Women with a lyrical voice…
Sophisticated soul is on the plate served by Rosalyn McClore who accompanies herself on piano, organ and even harpsichord with bassist Ron Long and drummer Emilio Valdez. She has an ability to get earthy with a feeling not unlike Tina Turner as on her own “The Truth and the Lie” as well as during Nina Simone’s “Sugar In My Bowl”. On piano, she sings wearily and reflectively on “That’s Him Over There” and with noir moods for “Crying All Over the World”, showing a lighter side on “Poetry Man” and a lovely and earnest take of “I Loves You Porgy”. Affirmative actions.
World-wise toned vocalist Lorraina Marro teams up with a core of Steve Rawlins/p, Grant Geissman/g, Jennifer Jane Leitham/b, Steve Pemberton/dr and guests Dr. Bobby Rodriguez/tp and Rickey Woodard/ts for some mature reads of standards and beyond. Her warm vibrato sways with Woodard on the classy “Stairway to the Stars” and is gloriously sensuous with the doctor on “Viajera Del Rio.” In a trio setting, she is cozy with Leitham on “My Baby Just Cares for Me’ while most luscious with Geissman on her most comfortable outing, a latin lover of “Esta Tarde Vi Loover”. If she did an entire album of that last song she’d woo the crowd!
The lovely Le Perez gets down and foot stomping at a recorded gig where she works the room with KellyPark/p, Noel Jewkes/ts-ss-fl, Buca Necak/b and Akira Tana/dr. She bounces to Tana’s Krupa-inspired tom toms on the gospel gritty “I Gotta Feeling” and swings with style to Jewkes’ Getzy tenor on “I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me”. The team has a nice swampy feel, as Perez shuffles to the blues stomper “Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On” and sways to “That Lucky Old Sun”. R&B, soul and slinky sounds meld on a clever read of “Angel Eyes” and a funk fest happens on the Crescent City’d “Still Called The Blues”. She sweats out each syllable!