Dear All About Jazz Readers,

If you're familiar with All About Jazz, you know that we've dedicated over two decades to supporting jazz as an art form, and more importantly, the creative musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made All About Jazz one of the most culturally important websites of its kind in the world reaching hundreds of thousands of readers every month. However, to expand our offerings and develop new means to foster jazz discovery we need your help.

You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky Google ads PLUS deliver exclusive content and provide access to future articles for a full year! This combination will not only improve your AAJ experience, it will allow us to continue to rigorously build on the great work we first started in 1995. Read on to view our project ideas...

Mercedes Nicole: People Are Talking

By C. MICHAEL BAILEY
May 28, 2015
Sign in to view read count

slideshow

The difference between Mercedes Nicole's Beautiful Alignment (Self Produced, 2013) and People Are Talking is artistic growth and confidence. Beautiful Alignment was fueled by a youthful ambition and precocious talent. Nicole's evolution from that point manifests squarely in the refining fire of performance and practice, both which enhance her existing gift. People Are Talking reveals mature, completely polished approach to standards and originals that offers more than a recapitulation of previous approaches.

Nicole's standards choices are a mixed bag of the familiar and newly found. She has honed her ballad singing as evidenced on a brilliantly slow take on the Coleman/Lipton classic "Would You Believe." Pronounced are Nicole's rich alto voice and Clipper Anderson's malleable bass playing. This singer displays fortitude in addressing Van Morrison's "Moondance," which she delivers with such an earthy presence, the listener may very well blush. Darren Motamedy flute is spot on and, did I mention that the song swings?

The original ballad, "Touch the Sky" is anchored with the plaintive cello of John William Smith. Nicole sings emotively, infusing her composition with a lifetime of blues and church, an aural environment she brings also to the title piece. The takes this thread to its logical conclusion with the humid and fecund "Chicken, Biscuits & Gravy>." Here Nicole shows no fear of getting her hands dirty in the blues. People Are Talking is the release that Mercedes Nicole deserves to make and we all benefit from that.

Track Listing: Would You Believe; Moondance; Touching the Sky; People are Talking; Dindi; Hushabye; I Loves You Porgy; Fly Me to the Moon; Chicken, Biscuits and Gravy.

Personnel: Mercedes Nicole: vocals; Darin Clendenin: piano; Clipper Anderson: bass; D’Vonne Lewis, Don Gunn: Drums; Darren Motamedy: flute; Susan Pascal: vibraphone; Alexey Nikolaev: saxophone; William Smith: Cello.

Title: People Are Talking | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Self Produced