The new voice on the block belongs to hone-toned Tawanda, and she’s full of spirit with the top tier Angelenos as her bandmates in Josh Nelson-Tamir Hendelman/p, Kevin Axt/b, Anthony Wilson/g and Gary Meek/sax five simpatico support to a clever mx of standards.
She shows she can tell a convincing story, effortlessy hitting the high notes around Meek’s gflute on “Bring Back My Drea”” while she works her way around the assertive rhythm team and Meek’s sax on “Lucky To Be Me”. He is peppy and not out of breath as she’s off to the races, skipping around Axt on “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” while getting slinky on “Sister Moon”. A delicate “A Child Is Born” is filled with droplets of both voice and ivories, while her a cappella read of “Smile” is an ethereal gem. Lots of energy emitted, and well directed.