Here are some recordings with contents that most impactfully bring on the happy moods or reflect sorrow (and attitudes in facing it). Some present a more balanced mix of sunshine and clouds.

LIZ COLE
I WANT TO BE HAPPY
CD | Digital

The impressive debut album from singer Liz Cole, I Want to Be Happy, is named for its opening track, a bright and brisk jaunt bringing new life to this cheery choice from the 100-year-old musical No, No, Nanette. It also immediately demonstrates an ease with jazz styles that this attractive-voiced lady possesses. Enhanced by the swinging sounds provided by guest musician Jackson Irvine on vibes, "You're Sensational" by Cole Porter from the score of the movie musical High Society is another high-spirited rendition. And "Lazy River" flows appropriately at a more languid pace, but remains smiley in this invitation to "throw away your troubles" to see "how happy you can be." It lets us luxuriate in her appealing timbre and the mellow guitar work of Larry Koonse. He's on half of the 10 tracks on this recording; other instrumentalists include three men sharing bass-playing, two alternating on piano, and drummer/producer Aarón Serfaty, who contributes to all of the arrangements except one.

"I'm Still Here," arranged by the singer and pianist Otmaro Ruíz, is not the survivor anthem from the musical Follies, but rather a melancholy number written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. The hurt hanging heavy in the vocal on the key line "You haven't looked at me that way in years" is just one example of her capturing a not-so-happy mood on this album. Its scenario about having an insensitive lover, but still being in love, mirrors "Mean to Me," the included weepy standard from 1929.

The recording holds up entertainingly well with repeat listening. Likeable Liz Cole demonstrates her confidence with: contrasting tempi; songs in Portuguese (translations reveal that one is about being hurt and the other about Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf); and providing her own lyric to "Passing Through," an old instrumental composition by Erroll Garner. I'm happy to recommend I Want to Be Happy.

SUSPENDED IN TIME: A SONG CYCLE
KATE McGARRY, GABRIELLE STRAVELLI (singers)
FRED HERSCH (piano/ composer)
RONDI CHARLESTON (lyrics/spoken word)
Resilience Music Alliance
CD | Digital | Vinyl

Filled with moments of aching beauty, vulnerability and longing, the richly emotional song cycle titled Suspended in Time seesaws between reflection and woe, with hope and optimism getting embraced when they make a late and welcome arrival. Rondi Charleston's relatable lyrics began as journal entries expressing her reactions to the realities of COVID-19 lockdown: the uncertainty, worry and patience (or lack thereof) during the long months of isolation and frustration. These writings were the seeds of poems that grew into lyrics to be set to music by the gifted composer/pianist Fred Hersch, known for his strikingly sensitive approach.

Delivering empathetic performances, two accomplished, adventurous vocalists–Kate McGarry and Gabrielle Stravelli–sing these catharses (three solos each). If you might be wary of dredging up the feelings and fears from those dark days (I was, at first), let me emphasize that Suspended in Time is neither depressing nor exploitative. It's not manipulative. While some troubling memories may be triggered, listening to this articulate and artful work is not like a masochistic return trip on a roller coaster. The titular theme melody with the memorable phrase describing points in time that fly–or drag–as seeming like "living somewhere between never and always" bookends the satisfying album.

Analogous to the way theatre that presents specific situations and in specific locations and time periods can feel still feel universal because audiences connect with the characters' struggles and emotions, these pieces tap into wider basic human truths. While the material can be received as redolent of the times that inspired it, much can feel relevant to other experiences. That's because the descriptions of despair and feeling lost and lonely, as well as the anticipation of better days, aren't filled with specific references to the disease by name, and there are no mentions of physical symptoms, names of people or medications or the companies that developed treatments. The contents here could just as easily apply to other fraught times in one's life that involve separation, woe, or disorientation caused by other factors.

