Here are two vocalists that take the jazz feel, but combine it with more of a Broadway feel , but the marrow of the tradition is kept intact.
Oakland-based vocalist Suzanna Smith puts together a release that has a heart for both jazz with a touch of folksiness. She shows some clever interpretive skills with her shift of gears on the bop medley of “Lady Bird/Half Nelson” as well as the bubbling latin piece “Soy Califa” that Dexter Gordon made so famous. A raucous New Orleansy “Paper Boat” has her clear voice sounding quite assertive, yet she also gets reassuring with guitarist Ken Husbands on “Planes and Trains.” A gentle cascade on “Monk’s Make Believe” shows her dynamic range while her popish skills are evident on “Comet.” The core team of Michael Coleman/key, MHamir Atwal-Jon Arkin/dr and Mark Allen-Piccolo and Husbands is supplemented by an adroit collection of horns. Well done.
Danish singer Clara Vuust also has more of a theatrical voice on her Storyville release, but she uses it in a completely different context. Mixing and matching without a drummer, but with sensitive souls Francesco Cali/p-acc, Nico Gori/cl, Daniel Franck/b and Jeppe Holst/g, Vuust takes standards (and a couple originals) and gives them a glow of a quietly glowing candle. Her clarity is pristine with the Gori’s caressing clarinet and the impressionistic mix of bass and piano on “I Don’t Kare Mch” and “Once Upon A Summertime.” The alluring spaciousness of Vuust with Holst’s guitar on the folksy “Evening” displays her wide and effortless range, like a an embers ebb and flow with a breeze. Flemmng Agerskov brings his trumpet to the mix, while Vuust’s relaxing pitch glides on the subtle “It’s Happening Again.” Some Latin bohemia works its way into the gently sashaying “Sicialian Love Song” as a gentle Brazilian breeze catches the trees on “Samba em Preludio.” Her voice and arrangements draw you to the dim light in the center of the dark room.
Ink Pen Records
Storyville Records