Review: Nicole Henry | Time To Love Again
There is nothing more explosive or exciting than being a part of the audience when Nicole Henry takes the stage to give us a part of her. For the initiate, be clear, I take nothing from her recordings, but they are merely a great introduction to the strength and boldness of her performance. Always in command, be it stage or studio, she interprets every song with passion. Last night was one of those nights where one felt the electricity surging throughout the room as she unveiled her latest release, Time To Love Again. To say I was engaged and enthralled is an understatement!
Choosing nine songs to cover from across the decades and musical landscape, she tapped Anthony Newley & Leslie Bricusse, David Nichtern, Sade, Buffy St. Marie, James Taylor, Joan Armatrading, Dimitri Tiomkin & Ned Washington, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart, and Stevie Wonder to be her muses. Once again Nicole emerges triumphant, illuminating another facet of her immense talent. Here she blends rock, R&B and jazz standards, taking us on a spiritual journey to soothe our savage beast and releases us calmly back into the world with grace.
Those of us who came of age during the original release of these songs, will instantly recognize their purveyor, be it Nina Simone, Maria Muldaur, Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, Roberta Flack or Newley. Regardless of the version that stokes your memory, there is no comparison as her individuality remains above reproach and the roar of applause. Feeling Good introduces the album as it opens your heart. In between she imbues us with wonderful arrangements of Midnight At The Oasis, Your Smiling Face, and I Didn’t Know What Time It Was. The lineup is impeccable as she continues with Is It A Crime, Until It’s Time For You To Go, Wild As The Wind and Love and Affection. As the set is near completion, Nicole leaves us Overjoyed with the experience of her. For those of us who have forsaken the beat in our chest for other pastures, this is a modest reminder to unlock our hearts and embrace it’s Time To Love Again.
If you fall in love with her on record, leave the world behind, submerge yourself in the music and take serious stock of this lady who transcends that very high bar set years ago. She will make you dance and shout and move your body to the groove, or simply sit and ponder the lyrics as you hear it through a different filter. She will evoke emotions you’ve forgotten and erupt memories you hold close. These select composers and lyricists have added to the canon of great American songs, and it is evident that her innovative arrangements and delivery bestows upon her the privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with her peers. I implore you to see Nicole Henry live and be amazed by this beautiful force of nature.
carl anthony | notorious jazz | 3.12.22
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Review: Denise Donatelli | Whistling In The Dark
Whistling In The Dark is the latest offering from Grammy nominated vocalist Denise Donatelli. Paying tribute to Burt Bacharach is nothing less than amazing as she continuously illustrates her interpretive range. She masterfully weaves a story through nine songs that fill us with desire, love, heartbreak, separation and loneliness, which are trademarks of this composer.
For those of us who have long been fans and admirers of Denise Donatelli’s work, this is not her usual upbeat and fun engagement that has been her wheelhouse. Dark, as in the title track, is the cornerstone of this project, yet she moves through the doubts, fears, sadness and tears of love with an emotional acumen that delivers and raises our own memories of those moments we humans experience throughout our lives.
The orchestration is minimal, a juxtaposition from the composer’s earlier arrangements on Warwick’s recordings that were filled with lushness, accentuating the lyric for effect. Less is often more and the simplicity in the accompaniment allows her to artfully capture our imaginations.
Of the Bacharach/David songs executive producer Denise Donatelli and producer Larry Klien selected for this recording, five are immediately recognizable, on which Dionne put her indelible stamp during their Sixties reign. There is no comparison, however, in their individual delivery, and no doubt that Ms. Donatelli has set herself apart by raising a quieter, more subtle bar for those jazz vocalists to aspire to.
The title track was composed with Daniel Tashian and Mexican Divorce with Bob Hilliard, the latter was written for the Drifters and where Bacharach met backup singer Dionne Warwick. For those of us who haven’t followed Bacharach since his Sixties heyday, Klein and Donatelli also chose two refreshing Bacharach/Elvis Costello compositions, Toledo and In The Darkest Place from their 1998 collaborative album Painted From Memory.
Recorded during the height of Covid in late September 2020 over a five day period, there is a relevant sadness to the loneliness society often felt evidenced with a national shutdown, homebound, socially-distanced, eating and/or living alone. The cover photograph embodies that tangible space between shadow and light, a place in which each of us exists, emphasized with the softer interior photo of the artist. The lowercase lettering epitomizes her sense of familiarity with her audience, conveying a cordial invitation to listen.
