JUDY WHITMORE

THIS IS HOME featuring the CHRIS WALDEN ORCHESTRA

Independent label

Judy Whitmore uses this album of music to celebrate her voice, her family, and the 250^th Anniversary of the United States of America. On this country’s momentous occasion, she has chosen a repertoire of six songs that commemorate America, singing along with the amazing Chris Walden Orchestra.

They open with “The House I Live in.” It has lyrics celebrating what America means to Judy and millions of others.  Whitmore’s patriotism hails deep roots in her family history.

“Both my parents were in the U.S. Army.  My father served in the Pacific and my mother was stationed in Southern California. Her job was to organize entertainment for the troops. My mother’s sister was in the army (Aunt Fern), and her brother was in the navy (Uncle Parke). During World War II, my father’s older brother, Mike, enlisted in the army.  He auditioned and was selected to appear in Irving Berlin’s all-soldier hit show, ‘This is the Army,’ which appeared on Broadway in 1942.  Then he toured the United States and the U.K.  My grandfather was also a soldier in the U.S. Army and conducted and played violin in the U.S. Army Band,” Judy celebrated her family of patriots and musicians.

She carries their talent forward as a multi-talented jazz and cabaret performer and a recording artist.  She is also a producer, a bestselling novelist, and a family therapist with a master’s degree in clinical psychology.  In her spare time, she is a licensed commercial jet pilot, who uses that talent to fly search-and-rescue missions.

Judy sings the familiar “God Bless America” with the Chris Walden orchestra.  Walden is the founder and artistic director of the Pacific Jazz Orchestra in Los Angeles.  Many of the players on this album were contracted from the PJO.  This is the fourth album that Walden has arranged and conducted for Judy Whitmore. They offer other patriotic tunes inside an American medley consisting of “Anchors Aweigh”, “The Caissons Go Rolling Along” that melts into the “Marines Hymn” and ends with “The Wild Blue Yonder.”  This is followed by another medley including: “My Country, Tis of Thee” and “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor.”

Judy Whitmore and the Chris Walden Orchestra close their album with a mixture of the song, “Over There” and “You’re A Grand Old Flag.”

Whitmore has a crisp, crystal clear tone and delivery. The addition of a choir of voices that join Judy and the Orchestra elevates some of these arrangements. With this release, the vocalist says thank you to her country and the place that allowed her to soar and prosper. Her songs speak to the beauty, strength and diversity of America and those who have protected and embraced her.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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