By Dave Nathan
It's the end of the year, and like the knee jerk reaction of those silly swallows returning to Capistrano, jazz publications irrespective of media, feel compelled to ask their reviewers to compile their 10 or 15 or 20 or whatever "best" albums of the year. Duly responding, below are 10 albums of the 600 to 800 I listened to in 2000 which pleased me. You'll note two things. First, the list is dominated by female vocalists. We are experiencing a plethora of riches with respect to pop/jazz singers. There are so many good ones, some new to the scene and some veterans, that sometimes I think I have died and gone to vocalist heaven. Secondly, there are a fair number of albums released by small indies and/or are self-produced. Such is the nature of the music business these days that many a good performer goes aborning. The list is no special order of preference.
Dreamsville - Stacey Kent (Candid 79775). Because Stacey Kent is so relaxed, she might be dubbed the Paul Desmond of singers. Her voice is so gentle that if it were a breeze, it would waft across a pond and barely cause a ripple. This album of standards with reedman/husband Jim Tomlinson in tow is the epitome of classic vocal understatement.
One of the major problems of singers today is coming up with a play list that will inspire her/him and still entertain. Most vocalists, however, find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The pop and jazz entries in the Great American Songbook have been recorded ad infinitum, some say ad nauseam. On the other hand, most of the new stuff being penned today isn't worth the stave paper it's written on and rarely is performed by anyone other than the composer. The following three vocalists have dealt with this problem in different ways, all of them perfectly legitimate to my mind and ears.
Summer Night - Donna Antonow (DMA 4611). A self-produced effort by a singer with one of the more unconventional, but entertaining, approaches to singing I've ever heard. Another album of standards, she adds a fairly large quantity of Rhythm and Blues sauce in the presentation. Add this to a high-pitched voice that has some of the breathless tones of a Blossom Dearie and imaginative phrasing of a Sheila Jordan, and you get on the 10 best list.
I Saw the Sky - Melissa Walker (Enja 9409). At the other end of the spectrum, Melissa Walker's deep, husky voice emits an aura of intimacy, sometimes with a dollop of the blues, in virtually everything she sings, even on the faster pace tunes, on this excellent vocal album. Backed by various first rank musicians, including Kenny Barron, Walker journeys through a play list of standards and original material, treating each tune to her special interpretative skills. Her rendering of "I Get Along Without You Very Well" is well worth the price of admission by itself. Clearly a jazz artist on the rise, this album falls into the must have category.
Colors of Brazil - Sheila Landis (Shelan 1018). Sheila Landis released her first album in 1981 and this latest is her 17th, give or take one or two, all on her own Shelan label. This CD features rhythms which allow Landis to fully use her multifaceted vocal talents. Joined by her long time playing companion Rick Matle, Landis runs the gamut from wildly controlled scatting and other wordless vocalizing gambits to singing the "Girl from Ipanema" in coyly enunciated Portugese.
All Alone with the Rhythm - Jacques Gauthe (Jazz Crusade JCCD-3067). This is a classic classic jazz album. Eschewing the hokey gimmicks that too often characterize the portrayal of New Orleans jazz (regrettably dubbed "Dixieland"), Gauthe and his rhythm section give a moving performance of this music which started it all. Staying pretty much in the middle register of the clarinet, Gauthe follows the path carved out by Sidney Bechet and other pupils of Lorenzo Tio with his woody sounding stick. One especially nice feature is that the program is not limited to songs generally associated with New Orleans. It has other popular tunes, played New Orleans style
Of One Mind - Pete Malinverni Trio (Reservoir 164). Of any of the various jazz combo formations, the piano trio is probably the most tried and true. It is also a stern test of the players' ability to create enough diversity to keep them and their audiences on board. Pete Malinverni has been active in the art of the trio for several years and each of his releases is a joy, this one a bit more so than the others. Combining verve, elan and melodic sensitivity with technical prowess, he and his confreres, Dennis Irwin and Tony Williams have produced, without much fanfare, one of the more enjoyable trio albums of the year.
Day by Day - Gloria Cooper (GAC 1001). Among the endowments that make this album attractive the play list which runs the gamut from familiar favorites to lesser known works by the likes of Kenny Dorham, Curtis Fuller and Cooper's originals. Not only is Cooper's singing of these assorted tunes expressive, but her pianism sets off her intimate knowledge of the material. Another alluring factor is the sidemen. Veteran trumpeter Eddie Henderson, Ron McClure's bass and Yoron Israel on drums in combination with Cooper's piano would have made this album a candidate for one of 2001's best instrumental sessions. The consummate vocalizing moves it to the top 10 list.
Brooklyn 2000 - Jay Clayton (Sunnyside 1096). Jay Clayton has been a mistress of inventive vocalizing for more than 20 years. As a true jazz singer, equally at ease with avant garde and mainstream jazz, she manages to be creative without disengaging the listener. She can, and does on this album, engage in soaring flights of fancy and also in gentle expressions of love and romance with both well known and less familiar material. Whoever coined the phrase that the voice is an instrument could well have had Jay Clayton in mind.
2001 has been another cruel year for jazz fans, especially those from my generation, as once again we find ourselves mourning the loss of the outstanding artists whose music we so long enjoyed. The next are 2001 albums by some of the remaining icons of jazz/popular music who demonstrate that age is only a chronicler, not a condition.
Ain't Misbehavin': Live at the Jazz Showcase - Marian McPartland and Willie Pickens.
(Concord Jazz CCD-4968). Two grand veterans of the music mix it up at a live session in Chicago. The venerable McPartland once again shows she can play with anyone, even a pianist with a style as far removed from hers, with enchanting results. Pickens is the Grand Pooh-Pah of blues piano in Chicago throwing in a touch of bebop from time to time. Everyone enjoys themselves, the performers and the audience, as these two cooperate to bring a program of jazz and pop standards. Like a fine wine, McPartland and Pickens have aged well.
The Crossing - Dave Brubeck Quartet (Telarc CD-83520). In his seventh decade (!) of recording when he cut this album, Dave Brubeck has not lost any of that adventurous spirit which has made his quartet albums so popular among jazz fans, often to the dismay of the self anointed elitist guardians of jazz. This album is Brubeck of the 21st century melding those unique time signatures with modern jazz playing. Altoist Bobby Militello is not Paul Desmond. But at this stage of Brubeck's career, there's no reason for him to be. This is modern Brubeck, but without discarding those qualities which have made him one of a kind.
Sentimental Journey - The Girl Singer and Her New Big Band: Rosemary Clooney with Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack (CCD-4952-2 Concord). The best saved for last, perhaps. Clooney joins with Matt Catingub (the Big Kahuna) in a smashing live performance of songs she continues to sing so well, gems from the Great American Popular Songbook. Clooney sings songs people love to hear, delivering them in such a simple way that they are almost conversational. The band when Clooney is singing provides a carpet the singer float on. It also gets plenty of opportunity to show off its wares when Clooney steps aside. At more than 70, sure the range isn't what it used to be. So what. Rosemary Clooney is a living primer on the art of vocalizing and this album is another chapter in that text book.
