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DOUG LAALO, LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, CHELSEA BRIDGE 10002 Dancing on the Ceiling / I’m Old Fashioned / Like Someone in Love / I Get Along without You Very Well / There’s a Small Hotel / While My Lady Sleeps / Forgetful / My Heart Stood Still / Everything Happens to Me / I Fall in Love Too Easily / That Old Feeling / The Night We Called It a Day / The Touch of Your Lips. 48:12. Laalo, vcl; Kevin Turcotte, tpt, flgh; Miles Black, p; Rick Kilburn, b. 2006, Burnaby, BC. If you love John Pizzarelli’s singing, you would like Doug Laalo’s. Laalo, a product manager at a steel company until fellow Canadian singer Kenny Colman encouraged him to perform, is in possession of a winsome tenor range like Pizzarelli’s, though without Pizzarelli’s humor and occasional tongue-twisting attack on lyrics. (For instance, I heard a hilarious Pizzarelli Bugs Bunny-Daffy Duck imitation as he re-created scenes from a Warner Brothers cartoon with “What’s up, Doc’s” and “Sufferin’ Succotash’s” aplenty.) Laalo would have none of that. Though Laalo can remind the listener of Pizzarelli when he sings standards, Laalo stays close to the melody and has an affinity for slow ballads. Actually, on Like Someone in Love, Laalo intends to remind the listener of Chet Baker’s romantic singing, and Laalo has included some of the songs, such as “I Fall in Love Too Easily”, from Baker’s albums. To recall Baker’s trumpet interludes, Laalo has recruited Kevin Turcotte, who plays with lyrical appeal and a linear clarity of solo construction, often muted. Even though Baker touched countless listeners with the ineffable magnetism of his recordings, Laalo’s voice is more trained, as he holds the pitch on the long tones with firm assurance and stylishness. Like Someone in Love does include its share of long tones. Laalo slows some of the songs to a tempo much slower than many singers attempt. “The Night We Called It a Day” is understated and haunting, but Laalo’s version proves how well he can shape notes, creating interest rather than losing it by sustaining the notes beyond expected lengths. Laalo does have fine voice, and one can understand his affinity for Baker’s memorable singing of standards. Don’t misunderstand: Not all of Laalo’s songs are thoughtful ballads. “My Heart Stood Still” attains a song-and-dance-man feel with its pounce on the first notes of the phrases, setting up the occasion for pianist Miles Black’s Nat Cole-influenced block-chord solo. Still, Laalo’s more interesting tracks are those in ruminative tribute to Baker. For instance, on “Forgetful”, the most effective song on Like Someone in Love, Laalo effectively draws attention not only to the meaning of the words of the elongated notes at the ends of the phrases, but also to the sustained sonority of their vowels and consonants. A romantic singer of ballads, Doug Laalo attracts listeners with his feeling for the songs he includes. Nonetheless, and perhaps respectfully, he leaves the inexplicable enchantment arising from the songs to Chet Baker. Bill Donaldson, Cadence Jazz magazine c. 2007.
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