Carmen Mcrae – Birds of a Feather (Verve Vault Series)

Carmen McRae's Birds of a Feather arrived in 1958, when she was already established as a Decca artist, and turns a playful concept into something far more substantial: a full album of songs about birds. What could have been a novelty set becomes a sharply shaped vocal jazz record, thanks to McRae's precise phrasing and Ralph Burns' sophisticated arrangements. Standards including "Skylark", "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano" give her plenty of room to balance swing, warmth and understatement.

Burns directs a small-group setting with orchestral polish, and the material shows how comfortably McRae could move between intimacy and lift. Contemporary details around the original session add extra appeal: AllMusic notes guitarist Mundell Lowe in the band and identifies the uncredited tenor sax presence as Ben Webster, with "Bob White" singled out as a highlight alongside "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." Taken together, it is a neat snapshot of McRae in late-1950s form—elegant, witty and in complete control of a themed programme that never feels gimmicky.

This Verve Vault edition also explains why the album matters on vinyl now. It is part of an all-analog reissue series, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl, giving a smartly curated McRae set the kind of presentation that suits its poise and detail.

Features

• 180g, Verve Vault Series
• All-analog, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound