Like in college, men are outnumbered by women about 2 to 1 in the jazz vocalist field. Here are a pair of guys that deserve some attention.
Wayne Powers has a warm and relaxed baritone sound along with a rich and earnest vibrato. He teams up with Ziad Rabie/ts, Keith Davis/p, Ron Brendle/b and Al Sergel/dr for a varied collection of standards. Rabie teams well with Powers on a comfy “East of the Sun,” a husky “Body and Soul” and fervent “All of Me” making a dynamic front line. The vocalist enjoys opening songs with a piano duet mood, notably on the intros of “I Only Have Eyes For You,” a reflective “Lush Life” and an intimate “Time After Time” while eschewing the rest of the band completely on a soul baring “If Love Were All.” He’s eager to please and loves to set a mood that is able to swing.
Maurice Frank works with a core team of Luques Curtis/b, Obed Calvaire/dr and John di Martino/p-arr along with guests Paul Meyers/ag, Eric Alexander/ts and Aaron Helck/ss-cl-fl for a wide range of sonic colors. The autumn-voiced Frank creates breezy Brazilian moods with Meyes on the graceful “Dream Dancing,” a romantic “Yellow Days” and seductive “Save Your Love For Me,” with suave percussion percolating like Cuban Coffee. With Alexander’s beefy tenor sax, Frank can get down to business as he creates a late night mood on the warm “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me” and delivers a serenade on “Day Dream” the is fluffy not stuffy. A duet with di Martino makes the ardent “She’s Funny That Way” a Verdian aria, while Frank goes hep cat for “On the Street Where You Live” and a shadowy “Yesterdays.” Winning ways.