Attention to Details!

The dynamic young alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin is steadily maturing into one of the more exciting musicians on the contemporary scene.  Ms. Benjamin, born in New York City, attended the Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and went on to the New School. She has performed with Clark Terry and Reggie Workman, appeared onstage with Stevie Wonder and The Roots, toured with Macy Gray, Alicia Keys, and Gregory Porter, and released her debut album on Motema Music in 2012.  That recording and her 2018 "Retox" (Ropeadope Records) showed the saxophonist in modern r'n'b, funk, and dance modes with a touch of jazz yet one could hear Ms. Benjamin's biting tone, sassy attack, and the influence of players such as David Sanborn ad Greg Osby.

For her third album and second for Ropeadope), Ms. Benjamin enlisted the aid of bassist Workman––they set about to create "Pursuance: The Coltranes", a tribute to the legendary saxophonist and his second wife Alice. Over the course of 13 songs and 70 minutes, right from the opening track, "Liberia" which pairs her with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, to the blazing finale, "Affinity" (with its front line of alto saxophonists Greg Osby and Bruce Williams) this music explores just how powerful the music the couple created in their lifetime. Whether she's playing the themes or digging into her solo, Ms. Benjamin's vision is laser-focused and her sound is often keening, always moving forward.

There are highlights galore.  The saxophonist teams with pianist Bertha Hope on "Alabama" (the saxophonist's musical eulogy to the four young victims of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL); supported by the basses of Mr. Workman and Lonnie Plaxico plus the muscular drumming of Darrell Green, the music sears the soul as it did when John Coltrane first recorded the piece in 1963. That segues right into "Acknowlegement" (from "A Love Supreme") with a spoken word intro from Abiodun Oyewole (founder of The Last Poets) and a splendid call-and-response featuring Ms. Benjamin and vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater.  That jumps directly into "Pursuance" (also from "A Love Supreme"), a high-energy romp with Green and bassist Jonathan Michel pushing the saxophonist and pianist Marc Cary forward.

Six of the 13 pieces in the program were penned by Alice Coltrane including the sweet "Prema" (from her 1978 "Transfiguration" Lp) that features a five-person string section plus the harp of Brandee Younger. The ensemble, powered by Green, Plaxico, and pianist Surya Botofasina (who, as a child, studied at the ashram Ms. Coltrane founded in Los Angeles, CA), keeps the music roiling throughout. Georgia Ann Mudrow speaks the words of "Om Shanti" while Ms. Benjamin's alto wheels around the sound system and bassist/ vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello joins the leader singing the  Buddhist mantra. Botofasina returns for "Turiya and Ramakrishna", a medium tempo ballad that the alto saxophonist creates a prayer-like reading of the theme.  The piano solo starts with rippling, harp-like, figures before moving into a gospel-fueled statement that rises in intensity leading to Ms. Benjamin's sweet, blues-soaked, solo.

The afore-mention "Affinity" (also found on "Transfiguration") is a fiery close to the program with great solos from the three alto saxophonists plus excellent rhythm section fire provided by Green, Radway, and Reggie Workman (who played on the original album). "Pursuance: The Coltranes" is not for the faint-of-heart but for hearts (and minds) that need spiritual and physical cleansing, that need to understand the power of the music that both John and Alice Coltrane created, music that stands the test of time.  Lakecia Benjamin pulls no punches, cuts no corners, and plays with great emotion and dedication.  The album is a giant step forward in her maturation, music that will serve as a blueprint to continued growth as an artist.

For more information, go to www.lakeciabenjamin.com.

Here's the powerful opening track:

Vocalist, composer, educator, and producer Thana Alexa may be best known for her work with groups led by guitarist/ composer Gene Ess and her husband Antonio Sanchez & Migration.  Born in New York City to Croatian parents who moved back home when Ms. Alexa when a young teenager.  While living in Zagreb, she attend the Rock Academy of Music where she switched her attention from violin to voice.  She started college at Northeastern University before transferring to the New School in New York City where Ms. Alexa double-majored in jazz vocal performance and psychology!  She released her debut album "Ode to Heroes" (Harmonia Mundi) in 2015 – what stands out most in her music is the way she combines myriad musical genres to create emotionally rich stories.

