Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Azure McCall: The Gift
Azure McCall: The Gift
ByBoasting powerful lungs, and a sincere, if bombastic, approach, McCall belts out tune after tune, hitting the right notes at the right time. If at times her convictions bubble over into an over-articulated approach, these moments might have worked to evoking local church music and social meetings. Unfortunately, the overall simplicity of the musical arrangements, compounded by a lack of interpretive self-reflection, keeps the album from achieving the promise latent in McCall’s vocal skill.
A secondary, but equally frustrating, aspect of The Gift is its cursory look at the deep connections between gospels, hymnals, and jazz. As artists like Larry Willis have shown, the jazz heritage has been indelibly marked by such music. However, unlike Willis’s Sanctuary, which documented this via contemplative, historically explorative, and musically challenging compositions, McCall’s hodgepodge of inconsistently executed tunes feels uninformed, barely skating over the surface of this profound terrain. This limited capacity for musical reflection becomes increasingly evident as the album progresses into soft rock-esque tunes like,“Mr. Mystery” and the overblown, drippy ballad “Time,” leaving the final result unsatisfying and distressingly plebian.
Track Listing
1. Without Song 2. Hello Love' 3. Change 4. shades of Scarlet Conquering 5. Not A Day Goes By 6. Happiness is a Thing Called Joe 7. Be Cool 8. I don't Know What To Do 9. Shooting Star 10. Mr. Mystery 11. Time 12. The Real Deal 13 You Must Believe in Spring
Personnel
Azure McCall
vocalsAzure McCall: Vocal
Album information
Title: The Gift | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Culture Records Benelux
< Previous
Emphasizer
Next >
Rebirth