East Coast vocalist Vanessa Perea has a crisp and clear Nancy Wilson-ish sound to her stylings here. She’s flexible enough to handle tricky bebopping lines, but has the addition of latin passion to put some feeling into the lyrics as well, some of which she wrote. Her tricky lyrics to the snappy “Soulful Days” and “Let Me Tell You” demonstrate an agile athleticism that effortlessly flexes her muscles. Teamed with a brass heavy team of Robert Edwards/tb, Matt Jodrell/tp, Dave Lantz/p, Dylan Shamat/b and Evan Sherman/dr, she creates a wonderful tension by holding back on the reins on the overdriving “Too Marvelous For Words” while also sounding convincingly reflective on “Jim.” Her bopping heart bursts out as she scats on “Celia” and vocaleses on Kenny Dorham’s trumpet solo on “Let Me Tell You” yet can also conversely lay out romantic moods as on the fluffy “Luz Do Sol.” I like this lady-get her out west of the Hudson!
Zoho Records