As for me, I’ve whistled in the dark and found it to be pleasurable, just like this contribution to the jazz canon. Darkness always withdraws with the approaching twilight, heralding the dawn of the new. Endings are where beginnings launch the next chapter, and Denise Donatelli is already underway to create her next masterpiece. Meanwhile, enjoy this gem.
carl anthony | notorious jazz | february 1, 2022
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Review: The Pugilist ~ Bernie Dresel
I wasn’t sure where this album was going when I looked at the cover art. It took me to the boxing rings before they became Vegas events, reminiscent of the radio era of my parents with Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and Jack Dempsey. This is what big band should sound like. Bernie has brought the heat to this aptly titled recording. He is truly a pugilist as each song makes you feel the punch and excitement of the music. Listening I envisioned people pouring into the arena dressed to kill with all the swagger and sway that a championship fight brings. He definitely does not disappoint with his arrangements of classic tunes and new compositions. Closing out with a vocal is a unique approach and definitely wasn’t expected, but nicely done. It’s a refreshing approach to big band!
carl anthony | notorious jazz | january 10, 2022
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Review: Tony Hightower | Legacy
Legacy. If you know Tony Hightower, you understand why he titled this treasury of songs. If you don’t, you will come to appreciate his talent. He was weaned on the classics and his selection of songs as well as his writing and arranging speak to his unique understanding of those who came before. He has accepted the torch and is crafting a distinctive voice to tell his stories. Taking his cues from decades of musical history, as you listen, you will hear the influences as he bares his soul to give you an unabashed glimpse into the pleasures and sorrows of his life.
The opening song, written by the legendary Skip Scarborough, was originally recorded in 1973 as You Can’t Hide Love by the California R&B group Creative Source. It would be two years before Maurice White would drop it down to a ballad for Earth, Wind & Fire and garner wider recognition. Now, nearly fifty years later, a new voice gives it a swing arrangement that shows his maturity to introduce a new generation to a classic song with a different beat. It sets the tone for what is to follow.
Swing is always a fun vehicle to begin an album and it speaks to a historical note of the music that a century ago drew dancers to the floor. Tony’s arrangement of Can’t Hide Love takes us in a new direction and gives us those big band horns, adding a sprinkle of background ladies with drum highlights and a bass line driving the music and you have a classic arrangement that sets the tone for what is to follow. The Doll further illuminates his storytelling acuity with this mid-tempo groove about an elegant lady who is in a league of her own. She turns heads, can stop a room, and is the dream of most men. I think at one time Duke and Billy called her Satin Doll. The Don Redman/And Razaf composition Gee Baby takes the third position sans fanfare, slowing down with an easy opening bass line and a bluesy piano as it begs the question, Ain’t I Good To You? Written at the end of the Roaring Twenties, Tony puts the bass again in the center spotlight to assist in setting the mood as he weaves this tale of a young man trying to understand why the expensive trappings combined with his love mean so little to this woman who is obviously looking for things he is incapable of giving.
Rendez Vous stretches Hightower’s voice in falsetto beyond his familiar tenor. It is a bossa nova getaway tribute to a young man’s love for a woman. She has captured his heart and this is where he can escape from the world and lose himself in her arms on the beach in Ipanema. All To The Good takes us to church but not in the tradition. He keeps a mid~tempo beat alive as he opens with a bit of scatting before delving into his homage to the beautiful spirit that was his mother. Taking wing for that celestial residence is only softened by those left behind with memories of times well spent together. It’s ballad time and Plain Jane takes a deep look inside dreams, aspirations and realities that keep one humble and looking towards the future. It’s acceptable to remove the masks we wear and be the plain people whistling along the boulevard. Need You lightens the mood again with an easy beat as a young man does his best to let the lady in his life know how he feels. One can only envision her smiling.
The Gift is a love song of lament. The orchestration brings to mind theme songs and interlude music of many film noir or those black and white television shows of the Fifties and Sixties. The strings add an eerie but comforting ambience as he unfolds his choices and the subsequent outcome. Love & Happy raises the temperature with this remake of the quintessential Al Green/Teenie Hodges composition Love And Happiness that was first released in the UK in 1973, however, America didn’t get the single until 1977. Tony gives us a funky blues swing tempo with those horns blazing that pays tribute to its raw grittiness that was originally expressed.
There are many songs that one should not tackle unless they have truly done their homework. Here’s To Life is one of those seminal songs that has become a modern day jazz standard and an appropriate closer. Composed by Artie Butler with lyrics by Phyllis Molinary, it became Shirley Horne’s signature song and one of my favorites as the title says it all. “No complaints and no regrets, I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets, I have learned that all you give is all you get, so give it all you got…” As it unfolds you will hear Tony pay his respects and emerge with the mantra he lives by.
If you are hesitant, don’t be. Tony Hightower’s maturity is evident in his lyricism, composing, arranging and delivery. Penning six of the ten selections he presents here, I implore you to pay very close attention to the musicianship of those who accompany him. The music is as much a part of each story as the lyric, for it plays an equally impassioned role in the story. I also encourage you not to disregard his tracking, as it is reminiscent of past producers who created studio albums that were concerts, where you just drop the needle and let it play. This is one of those albums.
