01. Oh Papa
02. You Got to Swing and Sway
03. Mama's Gone, Goodbye
04. Say It Isn't So
05. I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling
06. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show
07. Rocking Chair
08. (Tropical) Heatwave
09. You Go to My Head
10. Sugar Blues
11. You've Been a Good Ole Wagon
12. (I Want a Little) Sugar in My Bowl
13. Empty Bed Blues

Roberta Donnay - Vocals
Rich Armstrong - Cornet, Trumpet
Michael Barsimanto - Drums
Sam Bevan - Bass
Sheldon Brown - Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone
John R. Burr - Piano
Ed Ivey 	- Tuba
Wayne Wallace - Trombone

Among veteran songstress Roberta Donnay's career accomplishments is having her song "One World" selected as a world peace anthem for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations; it was also the theme for World Aids Day in South Africa. On her delightfully jazzy, sassy, and colorful follow-up to 2008's jazz standards project What's Your Story, the multi-talented singer aims to achieve global unity in a different way: by pouring A Little Sugar on our differences, taking us back some 80 or 90 years and exploring a time of musical Renaissance that can still tug the heartstrings. In exploring the world of Prohibition-proto-jazz, many singers possessing her charming blend of girlishness and saucy conviction could go the easy route and sing some of the Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Hoagy Carmichael faves we all know. But there's nary a Gershwin tune to be found, and her two jaunts into Berlin's catalog (the elegant and wistful trio piece "Say It Isn't So," the playful Latin romp "(Tropical) Heatwave," and the single dip into the Carmichael canon (a graceful, swaying "Rocking Chair") take her off the beaten path and into the deeper artistry of those composers and their era. Many of Donnay's song choices reflect her love of strong, outspoken female composers and artists whose songs were practically forerunners of the later women's lib movement. Opening with the swinging and sultry, brass-fired "Oh Papa" accomplishes this in two ways, because the song was originally recorded by "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey and later under a different title by Bessie Smith. Likewise, the brisk and lively "You Got to Swing and Sway" -- a song that's so danceable one wonders why it is still so obscure -- which was penned by blues singer Ida Cox in the late '30s when she was making a comeback. The stride/Dixieland-influenced "Mama's Gone Goodbye," originally recorded in 1923, invokes another name largely lost to history but which bears some research: Sippie Wallace. Donnay's big-band arrangement of "Sugar Blues" owes more to Ella Fitzgerald's later recording than any that appeared when it was penned in 1920. Perhaps the epitome of the Great American Songbook -- and often recorded by popular artists -- "You Go to My Head" is given a tender, sparse jazz arrangement. Donnay's voice could make any classic material sound wondrous and timeless, but the fact that she digs so deep into American musical history -- and works with some of the Bay Area's top jazz musicians (under the guise of the Prohibition Mob Band) -- makes A Little Sugar not only sweet, but a recording that will stand the test of time. ---Jonathan Widran, Rovi

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01. Bathtub Gin
02. Why Don't You Do Right
03. If You Want the Rainbow (You Must Have the Rain)
04. Wake Up and Live
05. Just What the Doctor Ordered
06. When I Take My Sugar to Tea
07. Shake Sugaree
08. Throw Your Heart (Over the Fence)
09. (We've Got to) Put the Sun Back in the Sky
10. Happy Feet
11. Bye Bye Blackbird
12. Kitchen Man
13. Smile
14. Horizontal Mambo
15. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

Roberta Donnay: vocals; 
John R. Burr: piano; 
Sam Bevan: bass; 
Michael Barsimanto: drums; 
Rich Armstrong: coronet, trumpet, flugelhorn; 
Sheldon Brown: saxophones, clarinet; 
Wayne Wallace: trombone; 
Nicolas Bearde: vocals (5);
Deszon Clairborne: drums (1, 8, 10); 
Danny Grewen: trombone (1, 8, 10); 
Annie Stocking: vocals (14); 
Steve Malerbi: chromatic harmonica (13).

Roberta Donnay is a Jazz Age preservationist, guardian of Depression-era sounds, and extender of traditions, but her music isn't covered with cobwebs or dated in any way. On Bathtub Gin, this singer-composer puts a new coat of paint on the songs of the '20s and '30s, contributes originals sympathetic to the sounds of those times, and conjures thoughts of life during prohibition.

Across fifteen tracks, Donnay and her group—the aptly-titled Prohibition Mob Band—deliver snappy statements, sly songs, roaring numbers, and relatively subdued sounds. Everything listeners have come to expect from this music is present: a swinging rhythm section, pithy solos, muted brass exhibitionism, tom breaks, vocals with a dose of sass and humor, the spirit of the blues, gutbucket horn asides, and intelligent songcraft are all here for the taking.

