Alyssa Allgood: What Tomorrow Brings

In the chemistry lab, solvents are said to be punctilious when they have been completely purified through filtering, distillation, and chromatography. Punctilious ether, if a sound, could be compared to the perfectly polished tone generated from lead crystal when struck with a platinum spoon. This is the level of refinement heard in Alyssa Allgood's voice on What Tomorrow Brings. Allgood has been filtering and distilling her tone over three previous recordings: Lady BIrd (Self Produced, 2015); Out Of The Blue (Self Produced, 2016 ); and Exactly Like You (Cellar Live, 2018). Her tone, delivery, and performance have been honed to a fine and nuanced point. Vocally, Allgood is capable of impressive melodic expression and tautly muscular vocalese/scatting, often in the same song. Regarding the latter, Allgood shares her level of artistry with only Dorian Devins and Veronica Swift. Vocalese/scat is not for every vocalist, but for those with the knack, it offers that added level of artistry to be explored and mastered. And mastered it, Allgood has.

An additional facet in which Allgood has evolved is repertoire. Her project song choice and programming has always been from a road less taken. She chooses a song based on its creative potential for her and not the song's popularity or track record. On What Tomorrow Brings, Allgood presents the infrequently performed 1960 Dinah Washington ballad, "This Bitter Earth" (also recently featured by Veronica Swift on her album of the same title (Mack Avenue, 2021), giving the song a free and breezy interpretation properly framed by her guitar trio of guitarist Michael Allemana, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer George Fludas. This particular format provides the singer with an improvisatory/support index well suited for her intentions. She extrapolates this approach to the remainder of this project.

Performance highlights include a punchy and fun "Mad About The Boy," and a breakneck scat break on "Time Around" that could cause whiplash, masterful and solidly swinging. Allgood continues to grow and evolve in a measured and thoughtful manner, taking well-calculated chances when the return is not necessarily guaranteed, but always pays off. It is satisfying to hear this talent bloom and take command, Allgood assuming her proper place as one of the finest jazz vocalists today.