Track Listing

1. Lazy Afternoon
2. Fly Me To The Moon
3. What Are You Afraid Of
4. If I Ruled The World
5. Corcovado
6. There's A Love
7. Why Do People Fall In Love
8. For The Love Of You
9. If I Should Lose You
10. Moanin'
11. The Man I Love
12. Try A Little Tenderness

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48247 in Music
• Released on: 2004-07-13
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Soul/Jazz at its best : a masterpiece.
Good things come to those who wait.
For fans of Regina's incomparably smooth, rich and inimitable voice, it has been a long wait indeed, and what has now come to us is amazingly good. In fact, I think it's perfect.
"Lazy Afternoon" is a very immediate listening experience.
The songs were all recorded in an ensemble fashion, i.e. the way you hear them on the CD is the way they were performed in the studio, with all the musicians playing together as a band. This alone lends a distinct warmth to the recordings, almost a small live club sound.
The arrangements are at times sparse and simple, at times lush and slick, but always beautifully executed.
I don't think Regina's voice has ever been this lovingly underscored by the instrumentation on any of her previous releases.
The Perri sisters' backup vocals and the original a cappella version of "For The Love Of You" that they sing with Regina are an additional treat and create a perfect, heavenly harmony. A wonderful choice.
One might be tempted to describe Regina's new album, "LAZY AFTERNOON" as a transitional CD. She delves into jazz standards, Broadway tunes and torch songs, which could give cynics the impression that, at 45, Regina is moving from her "Make it like It Was" pop/R&B base to the career-prolonging pages of the Great American Songbook.
I don't think that this is the case, and after listening to George Duke's arrangements of tracks such as "Lazy Afternoon", "If I Ruled The World", "Why Do people Fall In Love", you will agree with me.
George Duke has meshed the R&B pathos - background vocals and a brooding bass (supplied mostly by Christian McBride) - that usually accompanies Regina's work with the familiar jazz and show tunes.
It's an honest merger that exemplifies her past hits and her roots.
When you listen to her fantastic hits like "So Many Tears", "What Goes Around" and "My Man", this new recording is really a more pronounced continuation of what she has already done.
Even "Baby Come to Me" is not an R&B song.
It has R&B inflections, but a lot of what she has been doing, the jazz, the gospel...surface together.
Regina singing jazz isn't new to fans who've regularly attended her concerts over the years.
Regina is her true self in this new release. She has always made it a point to sing a jazz number in every recording. "My Man", "Someday We'll All Be Free/Save The Children", "I'm The One" from Believe in Me, "Just The Two Of Us"...
Jazz is such a part of her roots, her fabric...she wants to give people a taste of what she really is.
The title comes from a song she remembers by an idol of hers, Tony Bennett (check the album "The Essential Tony Bennett").
George Duke adapts the music to suit her. He understands who she is. He's not trying to pigeonhole her or put her in a environment that can't be recaptured during her live shows. Nor does she perform jazz in the Diana Krall kind of way...she just sings it her own way.
The nicest thing about this album is that while some tracks instantly stand out, (say, "Lazy Afternoon" and "Why Do People Fall in Love"), it's impossible to pick favourites after listening to this album a few times: there isn't a single song here that I feel like skipping, something that was not always true for Regina's past releases.
As far as Regina Belle's longtime devotees are concerned, I'm of course preaching to the converted.
But what about the occasional listener who's still checking back to see if a successor to "If I Could" from her album "Passion" has finally come along?
Well, it hasn't, and I don't think it will, or even should. That was a great song, of course. But so is each and every track on "Lazy Afternoon".
Start listening.
Peak positions : # 9 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Chart and # 58 on The Top 100 R&B Albums Chart.
Issue date: July 2004.
Dukey Treats

Fantastic voice
What's to say about Regina Belle? Her rich and controlled voice is perfect for jazz/blues. Lazy Afternoon is something I play while driving or doing housework, and the CD is something of which I never tire. Very relaxing, funny at times, great lyrics and one of the best voices in the world.

Regina: a showstopper with star power !
When Regina Belle sings, she's like a historian. In her phrasings one can hear the struggles of generations of black singers who used the sheer, powerful force of vocal styling to tell their stories.
Compared with other contemporary singers, her voice reveals real strength of character. She may not have the biggest voice or hold the longest notes, but her sound really resonates in a room. It calls up the spirits of black musicianship. And when Regina gets the spirit, the spirit gets you. Or,as she admits, people believe her.
We all know this Lady from her numerous hits and especially the Grammy awarded tune " A Whole New World " back in 1993. If you loved those songs then you will not be disappointed with her latest offering.
The vibe of the album is laid back, sun-drenched with jazzy flavours and unapologetically adult-oriented.
Regina's vocals are fantastic and are also captivating in that they are sexy, smooth, luxuriant and relaxed in a magnificently warm amalgam. For instance, check out the opening song, the ESSENTIAL "Lazy Afternoon". Every time I get into this sexy groove I hear Billie Holiday's influences, Nina Simone's depth, Sarah Vaughan's sensibilities, Julie London's barely restrained eroticism betwixt the groove and Nancy Wilson's sensitivity in delivery. Oh yes, this is what I want to hear!!!
"Lazy Afternoon" is a gorgeous floater that will have lovers reaching for the repeat button. We do not hear tracks of this quality much nowadays, dear readers, and the fact that there are but 12 songs on offer here should not put you off at all.
Here in this world it is the quality that counts and there's more of that in the first two tracks that anywhere else, let alone the rest of the CD!!!
The aforementioned "Lazy Afternoon" lopes along with its warm , sensual, jaunty stride and has echoes of Sarah Vaughan within its make-up. I'm thinking more of the sensitive arrangements and chord changes that are cleverly and neatly understated.
When I heard "Why Do People Fall In Love" I could imagine Anita Baker attempting this type of ballad. I especially like the fresh, live feel of the recording . This song is woefully short for my liking - a sure-fire indicator that I love it very much and cannot get enough of it. Luckily the beautiful "If I Ruled The World" has similar traits and although does not rise to such dizzy heights has much to keep you gripped...(please, just to understand how a song should be interpreted,check the latest Tony Bennett's "An American Classic : Duets" album and the same song sung by Tony and Celine Dion -- ) !! Can you hear, can you feel the difference ?
More impressive still is the excellent "If I Should Lose You" with only George Duke on acoustic piano.
It really is lovely to have real singing and real instruments in the studio. Slinky, hearbreakingly emotional - a dream of a track! Enough said.
Throughout the whole album, the backing, heavenly vocals by the Perri Sisters in support are sublime.
"The Man I Love" and "Try A Little Tenderness" are the jazziest offerings and a smart, cool way to drop the curtain on what has been one of THE jazz albums of 2005 and beyond...so far.
Please do not overlook this album. Hopefully we will receive more jazz gems like this from Regina Belle in the coming years.

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