TV Review : Carmen McRae Sings Monk, Among Others

“Carmen McRae: Mostly Monk,” airing tonight at 7 p.m. and midnight on the Bravo cable channel, does not exactly live up to its subtitle; there are, however, four songs by Thelonious Monk in this 14-song program (“Straight No Chaser” and “I Mean You” are equipped with lyrics, respectively by Sally Swisher and Jon Hendricks). For a finale, McRae sings the hilarious song about him, Jimmy Rowles’ “The Ballad of Thelonious Monk.”

Taped at last year’s Montreal Jazz Festival, the program offers an all-encompassing picture of the latter-day McRae, one of the most unregenerate jazz singers of the past generation or two. Her repertoire is a clear indication of her roots: The songs stem mainly from the 1930s and ‘40s, especially those associated with Billie Holiday, her idol.

Her sensitive understanding of the lyrics is never better displayed than in the ballads, notably “For All We Know” and “But Not For Me.” Here and there, especially on the Monk tunes, are touches of scatting. Throughout, there is obvious mutual understanding among McRae and her accompanists: the bold-toned Clifford Jordan on tenor sax, Eric Gunnison at the piano (except on the last two tunes, when McRae accompanies herself most proficiently), Scott Colley on bass and Marc Pulice on drums.

There are moments when her hard-hearted Hannah manner takes over; on these occasions a song lapses into a shout, but the melodic mood is soon reestablished. McRae has been a major force in jazz singing longer than all but a handful of other female jazz singers; this hourlong show offers convincing evidence of her unique and undiminished talent.