To say this young man is on his way to being one of the great storytellers of his generation is by no means an exaggeration. Listen with intent. For us hip audiophiles, we applaud those who defy popular taste for original design. Legacy.
carl anthony | notorious jazz | october 7, 2021
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Review: Vanessa Rubin | The Dream Is You
Bebop is not widely known for its romantics, so many fans and aficionados of the era fell silent to the greatest romanticist of the time: Tadd Dameron. Though he was a part of the bebop scene, his warm, rich harmonies and romantic melodies were more akin to the world of big band, to which he was born, and to modern jazz. It takes a gentle soul to understand the ups and downs of life and love and Dameron was one such soul. This is the realm of music from which this vocalist of equal romantic acumen has selected charts. But be clear, this is just a peek into the extensive vault of compositions left by Mr. Dameron.
To plagiarize a line from the visionary 1966 television show Star Trek, Vanessa Rubin has boldly gone where no woman has gone before, exploring and giving new life to the tapped and untapped compositions of Dameron. So, to merely call this woman a singer does her a great injustice because Ms. Rubin just doesn’t sing a song, she embodies empathy and emotes the lyric. This is an attribute that only a vocalist of her stature can gift an audience. There are no vocal gymnastics to showcase her ego, just an honest and humble purveyance enabling the audience to reminisce personal memories.
Rubin kicks off this swinging set with the Stanley Cornfield lyrics to the sixteen bar Lady Bird, one of the most performed in modern jazz. The first line “we fit together like two birds of a feather” foretells just how deep in the groove Dameron and Rubin are, as well as what the arrangers have done for the lyricist and vocalist, thus giving one an idea of where this small compendium of music is going to take us.
The equally swinging Kitchenette Across The Hall characterizes a chance encounter of those two birds that leads to romance which culminates in marriage and the eventual combining of homes. If You Could See Me Now drops down to ballad tempo and Rubin delivers an honest baring of her own soul in the attempt to recapture lost love. Written in 1946 especially for Sarah Vaughan, with lyrics penned by Carl Sigman, it became one of Vaughan’s signature songs.
We’ve all had those fabulous escapes or little departures from life’s routine and Weekend exalts the memories of a snowy fun-filled Maine getaway. Not prolonged with verbose lyrics but exacting the unabashed pleasures two people spent. The Georgie Fame lyrics swing lightly once again On A Misty Night extolling the beauty and bliss of fleeting love in the night. The easy going Never Been In Love is a mid-tempo lament that every stalwart individual has felt at one time or another in their life, and then, love happens and completely changes the view.
With Next Time Around (Soultrane) she speaks to the end of a love affair, questioning how to move on living with the consequences of yesterday’s choices and hoping to find the answers the next time love happens along. If you’re tempting fate, then there is only one simple piece of advice offered, use Good Bait to catch the object of your desire. Reveries Do Come True (The Dream Is You) is an homage to a woman who has taken hold of his heart. Whatever Possessed Me is another Dameron ballad that confirms the magic of love and all the things that become evident in its unfolding.
You’re A Joy is a simple easy going statement sans flair in which Vanessa expounds the pleasure of being in love. The flute solo is lyrical and inviting the listener into the relationship. I Think I’ll Go Away reminisces the mixed emotions of a lover who realizes the joyful torment her heart undergoes.
I would be remiss if I did not give tribute to Dameron’s contemporaries enlisted by Ms. Rubin who majestically arranged ten of the twelve compositions. They were a part of the bebop era, Frank Foster, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, and Willie Smith all knew the man and his sensibilities. And though Bobby Watson came along after Tadd passed away, he comes with an arrangement that clearly understands the sentiment of the man. As usual, in her inimitable style, we are once again graced to witness Vanessa’s lyrical chops as she pens the words to Reveries Do Come True, a topic she knows all too well.
For those of us who are familiar with Ms. Rubin’s catalogue of work there is no surprise in her innate ability to turn a lyric into an emotional surprise. She never ceases to impress me with her facility with each tune, singing with mastery, melody and always with her audience in mind. This is suggestive of the shifting moods and tempos of the composer’s music, thus, there is never a dull moment. While other singers venture into realms and genres of music to stretch themselves, just like the robin the harbinger of springtime, Ms. Rubin stays true to her craft by discovering for the enthusiast unheard gems of jazz. She brings a fresh approach to Mr. Dameron by her choices of his songs to cover, creating a dreamworld for the listener. She weaves a tapestry of love with its many facets of pleasure and suffering, The Dream Is You is less a tribute to Tadd Dameron and more a testament to a loving relationship between vocalist and composer.
carl anthony | notorious jazz | march 26, 2019
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