MAUDE MAGGART: With Sweet Despair

Maude Maggart

With Sweet Despair

© 2005 SMAX Productions, Inc. (634479268298)

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The heartbreaking voice of Maude Maggart breathes new life into classic and contemporary American standards. She is accompanied by piano and strings.

tracks

1 Beyond Compare
2 How Deep Is The Ocean
3 I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
4 Forty Second Street / Boulevard of Broken Dreams
5 It's The Talk of The Town
6 How Could We Be Wrong
7 Night and Day
8 What Is Love
9 Remember My Forgotten Man
10 Happy Days Are Here Again
11 Someday I'll Find You

notes

MAUDE MAGGART, the chanteuse who started her performing career in the clubs of New York and Los Angeles , has exploded into one of today’s most compelling international concert artists. She has been hailed as “bewitching” by The New York Times, “utterly enchanting” by the New York Post, “stunning” by the Los Angeles Times and “transfixing” by New York Magazine.

Her latest CD Maude Maggart Live – which includes classic love songs such as “You Go To My Head,” “Skylark,” “I Can’t Get Started,” “All The Things You Are” and “The Song Is You,” in addition to rarely-heard vintage compositions by Kurt Weill (“The River Is So Blue”), Jerome Kern (“Let’s Begin”) and Harry Warren (“Coffee In The Morning, Kisses In The Night”) – was released on March 13, 2007. USA Today, which labeled the disc “Pick of the Week,” said “with her sultry-sweet tone and quivering vibrato, Maggart conveys a singular freshness and unmannered sensuality.”

This new CD continues a year of astonishing success for Maude, including a spot on Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List,” a feature segment on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and a Time Out New York cover story. Maude recently filmed her screen debut in a new movie about composer Kurt Weill by director/actor/screenwriter Robert Downey, Sr. She recorded a duet with Broadway and TV star John Lithgow for his new CD, The Sunny Side of the Street, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. In addition to annual sell-out runs at the Oak Room of the fabled Algonquin Hotel in New York and the Gardenia in Hollywood , Maude made her London debut in February as part of Jeff Harnar’s “American Songbook in London ” series at the Jermyn Street Theatre.

Her concerts have become celebrity magnets, attracting such boldface names as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lynn Redgrave and Neil Simon. Her latest show, “Good Girl/Bad Girl” – which explores the emotional complexities of songs written for both naughty and nice, and others open to interpretation – opened to rave reviews in New York and Los Angeles . She reprised the program in Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theater Company and it will be broadcast on Chicago Public Radio this fall.

Her previous CD, Maude Maggart Sings Irving Berlin, features well-known standards from Berlin’s catalog such as “The Song Is Ended,” “Always” and “What’ll I Do,” as well as lesser known songs such as “When I Leave The World Behind,” “Slumming on Park Avenue” and “Yiddisha Nightingale.” Her 2004 CD, With Sweet Despair, includes Depression-era gems such as “Happy Days Are Here Again,” “ Forty Second Street ” and “Night and Day,” along with rarely recorded numbers by Harry Warren (“Remember My Forgotten Man”), Marshall Barer (“Beyond Compare”) and Cole Porter (“How Could We Be Wrong?”). Her music has been championed by New York broadcasting legend Jonathan Schwartz, the eminent British broadcaster Russell Davies on the BBC and Garrison Keillor on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Maude is the scion of an acclaimed show business family: her grandmother starred in the George White Scandals of 1926, her grandfather was the star vocalist for the famed Harry James Big Band, her parents met while performing with Lauren Bacall in the Broadway musical Applause, and her sister is pop singer-songwriter Fiona Apple.

Born and raised near 125th Street in New York City , Maude created a stir in Hollywood with her debut show at the Gardenia, when The Los Angeles Times said “Maude Maggart’s talent and imagination offer hope for the future of cabaret.” Fostered by Andrea Marcovicci and Michael Feinstein, Maude has performed at nightclubs around the country, including Feinstein’s at the Regency in Manhattan, the Plush Room in San Francisco, the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, the Savor Room in St. Louis and Schroeder’s in San Diego.

For the 92nd Street Y’s “Lyrics and Lyricists” series, Maude starred in Easy to Love: The Love Songs of Cole Porter and Kurt Weill In America, the latter which will be released on CD this spring. She will return to the series in June 2007 for Noël Coward and His Ladies, curated by Steve Ross. In 2005, she was featured in the LAByrinth Theatre Company’s Obsession benefit, curated and directed by John Patrick Shanley. Maude is the recipient of the 2005 Time Out New York Award for Special Achievement, the 2005 MAC Award for Best Female Debut and the 2005 Back Stage Award for Special Achievement.

