Faye Carrol: Forever Dynamic

Faye Carol has never been a singer who tiptoes into a song. On Forever Dynamic, she strides straight into the centre of each tune, claims it, and leaves her fingerprints all over it. Twenty tracks across 2 CDs might seem like a lot on paper, but in Carol's hands, it plays like one long set, with the band locked in and nobody watching the clock. Those hardy collaborators along for the ride include pianist and musical director Joe Warner, bassist Tarus Mateen, and drummer Dennis Chambers, who plays on all tracks, with Dante Robertson on one track.

Carol opens with "Hello, Young Lovers" from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical The King and I. But do not expect them in white tie and tails. Carol and Warner set the table with a bluesy groove, teasing the melody in her quivering voice. Warner's touch keeps the ears alert, while Mateen and Chambers add just enough snap to keep the number in funky motion. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, was a big hit for Frankie Valli, but Carol reshapes it here. In this slow-burning confession, her voice opens up in the chorus with a sense of urgency.

On Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High," the gloves come off, and her bebop agility is on full display. She darts through the changes with precision and a playful sense of risk. It is not just technique but pure joy. Warner dashes across the keyboard with proficiency, and the rhythm section is pugnacious and resourceful. Carol slides into "Nature Boy" with a confident stride, taking the lead from Mateen's plucking. As the number unfolds, she shades the mysticism with a blues undercurrent. The song feels less like a parable and more like a testimony.

Irving Gordon wrote "Unforgettable," popularized by Nat King Cole on his 1951 release. Carol takes the number up a notch with a Latin-funky vibe that delivers a soulful declaration. Carol tackles "Hard Times Won't Last" with a blend of gospel inflection and blues phrasing. There is weight here, but also resilience, which permeates the album.

The Billie Holiday classic "Fine and Mellow" raises the temperature. Chambers locks into a backbeat that harkens to the tune's antecedents without sounding dated. Carol digs into the lyric with grit and strut.

The album closes with "I Rise, I Rise, Still I Rise," adapted from a poem by Maya Angelou and set to music by Carol and Warner. Delivered with dignity and quiet power. Carol's voice is weathered but resolute and unmistakably her own, completing the arc.