This group plays with a sense of verve, regardless of whether it's covering timeless gems ("Bye Bye Blackbird"), period classics ("Kitchen Man"), or original music ("Horizontal Mambo"), but it also knows how to work with emotional weight ("If You Want The Rainbow (You Must Have The Rain)" and "Smile"). Donnay proves to be a compelling front woman, capable of working a coy line, a ribald number ("Kitchen Man"), or an entrancing, country-laced beauty ("Shake Sugaree") with equal success; pianist John R. Burr shows himself to be a strong soloist; the blustery brass men—trumpeter Rich Armstrong and trombonist Wayne Wallace—turn up the heat; multi-reedist Sheldon Brown adds color with his clarinet and zest with his saxophone work; and the rhythm team of bassist Sam Bevan and drummer Michael Barsimanto serve as the power unit for the band. Several guests drop in—most notably, vocalist Nicolas Bearde ("Just What The Doctor Ordered") and chromatic harmonica player Steve Malerbi ("Smile")—but it's the core band that captivates.

Exploring the music and spirit of this bygone era is clearly a labor of love for Roberta Donnay. She injects enthusiasm into her chosen material, shows respect for her musical primogenitors, and conjures thoughts of a different time with Bathtub Gin. ---Dan Bilawsky, allaboutjazz.com

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01. What's Your Story, Morning Glory?
02. No Regrets
03. Put It Where You Want It
04. Small Day Tomorrow
05. Stop This Train!
06. Devil May Care
07. Life In The Slow Lane
08. Dont Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'
09. If You Live
10. Drinkin' Again
11. Blue Monk
12. Dindi (English Lyric Version)

Roberta Donnay – vocals
Eric Reed – piano
Gerald Cannon – bass
Mark Taylor – drums
Dave Ellis - tenor saxophone (3,6,8,10)

Bay Area singer Roberta Donnay has an usual past for a jazz vocalist. She already has several albums and a fan base, but according to her website these songs have been in the category of electro-chill-ambient jazz, smooth jazz, trance music, acid jazz, etc. Her initial jazz vocal experience was at the 2003 Monterey Jazz Festival, where she appeared with saxophonist Dave Ellis (who appears on this album), but What's Your Story is her first recorded venture in jazz singing.

A personage as important in the music industry as Orrin Keepnews has provided a lengthy and enthusiastic endorsement of Donnay as a primo jazz singer, and this comes from someone who has recorded several legendary artists. Finally, Donnay's biography information notes several times that she is a multiple Grammy Award nominee, but nowhere is there any indication of how she was so honored.

But disregarding the background information, this is a pretty good showcase for the vocalist. Given it's her first album not concentrating on original material, the selections are largely familir, providing a reasonably good yardstick to measure her vocals with. Roberta Donnay has a definite edge to her voice and, yes, she does sound a bit like Billie Holiday on several tracks. Notably, she begins with Mary Lou Williams' "What's Your Story, Morning Glory?" and Tobias/Ingraham's "No Regrets," which are associated with Lady Day. Bob Dorough's "Small Day Tomorrow" offers a more sophisticated cafe-type ballad, as does the Mercer/Tauber piece "Drinkin' Again," which I still have trouble associating with anyone but Dinah Washington.

Donnay's attitude is just right for Mose Allison's caustic "If You Live" and, as a Mose-o-phile, I have to say that her original, "Stop This Train," is a dead ringer for the even more sarcastic Allison original, "Stop This World," from his 1962 album Swingin' Machine. Donnay shows her jazz chops with her take on Abbey Lincoln's lyrics set to "Blue Monk" (here called "Monkery's The Blues"). Donnay saves one more goodie from this album: an up-tempo take on Bob Dorough's "Devil May Care," with a booting tenor sax intro from Ellis. Wasn't Dorough the original vocalist who sang this in the mid-1950s on Bethlehem? ---Michael P. Gladstone, allaboutjazz.com

Roberta Donnay has been on the music scene for some time, but this session marks a return to her first love, jazz. Produced by Orrin Keepnews and surrounded by a strong rhythm section anchored by pianist Eric Reed, Donnay's somewhat edgy soprano has a pop sensibility at times (especially in Al Jarreau's "Put It Where You Want It") but she's in total control in this diverse CD. Highlights include a pair of songs by Bob Dorough ("Small Day Tomorrow" and "Devil May Care"), a sassy take of Mary Lou Williams' "What's Your Story, Morning Glory?" (with a blues-drenched solo by Reed) and a strutting interpretation of Mose Allison's "If You Live." Tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis is added on several tracks, contributing a heartfelt solo in the unjust obscurity "Drinkin' Again." Roberta Donnay and jazz fans alike will benefit from her jazz comeback. ---Ken Dryden, Rovi

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