I Gotta Right To Sing / Nice And Easy

"I Gotta Right To Sing" previously released as JHCD 003 and "Nice And Easy" previously released as JHCD 011. From the sleeve notes: Marion Montgomery is a prized and precious possession in the tiny and generally loony world of popular singing. She has the priceless gift of a feeling for jazz, and is therefore able to make a performance swing without thinking about it. This raises the vexed question of whether or not she is a jazz singer, which leads in turn to an even more vexed question; is there any such thing as a jazz singer? Even as I ask myself these questions, it comes back to me that I first heard them raised with reference to Marion, when she first arrived in London to work at a new club called the Cool Elephant. She was at that time totally unknown in Britain, and her advance publicity told only that she was a flower of the Deep South who sang popular songs in a distinctive style. In this context, a phrase like "in distinctive style" means properly, efficiently, professionally. As I remember it, she did a great deal more than that, elevating herself within the first few bars of her first song to the tiny elite of girl singers who can perform without inducing the writers of the songs to go outside and slash their wrists. This was all ages ago. The Elephant in question was, not very long after Marion's debut there, rendered extinct by glacial movements which ushered in yet another ice age in the history of London's musical night life. But fortunately for local vocal standards, Marion elected to stay in this country, where she has been residing ever since. But it was as far back as her Cool Elephant days that I heard some donkey from one of the musical comics asking her if she regarded herself as a jazz singer. Being new to the strange ways of this tight little island, Marion gave a polite answer by saying that no, she wasn't a jazz singer, but someone who tried to sing the best way she knew how. I remember being deeply impressed by the humility of her reply, having been too many times exposed to the septic egos of girl singers who strive so hard to turn themselves into big bad jazz musicians. Marion is a thoroughgoing professional, working in what has always been for the most part a male preserve, and yet retaining her femininity at all times. It so happens that these tracks, whether or not they feature a jazz singer, were made in a jazz club. One of the many charms of Ronnie Scott's is that it tempers its policy of men blowing things with women singing things. But the links go deeper than the mere venue. Any listener who knows what's what has only to hear tracks like "Ol Man River" and "Mean To Me" to know instantly that she is in the jazz world. Some of the solo playing is of the very highest class, and the settings too, show thought and originality. But in the end, the spirit of albums of this type stem from the singer, and here, as always, it is Marion's sympathy for what jazz musicians do and her instinct for making a song move which animate all the tracks. Benny Green (December 1987) Marion Montgomery sadly died in July 2002, she was a great singer and a lovely lady. We are proud to have this double album in our catalogue. Derek Everett (January 2003) "Love Dance" and "Yesterday's Wine" were re-recorded to enhance the original sound. Recorded live at Ronnie Scott's Club.