Lorraine Feather: Tales of the Unusual

Be aware and beware from the get-go: Tales of the Unusual, from Grammy nominee Lorraine Feather, is indeed deep, dark and different. The Anne Rice-like black and white cover shot parlayed with the spooky title augur that what is to follow is a foray into a song-world of stories told inside-out and upside-down.

The magic here is the marvelous—no, delicious—manner in which Feather, with incredible vocal skill, dynamic shading and inflection, maneuvers through her own lyric queendom. Inspired from sources a diverse as a Twilight Zone episode and a Fellini flick, these thirteen original selections—an eerie and apropos total for certain—weaving their own tales, ripe for Feather's brilliant flourishing.

Feather's abilities as a lyricist and vocalist nonpareil are well-established and confirmed, with the same lingual emphasis here as on her previous celebrated Jazzed Media releases, Language (2008) and Ages (2010). She can vocally twist, turn and ultimately mine a lyric nugget to spin gold—a good witch's alchemy worked in darker shadows.

Tales of the Unusual's melodies display a siren-like quirkiness—more angular than smooth, more dissonant than sweet with refined rhythmic diversity. Yet, each line—and in some cases each word—seems perfectly balanced on a high wire of emotion. The stylistic and art-song nature of the compositions touch upon various musical genres including ragtime, speak-rap, theatrical, silent-movie romantic, Latin, and straight-ahead jazz, as well as varied story types. Engaged and involving, Feather's vocal character and flexibility beautify and validate her oddball lyrics.

The superb compositional offerings from Eddie Arkin and pianists Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets and Shelly Berg fit hand-in-black-glove with Feather's fables. The pianists' respective instrumental support is excellent and restrained, allowing Feather's melodic and lyric playfulness to remain paramount. They are as masterfully important contributing here as they were on Feather's previous offerings.

With Tales of the Unusual, Feather has delivered another significant and unique vocal effort, pulled from her seemingly boundless vault of talent.