If you think good male jazz singers are about as abundant as women at The Masters, give So Cal vocalist Leonard Patton a try. He released a nice session a few years ago with LA cats Josh Nelson and Darek Oles, and this time around he’s teamed up with pianist Geoffrey Keezer (who’s done great things with Denise Donatelli) for a collection of duos that will win you over with music, melody, muscle and moxie.
Patton’s got a warm and expressive tenor voice, leaning a bit towards the Donny Hathaway side of things, but uses it quite elastically here, veering in and out of Keezer’s chords and single note runs without stepping on any toes. Soulish jazz, or jazzy soul, is evident on material like “Love’s in Need of Love Today” or heartfelt take of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” that hits the high notes like marimba mallets. His graceful reading of Ellington’s “Passion Flower” demonstrates a molasses like thickness at the bottom of his range, while he also can spin like a NASCAR racer on Ornette Coleman’s tricky “Go Fish” which has Keezer’s hand descend like a falling rock on PCH. His wordless vocals on the latter and Monk’s “Think Of One” reflect a hipness that is joyful, while his playing with the lyrics and melody on “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise” takes the tune from a delicate dew soaked morning to a Santa Ana wind of a storm. Whew! I like this guy! He’s going to be at the Blue Whale Aug 10. Don’t miss it or this disc!
http://leonardpatton.bandcamp.com/album/expressions