"ONA" (self-released) is an often stunning step forward.  The theme of the album is right there in the title (the word translates to "she" from Croatian) – Ms. Alexa is interested in education the listener about the "feminine spirit", about the mysteries, joys, and more that being a 21st Century woman deals with. Along with her husband on drums, percussion, and keyboards, the instrumentalists include Carmen Staaf (piano, Fender Rhodes, keys), Jordan Peters (guitars), and Matt Brewer (acoustic and electric bass). On the title track which opens the album, Ms. Alexa utilizes 10 additional voices including the Rosa Vocal Group plus Nicole Zuraitis, Sofia Rei, Claudia Acuna, and Sarah Elizabeth Charles––the lyrics celebrates the determination of women in times of strife especially in a male-dominated world.

Poet, activist, and spoken work artist Staceyann Chin is featured on "The Resistance", another shout for freedom of spirit.  Before Ms. Chin appears to read an excerpt from her poem "Raise The Roof", the band builds a thumping beat that, at times, resembles the music from "Hamilton".  Ms. Chin's fiery words are framed by equally fiery music that, like her words, rises to a raging finish.  Violinist Regina Carter joins the ensemble for "Pachamama", and her overdubbed violin parts create a powerful counterpoint to the words.  "Set Free" is the first real ballad on the 10-song program: Ms. Staaf's introspective piano intro leads the song in and she is the only accompaniment for Ms. Alexa's fine vocal. The next piece, "You Taught Me", is introduced by Peters's acoustic guitar and he alone frames the vocal for the first verse. The sound and song opens up when the drums and bass come in but hushed quality of the opening never really disappears.  Becca Stevens shows up on "He Said She Said" to share the lead vocal plus add ukulele and 10-stringed charango.  It's a lovely story about love bringing people together from different countries and the sacrifices they make for love.

There are two cover tracks on the album.  "Teardrop", originally written and performed by Massive Attack, opens quietly with Ms Alexa's wordless vocal. As she sings the opening verse, her only accompaniment is her overdubbed voice. The band comes in and the piece picks in intensity until a roaring guitar solo; then it's back to quieter sounds.  The album closes with "Everybody Wants to Rule The World", the Tears for Fears hit from 1985 that has been showing on other jazz albums in the past year.  Here, Ms. Alexa and the band kick the tune quite hard with numerous tempo changes, tremendous drumming, power piano chords, and voices rising out of the mix, and a hard-edged guitar solo that carries the song and the album to its conclusion.

"ONA" is an ode to the power, to the creativity, to the necessity of speaking out, that Thana Alexa wants everyone to understand that this is also important for all women around the world. Originally recorded in early 2017, right after President Trump was elected and sworn-in, the music serves as a reminder of his administration's (and others around the world) desire to push back against the rights women, immigrants, and people of color have striven for through the 20th and early 21st Centuries.  Ms. Alexa points no fingers at any elected officials but her message is clear and her music reflects her passion.  Highly recommended!

For more information, go to www.thanaalexa.com.  

Listen closely to "The Resistance":

Photo: Kyra Kverno

Duchess––Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou–– are girls, okay, ladies, who just want their audiences to have fun when they perform.  They first organized in 2014, recording their self-titled debut that featured their case harmonies, soaring voices, and sparkling arrangements by Oded Lev-Ari.  With The Boswell Sisters as their inspiration, Duchess will lift your spirits and brighten your day.  Plus, they have a cracker-jack band backing them up––Michael Cabe (piano), Jesse Lewis (guitar), Matt Aronoff (bass), and Jared Schonig (drums)––who also join in on the fun

As much fun as their albums can be, it's in-person where Duchess shines.  So, after two studio efforts for Anzic Records, the ladies and their band spent two nights in The Jazz Standard in New York City. Now, with "Live at Jazz Standard", you'll hear what you've been missing. Yes, the songs are great, the harmonies splendid, and the band tight but it's the stage "patter"thats a treat – the "Band Introduction" is flat-out hilarious. That leads into Cy Coben's "It's a Man" (composed for Betty Hutton) which is delightfully (modern) politically incorrect.  The sound of the recording is crisp and clear as you can easily hear all the voices (oh, those sweet harmonies), the snap of the snare drums, the delightful piano interjections, the solid bass lines, and crackling guitar solos.

