Home » Jazz Articles » Film Review » Carmen Lundy: Jazz and the New Songbook

299

Carmen Lundy: Jazz and the New Songbook

By

Sign in to view read count
Carmen Lundy
Jazz and the New Songbook
Afrasia Productions
2006

While watching Carmen Lundy sing her new songs at the Madrid Theater in Los Angeles, you begin to feel as though you're a part of her circle. With friends all around her on stage, the singer delivers her program with the kind of intimacy that you'd expect to see between friends. Yes, she brings you in and welcomes everyone into her musical world.

The cameras capture her concert from several angles, providing a clear view of Lundy and her ensemble. Several of the musicians rotate seamlessly between numbers, so that we get to watch them all in action during the course of her performance.

The focus, naturally, is Carmen Lundy, dressed in an elegant black pantsuit and communicating with band and audience from center stage. She prefers a microphone on a fixed stand for this concert, which means that she's not moving all over the place. Instead, we get an emphasis on the music and on this lovely singer's message.

I love the way the overhead camera captures Lundy framed by the string quartet. And later, in Act Two, the way the frontal camera captures Lundy singing "Afrasia! with backup singer Krystal Davis Williams isolated right behind her.

She sings her songs comfortably with genuine passion. Solos from Bobby Watson, Steve Turre, Robert Glasper, Billy Childs, David Roitstein and Mark Shim add an immeasurable touch of grace to the program.

These are her songs. They're not the usual standards that we've returned to time and again. Each selection comes with built-in emotional appeal that gets into your psyche, as she employs natural hand gestures that add considerable emphasis to her vocal delivery. With this DVD, you get the best of both worlds: exquisite sound and clear video.

Carmen Lundy is unforgettable.

Tracks: In Love Again; One More River to Cross; Something to Believe In; Better Days; Where'd It Go; Wild Child; Afrasia!; Happy New Year; Long Journey Home; You're Not in Love; All Day, All Night; Walking Code Blue; Send Me Somebody to Love; Old Friend; (I Dream) In Living Color; Firefly; Vu Ja De.

Personnel: Carmen Lundy: vocals; Robert Glasper: piano, keyboards; Billy Childs: piano, keyboards; David Roitstein: piano; Curtis Lundy: acoustic bass; Nathan East, Kenny Davis: electric bass; Phil Upchurch: guitar; Victor Lewis, Marvin "Smitty Smith: drums; Mayra Casales: percussion; Steve Turre: trombone, conch shells; Bobby Watson: alto saxophone; Mark Shim: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Krystal Davis Williams: background vocals; L.A. String Quartet: (Michelina Wright, Albert Romero: violin; Catherine Lamb: viola; Rachel Arnold: cello); master of ceremonies: Father Peter F. O'Brien S.J.

Program Notes: Directed by Richard A. Salazar; Approximate running time 1 hour 55 minutes. Special features include: interview and documentary; photo gallery.

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.