In a New York Times review of the 120th Anniversary of Carnegie Hall Concert, my darling Audra gets some nice notices (luckily PBS will televise the concert!):After intermission Audra McDonald, looking and sounding radiant, sang four works by Duke Ellington. In “Solitude,” Ms. McDonald blended luscious singing with disarmingly direct sentiment. Her wistful way with “Sophisticated Lady” was also haunting. I especially loved her dreamy performance of “On a Turquoise Cloud,” a vocalise in which the singer’s “ah” sounds are cushioned by Ellington’s plangent harmonies in the orchestra. Ms. McDonald ended with “It Don’t Mean a Thing (if It Ain’t Got That Swing),” a demonstration of how swing in the Ellington sense should be lithe and rhythmic, yet relaxed and easy.
