Apr 10 2012
Sue Halloran & Ken Hitchcock “I Can Cook Too” & Cathy Segal-Garcia & Yoon Seung Cho “Bohemian”
So, it’s gonna be Vocals Week on Bird is the Worm. I didn’t mean for it to happen that way, just got a deluge of vocal jazz albums in all at once (or at least, it felt that way). I’m really picky about the jazz vocals I like, and I’ve yet to discern any rhyme or reason for what floats my boat, so that should probably be taken into account when reading my little reviews. However, this site isn’t just supposed to be about what I and I alone likes, but to try to help readers out and point them in the direction of music they might take a shine to. Anyways, I tried to pick out some albums that either I liked or that I thought might have some appeal to others. Probably gonna do about two a day, though my track record of accurate predictions on this site is pretty shoddy, but that’s where we’re at.
Let’s begin…
Sue Halloran & Ken Hitchcock – I Can Cook Too
A nice set of originals and standards by jazz vet multi-instrumentalist Ken Hitchcock and talented vocalist Sue Halloran. With a big band that’s got their back, the duo gives us a nice set of swinging tunes full of snappy beats and lush orchestration. This ain’t typically my kind of thing, but maybe it was the warmth of the album clashing with the cold winter breeze banging up against the window or maybe it’s just the sign of talented musicians who are able to make a listener enjoy an album that typically ain’t their thing. Dunno. Probably both. In any event, it’s Spring now, and my ear hasn’t really changed its opinion of this album, so I really wanted to give it some ink here, because I’m betting there are some people out there who will really take a shine to it.
Your album personnel: Sue Halloran (vocals), Ken Hitchcock (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone saxes, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet), Carlos Franzetti (piano), Mark Soskin (piano), Gary Versace (B3 organ), Mike Holober (Fender Rhodes). David Finck (bass), Chip Jackson (bass), Romero Lubambo (guitar), Ray Marchica, Clint DeGanon (rums/percussion), Nick Marchione, Jim Hynes (trumpets), Keith O’Quinn, Mike Davis (trombone /bs trombone), and The City of Prague Philharmonic.
Some tracks are stronger than others, but even the weaker ones don’t ruin the album or anything, which, actually, counts for a lot in my book. The title track, in addition to being a fun song, is pretty much ready to serve for a Top Chef credits roll.
The album is Self-Produced.
Cathy Segal-Garcia & Yoon Seung Cho – Bohemian
On Bohemian, vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia and pianist Yoon Seung Cho display a symbiosis that is communicated more through implication than direct interaction. Now, that’s not to say that the album is a lesson in subtlety; closer to describe it as a series of coordinated parallels. Garcia’s vocal inflections don’t always come to a meeting point with Cho’s angular tangents, but their respective parts are so often found in the same vicinity that it gives the impression of collaborators-in-note. That this is presented in a duet format makes it easy to switch between listening to them individually at the same time, while also interacting with the music as a fused musical expression. Kinda nifty, actually.
Your album personnel: Cathy Segal-Garcia (vocals) and Yoon Seung Cho (piano).
There’s a Nick Drake-like serenity to the opening track, though where Drake’s voice was pure velvet, Garcia displays an edge to her notes. It’s a nice fit for Cho’s piano accompaniment, whose sound is more akin to icicle than rays of sunlight. It’s their willingness to switch between comfort and clash that induce the better results on the album.
Garcia’s vocals are more successful when she employs a casual bounce, though it’s easy to admire he willingness to stretch out in whichever direction her muse takes her. While Cho is certainly conversant in a non-sequential dialog on piano, it’s moments when his point of view is more ordered that he shines. Like on “Everyday’s Own Song,” which midway through, he thrillingly lifts the song up, up, and away.
About half the tracks are originals, and while some of the “other” composer names (Pat Metheny, Sting, Jimmy Rowles, Norma Winstone) offer intriguing possibilities, ultimately it’s the songs with Garcia’s own name that receives accreditation that provide the album highlights.
Worth mentioning that a member of my household, whose taste in music I respect and trust, poked her head in while Bohemian was playing and mentioned a similarity to Joni Mitchell; figured it was worth mentioning, since I’ve been told that Joni Mitchell’s sound has acquired a fan or two.
Released on the Dash Hoffman Records label. No site or further information found. Possible it’s Garcia’s own label.
Apr 10 2012
Will Fisher – “Portage”
My review of Will Fisher‘s Portage has been pubbed at AllAboutJazz. You can read the original review, HERE, at AllAboutJazz).
*****
Whereas some drummers lead the charge and others spur on the ensemble from behind, Will Fisher takes the approach of examining the landscape from above and letting his rhythms settle down into the seams between the notes of others. The opening “The Great Karoo” puts this method on display right from word go.
Guitarist Mikko Hilden leads with a catchy line that bassist Mike Downes matches step for step. Pianist Nancy Walker adds her voice to the mix, followed by soft pronouncements from trumpeter Jon Challoner. Left to their own devices, these four instruments would make for an interesting tune of unconnected parts. The way Fisher lays the rhythm over the top of it all, however, brings cohesion to the tune, and, musically, offers up an extremely satisfying moment of musicianship, something that is repeated throughout of Portage. Fisher is the album’s glue and, though this is not an unexpected role for an album leader to assume, it is a surprise in the context of Portage being Fisher’s debut.
Your album personnel: Will Fisher (drums), Mike Downes (bass), Mikko Hilden (guitar), Jon Challoner (trumpet, flugel), and guests: Nancy Walker (piano) and Matt Giffin (piano).
Following the ebb and flow of the opener, the album’s title track begins with an alluring drone, the bass playing arco, and shimmering cymbals and percussion jangles. The quartet lets the sense of mystery and spirituality hang in the air as Challoner’s trumpet moans forlornly, progressing warily as if a boat coursing its way through a foggy night sea. Fisher enters with a rhythmic cross-current that, rather than wash everything over, fuses the divergent patterns into one.
The middle section of the album falls into more familiar territory. With the pop and bounce of “Top, Bottom, Slide,” the quavering-heart ballad of “Vestibules,” and the rock-influenced modern jazz of “Lite Brite,” Fisher hits many standard thematic locations. No weak links here, but also not as fascinating as the opening tracks.
Things start getting interesting again with “Falling Arbutus,” which opens with an extended bass solo that is anything but obligatory. It begins slow, occasionally looking over its shoulder to be sure the listener is keeping up, then builds both in speed and intensity. At the finish line, when Downes hands the baton to the rest of the quartet, the ensemble doesn’t miss a beat: they stream right along as one. Trumpet and guitar lead the way, taking turns with fiery solos.
The album ends with “Cape Breton Lullaby,” which covers the expanse of two tracks. The lullaby begins with a piano solo that doubles as an invitation to a quiet end of the night. The intro leads into the quartet’s reunion, and the album’s grand, and gracefully restrained, finale. Chaloloner plays long sonorous notes, Hilden wavers in the distance, Matt Giffin’s piano expands on the seeds of its solo, and the rhythm section skips like stones across the water. It’s a strong end to a very strong album.
The album is Self-Produced.
Jazz from the Nova Scotia, Canada scene, though Fisher has been living in Louisville, KY the last couple of years.
You can download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.
You can stream the album on Fisher’s Bandcamp page. You can also purchase it there, in many different file formats, including lossless.
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases • 0