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Nellie McKay
Normal As Blueberry
Pie: A Tribute to Doris
Day
VERVE B0013218
AAAA
Coming from a performer
of such quirky
charm and outspoken
views, Nellie McKay’s
elegant understatement
and control as a singer can catch you by surprise.
Like Doris Day, whose artistry (and animal
activism) the aggressively eclectic 27-yearold
salutes on Normal As Blueberry Pie, she has
an unerring ability to tread lightly on a lyric
while enlivening it with personality.
But as impressive as McKay is as a vocalist,
it’s her offbeat, sometimes outlandish approach as
a conceptualist and arranger that makes Normal
As Blueberry Pie special. Rummaging through a
musical toy chest for her first bona fide jazz
album, she concocts a trio of French horn, ukelele
and bells for a winsome reading of “Send Me No
Flowers.” She employs Native American-style
flutes and hand drum on a culturally minded reading
of “Black Hills Of Dakota,” and bells and
tambura on a daydreamy “The Very Thought Of
You.” And then there is her most audacious
stroke: staging “I Remember You” as an eerie
shipboard melodrama with synth foghorn, mellotron
strings and steel drum effects.
Anouar Brahem
The Astounding Eyes Of
Rita
ECM 2075
AAA
No less lively when she’s playing
things straight, McKay swings
with authority with pianist Bob
Dorough on his jaunty arrangement
of “Close Your Eyes” and
warmly remakes Day’s big band
breakthrough, “Sentimental
Journey,” with Charles Pillow on
tenor and oboe. With girlish
delight, she shakes the nostalgia
from “Crazy Rhythm” and “Do
Do Do,” while pining for innocent times on her
own alluring “If I Ever Had A Dream.”
Noticeably absent from the album, which
McKay produced with her mother, Robin
Pappas, is “Que Sera, Sera.” Her decision to
bypass Day’s popular signature tune, covered by
such artists as Sly Stone and Holly Cole, tell you
that however kooky she gets, she plays by no
one’s rules but her own. —Lloyd Sachs
Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute To Doris Day: The
Very Thought Of You; Do Do Do; Wonderful Guy; Meditation;
Mean To Me; Crazy Rhythm; Sentimental Journey; If I Ever
Had A Dream; Black Hills Of Dakota; Dig It; Send Me No
Flowers; Close Your Eyes; I Remember You. (43:55)
Personnel: Nellie McKay, vocals, piano, organ, ukelele, synthesizer,
mellotron, bells, tympani, tambura; Bob Dorough,
piano; Jay Berliner, guitar; Jay Anderson, bass; Clarence
Penn, drums; Charles Pillow, tenor saxophone, oboe; Glenn
Drewes, trumpet; John Allred, trombone; Lawrence
Feldman, clarinet, flute; David Weiss, flute; Sharon Moe,
French horn; Cenovia Cummings, violin; Paolo Perrre, Kevin
Rennard, Lucas Steele, vocals.
Ordering info: ververecords.com
»
Those who enjoyed Tunisian
oudist Anouar Brahem’s last
album, Le Voyage De Sahar,
should like The Astounding
Eyes Of Rita, as it shares a
similar chamber feel and
approach. For his latest, Brahem assembled an
international cast, including German bass clarinetist
Klaus Gesing, Swedish electric bassist
Bjorn Meyer and Lebanese percussionist
Khaled Yassine, which seamlessly merges
Western and Eastern traditions. The result is a
solid and at times hauntingly beautiful album
that defies easy classification.
The music gently sways and pulses, especially
when Yassine plays. Brahem focuses on
melody, and he continuously spins composed
and improvised melodies from his oud. Gesing
often doubles the tune’s melody with Brahem
and provides countermelodies and solo backgrounds.
His solos, such as on “Al Birwa,” are
logically constructed and grow naturally.
Considering this group was put together for the
album the interplay is astounding. On “Dance
With Waves,” Gesing interjects short suggestions
during Brahem’s
solo that Brahem takes
and expands on. Meyer,
who spars with Gesing
on the title track and
“Galilee Mon Amour,”
often punctuates the lead
line with his playful (but
sometimes nearly
buried-in-the-mix) bass.