Photo: Kyra Kverno

The material comes from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s with standards such as "On The Sunny Side of the Street" and "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" rubbing shoulders (elbows, these days) with specialities such as "Heebie Jeebies" (recorded in the 1920s by both Louis Armstrong and Ethel Waters) and "Three Little Sisters" (composed in 1944 and recorded by The Andrews Sisters) – the last tune listed also features the group's horn section (the vocalists on kazoos). There's a lovely take on Duke Ellington's "Creole Love Call" (the arrangement comes from Wycliffe Gordon) plus a deeply swinging take on "Chatanooga Choo Choo."

No politics, just fun, when Duchess takes the stage and, if you don't join in on the applause at the end or get off the couch with a smile or even forget for a moment about the social distancing, you're not relaxing enough.  "Live at The Jazz Standard" is wonderfully alive, funny, swinging, and a delight  from start to finish.  Go ahead, indulge!

For more information, go to www.duchesstrio.com.

Here's the gang with a delightful Peggy Lee song:

Catching Up In December (Pt 1)

The Fall semester gets away from me and I miss new releases that deserve to be reviewed. Through the Holidays, that oversight shall be partially remedied (writers have to sleep, too!)

Photo: Jimmy Katz

Several days before I was aware of the existence of this album, I wondered what had become of Don Byron. His recordings of the 1990s and 2000s had been full of amazing sonic adventures, from klezmer to blues to gospel to r'n'b and elsewhere.  While his recording output has slowed down, Mr. Byron has been appearing in concert halls, in workshops on college campuses, and elsewhere in the US and Europe.  Pianist Aruán Ortiz reached out and the duo began a collaboration that has resulted in their first album together, "Random Dances and (A)Tonalities" (Intakt Records). The program is a collection of originals, several classical pieces, and one composition each from Duke Ellington and Geri Allen.

Notice in the picture above that Mr. Byron is holding a tenor saxophone.  He employs the instrument on three tracks; his delightful exploratory "Joe Btfspik", Ortiz's wide-ranging and classically inspired "Numbers", plus the playful take of the Ellington/ Bubber Miley classic "Black and Tan Fantasy".  That last piece, from 1927, has long been a staple of the jazz canon and the duo is faithful to the melody and the rhythm but certainly stretch out in the solo sections.  The humor is subtle but the swing is powerful, especially in Ortiz's left hand.  The clarity of the mix allows for both instruments to stand out without either musician dominating the piece.

Photo: Guenther Groeger

There is a smashing version of Ms. Allen's "Dolphy's Dance". Both musical lock in on the themes and then take a wild ride during the solo section that has each person's lines swirl around the other, occasionally coming together then veering away.  Mr. Byron's solo reading of J.S. Bach's "Violin Partita No, 1 in B-Minor, BWV1002, II. Double" is stunning, the melody unfolding graciously but not as fast as several of the violin versions I referenced. Yet, the clarinet tone gives the music fascinating and different shades. The piece segues quickly into Mr. Byron's "Delphian Nuptials" - the original melody seems like a variation of Bach's melody but moves quite differently especially when Ortiz's melodic and flowing piano lines enter.  The album closes with an improvisation titled "Impressions on a Golden Theme" - the wide-open sound allows the music to develop slowly while the musicians move around through mutually created melody.

"Random Dances and (A)tonalities" grabs your attention from the opening lilt of "Tete's Blues" to the quiet fade of "Impressions..."  This is music that Aruán Ortiz and Don Byron developed slowly before committing to the recording. It never feels pedantic or "safe" - these are two musicians who can and will play anything not to show off but to get inside the music and find the humanity within. Splendid!

Here's the Ellington/Miley piece:

Just the name of this band - Myra Melford's Snowy Egret - is evocative of a particular sound. The quintet's second album - "The Other Side of Air" (Firehouse 12 Records) - also alerts the listener that the music will go in unexpected directions. Over her career that now spans nearly three full decades, the pianist and composer has created ensembles of musicians who help her shape the music. Snowy Egret consists of Ron Miles (cornet), Liberty Ellman (guitars), Stomu Takeishi (acoustic bass guitar), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums), each person a master of his instrument and sound.  Ms. Melford, with her multi-faceted compositions, gives material that explores all the different music she has studied performed, and inhabited.

