Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jennifer Lee: Quiet Joy

404

Jennifer Lee: Quiet Joy

Jennifer Lee: Quiet Joy
When a vocalist does a collection of standards, it's important to create something that stands out—something that distinguishes his/her recording from so many others. Jennifer Lee comes through in more ways than one. Quiet Joy showcases Lee's versatility as a pianist, guitarist, arranger, composer and singer. This album is mostly comprised of songs written by Brazilian composers or written by Lee in a Brazilian style; the music would be very different even if she only sang. Lee is a San Francisco product, and on Quiet Joy she is accompanied by a variable lineup of Bay Area and San Diego musicians.

The title song, one of Lee's three originals, has a slight samba edge to it; she plays guitar and leads on a wordless vocal chant. Lee shifts easily from a flute-like "oo" to consonant-flavored syllables, while Raul Ramirez handles percussion with Bob Magnusson on bass.

"O Barquinho" captures that same spirit, with Buca Necak taking over on bass and Tripp Sprague adding harmonica. This time, Lee mixes in some scatting with the lyrics. Her delivery is on par with the sounds of such Brazilian vocalists as Astrud Gilberto and Flora Purim, with Sprague's solo adding to the song's joyful feeling. When Lee sings again, the lyrics are in Brazilian Portuguese. She shifts back to English and scatting during the closing sequence, while Sprague answers on harmonica.

"Music of Your Soul," another Lee composition, is a delightful stroll with Lee and Ramirez providing finger snaps. David Udolf joins on piano and Peter Sprague on guitar. During the chorus, Lee sings a phrase that gives a slight nod to Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments." Necak scats during his bass solo and Sprague and Udolf also get turns at soloing.

Lee and her sidemen do a masterful job of mixing samba with straight jazz. Her use of both Portuguese and English lyrics, to say nothing of her scats, enhances the special nature of Quiet Joy.

Track Listing

I Hear Music; Quiet Joy; Menina Da Lua; O Barquinho; Music of Your Soul; You Knew; O Pato; Menininha do Portao; Baby Mine; I Don

Personnel

Jennifer Lee: vocals, guitar (2-4, 7-11), piano (6, 12, 13); Peter Sprague: guitar (1-6, 10-13); Bob Magnusson: bass (2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13); Buca Necak: bass (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12); Raul Ramirez: percussion (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11); Duncan Moore: drums (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13); Tripp Sprague: harmonica (4, 9), saxophone (6, 11); Carter Dewberry: cello (3).

Album information

Title: Quiet Joy | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Unknown label

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Tomeka Reid Concerts

Oct 17 Fri
Oct 18 Sat

Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.