Over the past year, she has headlined shows at New York ’s Downtown River to River Festival, Guild Hall in East Hampton , the Hudson Opera House, the Oregon Festival of American Music, the Bridgeport Playhouse and Michael Feinstein’s “Standard Time” concert series at Carnegie Hall. She appeared as the special guest star with the MYO Dance Company in Garden of Reason – a theatrical event with song, dance and magic – at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood .

reviews

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  • With Sweet Despair
    author: Michael Walker

    A beautiful album Maude can do no wrong.She always has the right chemistry.

  • author: Meryl Heasman catflapmusic.com

    Just listened to Maude Maggart, what a beautiful voice.

  • With sweet despair
    author: Michael (UK)

    How exciting to hear a voice as soothing as this. Am I sitting beside her? it feels and sounds like it. I live middle UK, we don't seem to get quality like this. Are you coming over?

  • author: Corinna Fugate

    This is lovely! Love, Corinna Fugate

  • Gorgeous voice, unforgettable interpretations
    author: Tim S.

    What a wonderful voice! I especially enjoyed the Barer/Ross songs, and I can't imagine a more beautiful rendition of 'Night and Day.'

  • Beautiful
    author: Alex Good

    This is a fantastic album. Maude's voice is gorgeous, and the simple arrangements of the songs bring that into sharp relief. The songs are all from well before my time, but Ms. Maggart makes me wish I had lived through the creation of such wonderful tunes.

  • Do yourself a favor buy, borrow or forget to return this artist's CD.
    author: David Townes

    I bought one of Maude's CD's and bought the others within days. She is a combination of Laura Nyro, a young Ethel Merman, she is uniquely herself with a voice that makes you sit up and ask who's that?

  • Be sure to read the liner notes!
    author: Robert W. Donigan

    A perfect combination of a sweet voice and good songs from the past, some familiar, some not, but worth becoming familiar with. The linar notes, almost a biography, explain a lot of where Maggart comes from, especially her mentoring by Michael Feinstein.

  • Wonderful voice
    author: Steve Whiting

    Great CD, plan to buy her Berlin CD

  • A timeless gem!
    author: Tim N

    Beyond her obvious vocal gifts, what comes through on this CD is the love and respect with which she treats the material. These are classic, timeless songs brought back to life for a new generation of listeners. Maude Maggart makes them her own.

  • author: CP

    Great mix of beautiful songs. I can't stop listening to it!

  • WOW! The most beautiful etheral voice
    author: Diana Nordlund

    I was floored. I know her sister, but I enjoy her voice even more. I don't usually like the songs my parents (grandparents) liked. Maude Maggert has the most beautiful ethreal voice...soothing in a minor key

  • Great CD
    author: Jeffrey Begg

    Easy listening. Great!

  • Fantastic!! Treat yourself.
    author: Angel

    Wonderful CD. She has a beautiful voice and amazing presence. This CD took me back to my childhood listening to my grandmother play the piano when I was a small child. These were HER songs which made them mine as well. Beautiful delivery of timeless music.

  • Great choices, great treatment, great style!
    author: Walt Lappo

    I respond to a singer who selects material with care and an appreciation of the treasures in the Great American Songbook, who treats them with understanding, respect and insight, but who also restores a fresh lustre to them by performing them with a unique, convincing and rewarding style. This CD offers all of those qualities because of the the exceptional taste and talent of the singer.

  • Wonderful.
    author: Jim Massman

    My wife & I both found Ms. Maggartt's music to be wonderful -- clean, crisp. This includes her cd Look For The Silver Lining as well. We'll be on the lookout for future releases by her + hoping to see her perform if she tours So. California!

  • Simplicity with style
    author: Trish J

    I cannot hear enough of this wonderful singer: an amazing quality to her voice, a fresh take on "old standards" and deceptively simple arrangements. I hope Maude is around for decades to come to delight us all with her artistry.

  • Sweet, sad, and beautiful
    author: Butch Johnson

    Amazing caberet- vintage jazz standards. Sung and arranged with soul.

  • A unique and evocative voice.
    author: Pam

    This is a wonderful collection of songs that remind me of the songs my parents listened to. But then, you hear Maude sing and they become uniquely new again!

  • Maude is a wonderful find!
    author: Ed Gerrard

    I had never heard of Maude Maggart until I heard her NPR interview. That interested me enough to hunt down a CD.."With Sweet Despair". She is spectacular!! I have now ordered her other two CDs and I can't wait for them to arrive.

