The Night I Fell for You

Like Gary Crosby and Frank Sinatra, Jr., it's virtually impossible for Steve March Tormé to avoid comparisons with his famous father. In the case of Tormé, he has two famous fathers. After his mother divorced Mel Tormé, she married Hal March, the MC for the popular quiz show The $64,000 Question. Tormé makes a strong effort to avoid comparison with his singer father by staying away from songs his father was known for and by working mainly with his original material. For this, his second album, Tormé aligns himself with various small-group configurations rather than the big-band format found on his initial album. Featured players include Pete Christlieb on tenor, Bobby Rodriquez on trumpet, Steve Rawlins on piano, Jim De Julio on bass, and Donny Osborne on drums. Osborne was his father's regular drummer for many years. There's more upbeat, swing material on this album, a tempo that Tormé feels very comfortable with. One of the best tracks is the tune "The Night I Fell for You" with just Osborne and De Julio in support. Tormé likes the hip material as well, as heard on "A Lotta Love for You." Ballads are secondary on this second album, with "Torch Song" the best of a small lot to chose from. Tormé's high-pitched voice is pleasant enough and, given his genes, he has absolute pitch and an excellent sense of what he's singing, irrespective of tempo. But he is still a work in progress and should consider including more familiar material on his next album so that listeners can get a better feel for what he can do with songs that others have done before him.