CABARET SCENES
NEW YORK, N.Y.
ADI BRAUN
Night and Day: The Cole Porter Songbook
July 27, 2024
Reviewed by Shannon Hunt
Albums of Cole Porter songs are hardly unique, but Adi Braun’s refreshing interpretation and expressive voice make Night and Day (The Cole Porter Songbook) stand out. Her collaboration with Emmy-winning producer and arranger Don Breithaupt, a fellow Canadian, was essential to the album’s creative choices. He revitalizes the longtime standards with sweeping strings, sultry bass, and vibrant bossa-nova beats. Classics such as “Love for Sale” and the title song are infused with a Latin flair that serves as a playful backdrop to Braun’s lush, unhurried vocals. She takes her time and savors each delicious note.
Braun is backed by some illustrious jazz musicians, including bassist Pat Collins, drummer Mark Kelso, and guitarist Justin Abedin. A stand-out horn section triumphs on several songs, such as Phil Dwyer’s striking solo on tenor sax in “Just One of Those Things” and William Sperandei’s bewitching trumpet in “In the Still of the Night.”
The album glides effortlessly between soft ballads and up-tempo, toe-tapping hits. In this, her sixth album, Braun shows herself to be a seasoned pro. With each song, she highlights the genius of Porter’s words while emoting the carefree abandonment, the sultry longing, and the emotional gut punch of his music.
Her biggest challenge, she said, was narrowing the choice of the hundreds of songs Porter had written down to just 10. After listening to the album, one can only hope she finds the time to select and record 10 more of them.