The last time I was this excited about a male jazz vocalist was when Gregory Porter had his debut album. Here, you’ve got this guy Sidney Jacobs who sings, writes and arranges his own stuff and displays an amazing wide range of use for his voice on this exciting album.
He teams up with Zephyr Avalon/b, Efa Etorama Jr/dr, Josh Nelson/p and a rotating team of horns, strings and backing vocals. His voice is rich and earthy, with an Al Jarreau-ish tone and flexibility as he sounds declaratory with guitar and percussion on “First man” or gets funky with a modal read of “My Favorite Things” with Justin Thomas throwing in some vibes. He can sound palpably intimate with simple piano and bass on his read of “The Good Life” with some chamber strings is sincere as he caresses the lyrics on “ Long Walk,” and is intimate and vulnerable with piano on “Secret O’ Life.”
Some urban soul jazz sounds vintage on “The Story Teller,” and with alto saxist Josh Johnson he is sleek and confident on the waltz-grooved “Say What You Will” and is Bill Withers smooth as he struts on “The Love Without You.” There’s no shallowness nor glibness in his delivery, as every lyric is delivered with thought and conviction. My only concern about him is that he’s got a successful day job as a school psychologist, so he’s not hungry enough to take this music out on tour; I gotta see him!