Some may find the
narrow range of tempos
and the dominance of modes monotonous, but
others may be entranced by the long, snaking
melodies and rhythmic ostinatos. The music
takes its time and unfolds on its own schedule,
even embracing silence and stillness. As the
album’s playing is subtle, and its musical influence
is Eastern, it can be easy to miss some of
the many highlights, as those used to Western
or jazz harmony, phrasing and form may feel
disoriented at first, but go ahead and dig in.
Those unfamiliar with Brahem would do well
to start here.
—Chris Robinson
The Astounding Eyes Of Rita: The Lover of Beirut; Dance
With Waves; Stopover at Djibouti; The Astounding Eyes Of Rita;
Al Birwa; Galilee Mon Amour; Waking State; For No Apparent
Reason. (53:29)
Personnel: Anouar Brahem, oud; Klaus Gesing, bass clarinet;
Bjorn Meyer, bass; Khaled Yassine, darbouka, bendir.
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Detroit
MACK AVENUE 1049
AAA 1 /2
High school years at Cass Tech in Detroit left a
soft spot in Gerald Wilson’s heart for that city.
This is his valentine to Detroit, not a suite but a
series of sketches. The titles and dedications
may link to the Motor City, but the music is consistent
with contemporary Gerald Wilson. He
uses his Los Angeles band on all selections
except “Aram,” which is left to his New York
auxiliary headed by Jon Faddis. The results are
mixed, with solos far outweighing the writing.
Violinist Yvette Devereaux is a worthy addition
to the Wilson brood. Her tangy contributions,
like on “Belle Island Blues,” bring to mind
Ray Nance’s soulful fiddling. Though a vigorous
blues, “Belle Isle” is emblematic of so much of
the album: long rhythm section vamps punctuated
by orchestral turnarounds and shout choruses.
Some of the best writing is the dense pastel scrim
on “Detroit,” but as a piece and a Kamasi
Washington tenor feature, it’s rather limp. The
crisp waltz “Aram” (first heard on Portraits,
1963) is one of the standout numbers.
“Miss Gretchen” does what Wilson does
best: orchestral swing. The horns riff throughout,
and their voicings are thick and full of
color. The tune’s movements offset each other,
and the harmonies draw on Billy Strayhorn. No
Wilson program would be complete without a
bullfight piece. “Before Motown” has a compelling
progression, and Bobby Rodriquez
installs himself into the Wilson pantheon of
great corrída jazz trumpeters. Brian O’Rourke’s
solo, built of block chords and flourishes, is
equally impressive.
—Kirk Silsbee
Detroit: Blues On Belle Isle; Cass Tech; Detroit; Miss Gretchen;
Before Motown; The Detroit River; Everywhere; Aram. (61:17)
Personnel: Gerald Wilson, composer, arranger, orchestrator; Yvette
Devereaux, violin; Ron Barrows, Jeff Kaye, Rick Baptist, Winston
Byrd, Jon Faddis, Frank Greene, Sean Jones, Jimmy Owens, Terrell
Stafford, trumpets; Eric Jorgensen, Les Benedict, Mike Wimberly,
Shaunte Palmer, Dennis Wilson, Luis Bonilla, Jay Ashby, Douglas
Purviance, trombones; Hubert Laws, flute; Jackie Kelso, soprano
sax, alto sax; Steve Wilson, Antonio Hart, soprano sax, alto sax, flute;
Randall Willis, alto sax, flute; Carl Randall, Kamasi Washington, Ron
Blake, tenor sax; Louis Van Taylor, tenor sax, baritone sax; Terry
Landry, Ronnie Cuber, baritone sax; Anthony Wilson, guitar; Brian
O’Rourke, Renee Rosnes, piano; Trey Henry, Peter Washington,
Todd Coolman, bass; Mel Lee, Lewis Nash, drums.
» Ordering info: ecmrecords.com
» Ordering info: mackavenue.com
80 DOWNBEAT March 2010