Album Notes

From the liner notes by James Gavin (author of Deep in a Dream: the Long Night of Chet Baker, published by Knopf):

Most people think of Doris Day as a Hollywood girl-next-door who sang in her films. Posterity hasn't quite placed her where she belongs: among a handful of truly great singers - Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney - who made lyrics sound so personal and true that you forgot you were hearing a so-called "performance." James Cagney, Day's co-star in Love me or Leave Me, summed up her gifts: "The touchstone is simplicity, the simple line of performance, directly to you, uncluttered." In her best and worst films, in "The Comb and Paper Polka" or in the Rodgers & Hart score of the movie Jumbo, Day's utter genuineness never fails to touch the heart.

So it is in Karen Oberlin's jazz-inspired salute to Day. For the last few years, Karen has charmed cabaret and theater audience in and out of New York, her hometown. Were this 1945 - the year that Day brought Les Brown's orchestra to its peak of glory with her vocal on "Sentimental Journey" - swing bandleaders would be vying for Karen's services. But we're lucky to have her here now: a singer who, like Day delivers each song with warmth, honesty, and no frills; who radiates positive energy; and who makes you feel she's by your side, singing in your ear.