Lisa Rich: I Still Rise

Building on a comeback that began with 2024's Long as You're Living (Tritone Records), vocalist Lisa Rich once again offers artful renderings of well-chosen material, sung with conviction and the wisdom that comes from a career re-forged through dogged resilience. And like its predecessor, I Still Rise features the exemplary talents of a fine supporting cast, with pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress and trumpeter Dave Ballou adroitly enhancing Rich's seasoned vocal stylings.

After presenting her formidable abilities with a flourish on her debut album in 1983, Listen Here (Discovery Records), Rich's soaring trajectory was interrupted in the 1990s by medical challenges that essentially put her recording career on pause until Long as You're Living. (A splendid 2019 release, Highwire, consisted of previously recorded material from 1987.) Even if the intervening decades have tempered some of Rich's adventurous technique and vocal range, it remains clear that she is a superlative interpreter of a lyric, and the ten pieces on I Still Rise are perfectly suited for the singer's distinctive musical insights.

The album's opener, "No Moon at All," serves notice that Rich is indeed still rising. Accompanied by just Gress, the singer bends her notes with skill reminiscent of vintage Sheila Jordan, expressing wonder and joy through a frolic which the bassist supplements with rhythmic panache. Then Copland is added to the mix, and the pianist has an intuitive connection with the vocalist, particularly on ballads like "The Two Lonely People" or "Quiet Now," where his sensitivity adds emotional resonance to Rich's deep melancholy. But there is also a dynamic energy that animates medium-tempo pieces like "Beginner/How Can We Sing About Freedom," in which Rich deftly bookends her own politically-inspired composition with "Beginner," a wordless vocal piece composed by Jay Clayton, one of Rich's mentors. Paul Desmond's "Take Five" possesses a similar verve, and reveals Rich's scatting prowess as well, with well-executed leaps and maneuvers which show the singer continues to have plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

The last four tracks see Ballou joining the group. His lambent tone brings another dimension to the music, starting with "Ancient Footprints," Wayne Shorter's classic featuring Kitty Margolis' lyrics, as Ballou stays in close rapport with Rich in elucidating the tune's unmistakable melody and contributes a sparkling solo of his own. His muted playing on "Never Let Me Go" is more reflective, coloring Rich's phrases expertly with a vulnerability that augments the piece's poignancy.

For the album's closer, "It's Over Now" takes Thelonious Monk's original tune for "Well You Needn't" and adds Mike Ferro's sharp-edged lyrics, giving Rich a chance to saunter off with a playful defiance, suggesting that her welcome resurgence is most certainly not over. And we can be thankful for it.