In case you haven’t noticed, there is a plethora of jazz vocalists out there. So, how do you distinguish yourself? Stay tuned.
Antoinette Montague comes up with the clever idea of taking church-related songs and waking them up a bit with some South American spices. Along with Danny Mixon/p, Paul Beaudry/b, Winard Harper/dr, Jay Hoggard/vib, Solomon Hicks/g and Bill Easley/fl, she puts some Caribbean flavor into “If I Had A Hammer” and a funky vibe to one read of “How I Got Over” while another one gets into the soul/jazz groove. Her voice is ardent and is able to sound like a sermonette on”God Bless The Child” and gets reflective on a duo with Mixon on “Here’s to Life.” Good show!
Ken Greves has a mid ranged tenor voice and teams up with Frank Ponzio/p, Peter Donovan/b and Vito Lesczak/dr to deliver some cleverly arranged takes of Sinatra-inspired tunes. Greves and Ponzio do some wonders with a hip “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” and a moody title track. His voice has a hint of Jack Jones in it as he goes pop on “Lush Life” and straight on “Angel Eyes.” Donovan does some nice bowing of the bass on “Street of Dreams” and lays down a nice riff on “Let Me Down Easy.” A light side of the Rat Pack.