  • great!
    author: Michael M Thomas - NY Observer, Quest

    have been listening to cabaret music for 50 years. this is what it's about!

  • great!
    author: Michael M Thomas - NY Observer, Quest

    have been listening to cabaret music for 50 years. this is what it's about!

  • Had to take her home from New York
    author: The Noël Coward Society

    Maude's voice is simply the most haunting thing I have heard since Judy Garland. I saw her perform before Christmas at The Oak Room, The Algonquin Hotel, New York when the Society celebrated the naming of The Noël Coward Suite. She was with her father and appeared briefly with other cabaret stars, KT Sullivan, Steve Ross etc. and her voice never left me. Hence the ordering of this CD on my return to the UK. The only gripe is the bonus track which was a big mistake.. the rest is heaven...!

  • haunting, unique and beautiful!
    author: peter schulman

    this cd from the poetic title to the electic and interesting choice of songs is so moving and haunting. Without doubt the most original and ethereal poet/singer today, and I can't wait to hear her in person at the Algonquin. Thank you for such a beautiful album!! A true delight...

  • author: Melanie Piegari

    Overall it was nice. The sound was a bit tinny, not sure why. I have seen the artist live three times and do not attribute that to her voice. A bit expensive considering the sound quality, but still a nice treat.

  • nice. very nice
    author: Tom

    I had seen Ms. Maggert in Hbg, Pa and hope to see her again in the future.

  • got the chills!!!
    author: superkitty

    Ms Maggart! You are sooooo talented. Your voice is cherubic.Anything that has Elizabeth Barrett Browning prose in it gets me! i play you on the air all the time!Thank you!

  • STUPENDOUS
    author: TCDERMMD

    A collection of songs performed in an unforgettable manner. Simply marvelous.

  • Thrills the heart
    author: Jeremy B.

    Ms. Maggart has a voice with a haunting quaver that really makes her renditions something special to hear. She is lovely to listen to, beyond all question.

  • Great talent.
    author: Jim

    Very atmospheric, almost avant garde. Lovely voice. But why such a high price tag?

  • These songs will haunt you
    author: Steve Purnick

    Ms. Maggart has a beautiful and sorrowful vocal quality which, when paired with these meloncholy arrangements, commands you to sit and take notice. Some of these songs will haunt you for days after listening. However, an entire album with this tone runs the risk of getting monotonous and over-acty. The CD is at it's absolute best on "Happy Days Are Here Again", where the sad arrangement works in sharp contrast to the upbeat lyric. This track alone is will make a fan of almost anyone.

  • Love it! What a heart-render! Fabulous voice.
    author: Laura S.

    Now consider myself a fan, and eagerly await delivery of the next CD which I have ordered. What a fortuitous discovery!

  • Beautiful voice gives new life to old standards
    author: Lisa A

    I have and love Maude's first album, and bought this one as soon as I learned about it. Maude's voice is heartbreakingly beautiful, and she only gets better on this album. Very talented lady from a talented family!

  • She IS beyond compare!
    author: Nancy Fraser Carrier

    Thank you, thank you, to CDbaby for making this CD available. Maude Maggart's voice is haunting...ethereal. Can't wait to hear more of her!

  • Voice of an Angel
    author: Bill Butler

    My family and I saw Maude Maggert perform at a Garrison Keilor show in Los Angeles. She nearly stole the show with her beautiful rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". "Sweet Despair" brought our memories of seeing her to life once again.

  • Beautiful songs sung with great heart and soul.
    author: Fred Saunders

    The song selection is marvelous. The CD contains songs a singer with Maude Maggart's depth can really get into. We especially enjoyed "It's the talk of the town." She needs fuller, more complex accompaniment and more variety in mood and tempo. I look forward to her next release.

  • love Maude's voice
    author: cindy

    I love the '20's songs she did & I especially loved 42nd street/broken dreams. I would love to hear more of that livelier/more intense style that shows off her voice so much more. My only critique is that I felt there was not enough variety in her style among the songs.

  • author: Don B

    She is wonderful, and so is this CD.

  • A very special singer
    author: Susan

    Also heard her on Prairie Home Companion and rushed to buy the CD. I really like her music choices. Recently heard Great American Songbook announcer Jonathan Schwartz also singing Maude's praises. Looking forward to hearing more from her.

  • Maude's voice will break your heart
    author: Peg O'Malley

    I heard Maude on Prairie Home Companion and immediately went to her website to order her CDs. I bought them for my dad in memory of my mom, his wife of 60 years. Maude's beautiful voice singing the classics he knows and used to sing himself puts him to sleep every night. Wonderful music. Thank you, Maude.

