Here are some women that sing with strength.
Vocalist Lauren White wisely keeps a healthy distance from the standards for the most part on this fresh collection of tunes on this album produced by West Coast crooner Mark Winkler. She’s joined by some of the best Angelenos around in Quinn Johnson/p, Kevin Axt/b, Grant Geissman/g, Marvin “Smitty” Smith-Chris Wabich/dr and guest horns. She mixes modern jazz with sophisticated pop while showing incredible ease in the wide ranging title track and goes deep to Axt’s bass line for “Slow Down.” She’s sublimely slinky with Johnson on the romantic “Signing Offf” and the sublime “How Little We Know” with muted horns supplied by Tatum Greenblatt and Dave Mann. Creative and clever.
You can feel the influence of producer Jane Monheit on this ep by vocalist Mandy Kemp. Ms. Kemp has the same strong lyricism and even at times a similar inflection as on the coy salsa read of “Sugar (That Sugar Baby O’ Mine)”. The mezzo soprano has a husky and alluring voice, and feels uptown with Andy Langham/p, Jonathan Flaugher/b, Will Brahm/g, Nick Mancini/vib, Rick Montalbano/dr and Jamey Tate/perc on high class and patient pieces like “How Little We Know” and “I Don’t Care Much.” She carries a torch well on “Detour Ahead/These Foolish Things” and shows her funky side on a percussive take of “I Concentrate On You.” Wisely keeping things simple and trusting the strength of the songs.