In a day when female jazz singers seem to overplay their hands with sonic hyperbole, Mercedes Nicole wins you over by keeping the embers low. Her tone is similar to vintage Peggy Lee, nuanced and subtle, holding back just enough to draw you into her world. She’s supported by a cast that mixes and matches, with Jake Sele-Craig Hoyer/p-org, Evan Flory-Barnes/b, D’Vonne Lewis-Brian Kirk/dr, Thaddeus Turner-Jerry Wirkkala/g, JayThomas/horns and Yun-En Liu/vi.
While She understatedly coos behind the beat with Thomas’ trumpet on the sleek read of “I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues” and gives a sly shuffle on the easy “Rich Man’s Blues”. She gently rocks steady to WIrkkala’s guitar on the chiming “Your Love” and is romantic with Sele as she cozies up on “Turn Me On”. She percolates with the humming Hammond on “There Is Something On Your Mind” while pulling your heart strings with Liu on “Path Of The Mystic”. Tasty times with simple sprinkles of flavored spices.