  • Maude's a great singer
    author: Rob Parris

    I'm a huge fan of Maude's sister, Fiona Apple, and I also like 1920's standards, and this CD was not a let down at all. Excellent. Also, there's a bonus track of Harold Arlen's A Sleeping Bee sung by Maude and Fiona. It's fun!

  • Bittersweet indeed
    author: Gertie

    She's the top… like chocolate sprinkled on strong coffee. Happy Days sung like it should be and the verse in How Could We Be Wrong is a revelation. The piano arrangements are without exception very nicely judged 'in period' without sounding hokey. A gypsy fiddle comes along for the show and you get a bonus string quartet in Night and Day. It's very good cabaret fare. This one's a keeper.

  • How do I compare thee, Ms. Maggart?
    author: cyn smith

    All the sadness, the drama, the pathos of love gone wrong is the theme of 'With Sweet Despair'. But now I'll never think of Harry Nilsson, Peggy Lee, Bernadette Peters again without thinking of Ms. Maggart giving new melancholy to Night and Day or How Deep is the Ocean!!

  • Wonderful old songs with a voice that is so true
    author: Don Riehl

    I heard Maude on XM radio in my car. I searched everywhere for her CD's. CD Baby came through for me. I am 73 years old and I grew up on these beautiful old melodies. Her voice is like creamy satin. Will she ever come to Detroit? WOW.

  • She enriched my listening repetoire.
    author: Susan Smith-Hunter

    I thought that my music preferences did not include cabaret music of the twenties or any time, with the exception of Jacque Brel, BUT that was before I heard Maude on PHC the first time and then bought "With Sweet Despair". Her gorgeous and unembellished renditions leave me hanging on every single note. What melodies and what revelations!

  • A wonderfully perfect album!!
    author: Janet O'Brien

    It's really hard to believe that someone so young (Maude is 28ish)can sing with such emotional sophistication. Her voice is unique and a perfect match for each one of these tunes. The 42nd Street piece is perhaps the catchiest while at the same time most bittersweet. An overall great listen!

  • A blast from the past!
    author: Jurgen Heimann

    It's as though this young lady has stepped forward in time from the 1920's. She's absolutely amazing. The addition of violin to this album adds a greater depth to the production, compared to her first effort, but, as with LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING, the song selection is spot on. I highly recommend this new album (both albums, in fact). Tell your friends.

  • Ms. Maggart makes every song seem personal and intimate.
    author: Suellen R.

    Maude Maggert brings my world to a halt with her bell-like renditions of some gorgeous songs. Her singing causes me to stop and really listen in the midst of all the noise that screams for our attention these days. I can't wait to see her live, but in the meantime I have this CD which transports me - at least in my mind - to another time and place. Thank you!

  • Her voice gave me chills
    author: Cathy

    This CD is great. Her voice timbre and range work with the song selections, and she delivers them with impeccable precision, voice control and feeling, without resorting to the type of overworn contrivances currently in vogue. For someone who's really tired of the current blast of sound-alike female vocalists, M Maggerts CD is as refreshing as a cool mountain glade on a hot dry day. -WOW!

  • greatest
    author: Jo Ann McCauley

    I heard her on Garrison Keillor a few weeks ago. She had the sweetest voice I ever heard, an angel over the airwaves. I tried immediately to get this cd, and was disappointed that it was not available at the time, but much to my surprize, it was sent quickly. I'am in listeners heaven! Thanks.

  • Maude Maggart is fabulous! Incredible voice and choice of songs
    author: S. Magaziner

    I'm hoping her next CD will have 1. different instrumental backup. 2.some tempo variety from one number to the next. Whenever it comes out, I'm buying it!

  • Maude Maggart is a unique and rare treasure.
    author: Gary DeFranco

    I had thought the expressive, heartfelt singing I heard on Garrison Kielor's program no longer existed, so it was a wonderful discovery to happen upon Maude Maggart. The same lyrics sung by anyone else would not touch me as gently and certainly as she does. Maude Maggart is a unique and rare treasure.

  • a lovely unique voice that will only improve with time
    author: jerry davis

    I too heard her first on Prairie Home Companion. This cd is a real delight -Talk of the Town is great though the version she did on the Prairie show was even better and it was a joy to hear a Cole Porter tune I had never heard before - How Could We Be Wrong.

