/I know of a wedding if you’re willing to crash/And commit a little love crime for me.” Who could deny her? Oh, the things we’ll do. “Oh, I’d like to travel to a faraway land/Where we can put our little toes in the sand/But just make sure that you can afford it/No dirty tricks, or we’ll get deported/And though it would be such a wonderful thrill/To pay for these drinks with a counterfeit bill.” And she does some riffing, some scat. This is one of my personal favorite tracks. Perhaps the most interesting choice of songs on this album, and the one that initially drew my interest, is “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.” Yes, the song from Grease. It’s one of that musical’s best songs, but one I don’t hear covered all that often. And obviously, this one is more recent than most of the songs she’s selected for this album. This version has a nice, late-night vibe, which works well. Certain lines might not have the same power as the Stockard Channing version from the movie (which is the recording most of us know best), but Mira Choquette does a really good job with this song, putting her own spin on it.

Things get hopping with the album’s second Cole Porter song, “What Is This Thing Called Love,” which has a delicious beat and features some good work on piano. Halfway through, we are treated to a lead on bass and then a brief drum solo. The band is seriously grooving here, and it feels like we’ve entered some great old club. Mira Choquette delivers more scat on this one, letting loose and delivering a lively performance. She then picks another song from more recent pop history, Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed,” a song from his 1985 LP In Square Circle (the same album that gave us “Part-Time Lover”). And though a more recent song, it still ranks among Stevie Wonder’s great compositions, and it’s the song that Mira Choquette and company began the recording process with. I’ve always found the bird sounds that occur throughout Stevie Wonder’s version to be rather annoying, and so I tend to prefer cover versions. Mira Choquette does a sweet job with it.  Then “Jump In Line” begins with drums. This is another fun one, and one with a very different vibe from the rest of the album. The rhythm, the style, her vocal delivery – all are unlike the rest of the album. This is a song we know mostly because of Harry Belafonte’s recording and of course its use in the movie Beetlejuice. These guys deliver a totally enjoyable rendition.

Another of the disc’s highlights is Mira Choquette’s rendition of “Ne Me Quitte Pas.” It is so moving and gorgeous and sad. She really digs into this song, living within it and delivering a passionate performance, one of need, of pain, expressing how she doesn’t want to give up. We hear that in the use of pauses and varying intensity of delivery. There is a wonderful rawness to the approach that adds to its effectiveness. The album then concludes with “The Old Country,” written by Nat Adderly and Curtis Lewis, and recorded by Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderly in the early 1960s. This is a song Mira Choquette also included on her first album, Something Cool. Both versions she has recorded are excellent, but I am partial to this new one, for it has a looser vibe. She delivers a seriously cool vocal performance here.

CD Track List

1. No Moon At All
2. Just One Of Those Things
3. Love Crime
4. There Are Worse Things I Could Do
5. What Is This Thing Called Love
6. Overjoyed
7. Jump In The Line
8. Ne Me Quitte Pas
9. The Old Country

In Reel Time was released on May 19, 2023.