Build a Bridge

by Audra McDonald

Product Description:

Personnel include: Audra McDonald (vocals); Dan Petty (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Doug Petty (piano, organ); Fred Hersch (piano); Peter Donovan (bass instrument); Shawn Pelton (drums, percussion).

Recording information: Right Track, New York, NY (2005).

For her second album of 2006, Broadway singer Audra McDonald focuses on cabaret-style versions of pop songs perfectly suited for both this intimate style and her fearsomely gifted, stage-trained voice. The song selection ranges from Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach's "God Give Me Strength" (which emerged as a new standard shortly after it was released in the early 2000s) to downtown-NYC songbird Nellie McKay's flirty "I Wanna Get Married," with a few more traditional choices for balance. The arrangements are small and jazzy, but not simplistic, giving McDonald's vocals plenty of room and support.