  • I was transported.
    author: Jill Nelson

    I heard Maude Maggart on Prairie Home Companion and was transported. I couldn't wait for the CD. Her voice meets my most stringent criteria for music: her voice raises the hair on my arms.

  • Exquisite voice, compellingly simple delivery
    author: Mary Dunn

    When I heard Maude on The Prairie Home Companion, I had to have this to play on command. Sweet Despair flows sweet and true from beginning to end - every song trills in the ear and hits the heart. A voice in its springtime now that promises to grow richer with the years. Thanks, Maude.

  • Loved "How Deep Is the Ocean" and "It's the Talk of the Town" -- both moved me t
    author: Lillian Kollar

    How Deep Is the Ocean and It's the Talk of the Town were beautifully sung, with true emotive communication to the listener. I have been a professional piano accompanist all my life, and I recognize the special quality this singer has. It is rare, and in my opinion is what separates the just OK from the really special.

  • Lovely, lovely. What a pleasure to play this cd!
    author: Brooke Mitchell

    Lovely, lovely. What a pleasure to play this cd. I had not heard Talk of the Town for ages, and it was simply wonderful to hear it sung by this artist. Thank you, Maude & Co. for bringing us all this beautiful music.

  • Full-bodied, yet somehow vulnerable, emotive voice.
    author: William Wright

    I know nothing of Maude Maggart, except I heard her on Prairie Home Companion. Her voice is difficult to describe: Her ease with the music gives you confidence, yet there is something so vulnerable, personal in the way she sings. She is a little like Kristen Vygard in that way. Haven't heard a singer like that in many years. Bill Wright Venice, California

  • Sexy yet sweet. The kind of singer you always wanted to take home to mom.
    author: Steve Beckham

    There was a time (I've seen it in old movies) when recording stars sang in clubs and music was warm and intimate. Maude Maggart takes us back there with her sexy yet sweet rendition of standards from a smarter time. Warning: men who listen to her music while taking Viagra, Cialis, Levitra or other "performance enhancing" products may experience a premature response. Such sweet, intimate, sexy, sultry singing-- yet she's the kind of singer you could take home to mom.

  • Silky, sultry and bittersweet (back with intelligence)
    author: Dave G. from San Francisco

    Continuing her search for great historically important vocal music, Maude delivers a great set of the music from [I think] 1933. "Sweet Despair" is an apt title for the clear and sweet but somehow sultry and melancholy sound Maude impecabbly delivers. On this album, Maude adds a few nice, slightly modern accompanying strings along with the ever present piano. If you like the early simple sounds Judy Collins or Joni Mitchell, there are hints of that here. Please see her perform live, you will fall in love, and really, cabaret is a "live" experience. My favorite tracks: It's the Talk of the Town, What is Love? and Someday I'll Find You.

  • beautiful!
    author: Leslie Loyen

    With sweet despair brought me as much pleasure than Look over the silver lining. I had the chance to see Ms Maggart twice in the city and I don't have the words to say how much her beautiful voice amazes me. Thank you for opening a 21 years old to cabaret music!

  • Her voice is as precious as blossoms on Broadway
    author: Gerry Sample

    We met at the Plush Room, we fell in love! She signed my CD and I was in heaven. Then my wife interrupted our reverie and prompted, “You’re old enough to be her Father! Nay, you are old enough to be her Garandfather!” There were Blossoms on Broadway that night at the Plush Room.

  • Wow
    author: Steven Kruger

    An unusual mixture of songs, but all like little plays. This is REAL torch singing. And Ms. Maggart found a song I didn't know--THE TALK OF THE TOWN--that is absolutely the sweetest, most melancholy thing I've heard in quite a while.

  • Lovely caberet
    author: Bob Woolley

    Love the music and the singer. I found the sound a bit on the edgy side though. Needs to be recorded with tube gear.

  • wonderful songs sung wonderfully!
    author: Barbara Hale

    great songs that are not heard enough........it's good to hear "remember my forgotten man" which I saw in a movie production number when I was a kid and noone else knew. It's a song to rip your heart out. wonderfully sung by a wonderful voice.

  • Excellent selection of songs along with a perfect voice for them.
    author: Troy Murphy

    Noone can sing these songs better than Maude Maggart and I wouldn't want them to anyway! Simply Superb!

  • i loved this CD and the breathtaking quality of her voice. She has such a unique
    author: Leslie Krotman

    I absolutely loved Maude Maggarts second CD, "With Sweet Despair"! Although I am already a fan of Maude's, and have seen her sing twice in performance, i loved this CD and the breathtaking quality of her voice. She has such a unique and angelic way of singing.

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