Here’s a real find! She just won the Theolonious Monk Jazz Competition with judges no less impressive than Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling. Interested yet? The liner notes have Wynton Marsalis lauding her for her “poise, elegance, soul,humor, sensuality, power…and grace.” Not bad kudos. OK, well, HOW IS THE RECORDING?
Fantastic! She selects material as old as “John Henry” as well as gems like “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.” She opens with a back porch blues with guitarist James Chirillo on “St. Louis Gal” and sounds like she grew up barefoot with red clay between her toes. Her take of standards is anything but, as “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” with Aaron Diehl/p, Rodney Whitaker/b and Herlin Riley/dr glides like Sonja Henie, and “…Moonlight” is taken at a tempo that oozes like lava. Mixing hints of Betty Carter, Nina Simone and Abbey Lincoln, she lets out deep emotions on the title track while being tactile and intimate on “Le Front Cache Sur Tes Genoux.” This is a young lady who sounds comfortable with her own soul, and wants to share it with you. A real gem! When’s she coming to LA?!?
Mack Avenue Records.