Oh, sure, there are words telling of the visual impact of folks in a crowd wearing protective masks in "Sea of Faces," thoughtfully rendered by Miss Stravelli, but things rarely get more literal than that. In "Awakenings," as Kate McGarry sings the line "When the needle goes in and you're shot full of hope," we think of the vaccine, but we don't hear that word which a more on-the-nose writer might choose to use and then rhyme "vaccine" with "COVID-19," "quarantine" or "hydroxychloroquine." Our painful memories are sufficiently filled with those words that made us shudder, so we don't need them in our ears again any more than we'd want to have the songs to be locked in the recent past. Instead, "Awakenings," while inspired by the good news about the vaccines being available, makes it a metaphor for the joy that comes with the arrival of spring after a harsh winter. It reminds me of the Antonio Carlos Jobim standard "The Waters of March," as both address the same season with swirls of many short phrases concerning nature and movement in a delightful percolating melody. Kate McGarry deftly navigates it, and the composer's mid-song piano solo is also energizing, hopping and skipping swiftly.

While the masterful Mr. Hersch at the keyboard is a sublime performer of his own compositions that illuminate the words so well, and would certainly be more than sufficient were he the sole instrumentalist, the icing on the musical cake comes with elegant contributions by the Crosby String Quartet, and a few other musicians add tasteful touches, too. Those who know Rondi Charleston's own strong solo albums as a vocalist might be surprised that she's not singing her own lyrics here. The reason is, alas, due to the subject matter at hand. She has been dealing with the effects of Long COVID for a couple of years, which has affected her ability to currently sing as she did. However, her voice is present, treating "Fever Dreams" as a spoken-word poem. Another of her personal connections to the disease was that her mother contracted it, too, preventing their being able to visit each other. This stirred memories of their much younger years, leading to the writing of "Lullaby." Kate McGarry's crushed-velvet sound makes it especially poignant. In another highlight, Gabrielle Stravelli shines on the number encouraging "Patience," with especially lovely high notes.

Suspended in Time makes musical magic of what could have been mawkish. As it turns out, its calibrated meditations and observations turn out to be a series of valuable life lessons.

SWEET MEGG
BLUER THAN BLUE
Turtle Bay Music
CD | Digital

You can't judge a book by its cover and you can't judge an album of mostly cover songs by its title or song titles–unless, maybe, you know those selections from other versions. A collection called Bluer Than Blue might suggest a series of down-in-the-dumps dreariness that would make you sink into a chair and mope, but don't jump to conclusions. Instead, you might jump, sway, and stomp your feet due to the not-so-blue tones of the lively tempi and brash attitudes adopted by the singer who goes by the name Sweet Megg and her energized musicians. While she may be singing of disappointments and romances ending, she's strutting, strong-voiced, sassy, resilient, and takes things in stride. The stylings are a mélange of old-timey country, vintage hot jazz, western swing, and, yes, blues (with a light blue tint). Imagine yourself at a time-warp music festival with acts that were plucked from the Grand Ole Opry, a speakeasy, a New Orleans Dixieland saloon, a honkytonk, and a smoky jazz joint. With a shrug and a mug of beer, the professed blues are viewed as a temporary situation when one has a been-around-the-block-before perspective that suggests life is too short to spend much time with regrets. While waiting to bounce back, bounce and twirl to the music.

There are some potentially teary tunes, with titles such as "Lonesome Hearted Blues," "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" and "Leaving on Your Mind," but the pity party doesn't get too heavy. It seems to feel more about smiling through and, while there is some weeping creeping in, a lot of the agreeable, evocative musical accompaniment makes smiling almost impossible to resist. Recorded in Nashville, country music (from different eras) is the prominent presence in the atmosphere, and the sounds of fiddle and steel guitar reinforce that. However, brass and reeds bring out some feel-good jazz sensibilities. The entertainingly versatile Sweet Megg, who has recorded some standards and jazz classics on prior releases, gets to one of them here, doing a fine job with "In a Sentimental Mood," gliding through the Duke Ellington melody. The dozen tracks include one number she co-wrote with Justin Poindexter, who is in the band as guitarist. It's called "Little Bit."

Other vocalists are on board, too, heard to good advantage, with the one-named Timbo duetting on "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" and Ashley Campbell (who, by the way, is the daughter of the late star Glen Campbell) on "I Used to Love You But It's All Over Now." The latter song first saw the light of day back in 1921, but has plenty of kick in it still.

Appreciative liner notes briefly discuss each song's history, indicating who introduced it or made it most famous back in the day (Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, Patsy Cline, etc.) Listening to Sweet Megg and the band's vintage vibe is a sweet way to spend some time.