Photo: ABC/Australia

If you are a long-time listener to Ms. Melford's music, I need not tell you what to expect. What amazes this listener is her ability to continually mature, to making music that sounds like on one else's yet is part of the creative music continuum.  As a player, her piano swings, whispers, thunders, caresses, pounds, and dances.  Her music is often episodic, starting with melodic or rhythmic idea, moving on to others, rarely turning back. There is the serene beauty of "Chorale" alongside the herky-jerky dance of "Motion Stop Frame" (a piece that goes from quiet to powerfully loud within seconds).  There's the "free" explorations of "Living Music" (listen to how the drums and the piano interact coming out of Ron Miles' solo!) to the emotional melody and performances of "Turn and Coda", the piece that closes the album.

Myra Melford creates music that makes one think deeply As you surrender to the myriad sounds created on any of her albums, you often enter into a universe that is welcoming yet challenging. With Snowy Egret, she works alongside musicians of equal musical status, interpreters and creators of the highest order.  Recorded in the Firehouse 12 studios in New Haven CT by Nick Lloyd (who also mixed and mastered the album), "The Other Side of Air" crackles and sparkles while opening new pathways for us to follow.

For more information, go to www.myramelford.com.

Here's the fascinating opening track:

If you go to firehouse12records.com/album/12-from-25, you'll also find "12 From 25", a recording that compiles performances from Ms. Melford's week of residency at The Stone in March of 2015.  Snowy Egret is there as well as her duos with Marty Ehrlich, Ben Goldberg, and Allison Miller, her original trio with bassist Lindsay Horner and drummer Reggie Nicholson plus several more. Clocking in at over 90 minutes, this is a fascinating overview of her career. It's well worth your attention.

While Holiday albums (for me) usually go in one ear and out the other, when  Duchess - Amy Cervini, Melissa Stylianou, and Hilary Gardner - sings, I always pay attention.  The trio's latest recorded effort, "Harmony for the Holidays" (Anzic Records), is the three ladies addition to a crowded field.  Their trademark harmonies are in place, Oded Lev-Ari's are, as usual, intelligent, and the six songs (it's an EP and only available digitally) steer away from religious themes and towards creating a warm glow and making one smile (as well as sing along).   The ladies are accompanied by their cracker-jack band - pianist Michael Cabe, guitarist Jesse Lewis, bassist Matt Aronoff, and drummer Charles Ruggero - and the results are fun all the way through.

Opening with "Christmas Island", a Lyle Moraine song made famous by the Andrew Sisters in 1946, the ladies move on to "Santa Baby" (ah yes, the tune made famous by Eartha Kitt) and then to "Silver Bells" (first recorded in 1950 by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards).  It's a real treat to hear the trio share the lead vocals and when they harmonize, especially on "....Bells", one feels calm. The mist contemporary song of the program, "A Christmas Compromise", was first recorded in 2011 by co-writer Inara George and is the story of the tug-of-war celebrating Christmas creates in a mixed marriage.  Back to the tried-and-true for Frank Loesser's bluesy "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" and the sweet blend of voices.  The "horn" section of Anat Cohen (clarinet), Nadje Noordhuis (trumpet), and Nick Finzer (trombone) join the band for the closing "Mele Kalikimaka", a delightful eggnog of Hawaiin and New Orleans influences first made famous by Bing Crosby and those Andrew Sisters in 1950.

This is an album to keep playing on repeat throughout the Holidays. Even grumpy old writers take heart from hearing Duchess blend its voices to bring good joy for all (and nary a hint of snark).

For more information, go to www.duchesstrio.com.

Here's one of the gems:

2017 - What a Year, Especially for Music! (Part 1 - Voices)

Most years are a blend of happy and sad, chaos and peace, health and illness, loss and gain. 2017 certainly was that way for me. Reading the news from home, from Washington, throughout the country and the world, one is not surprised that our capability for shock is tested every minute our eyes and ears are open.  Music reflects all that and more; often music deflects all that and more.  We have as much a need to be entertained as we do to hear our favorite artists try to speak or sing "truth to power."  No surprise that Kendrick Lamar's recent CD is titled "DAMN" and in all caps.   The lists of favorite television show are peppered with programs ("Handmaid's Tale", "Dark", "Stranger Things") that warn us of dictatorships, of totalitarian governments of the near-future, of women continuing to struggle to be equal.  Are we surprised by the almost daily "sexual harassment" charges levied at movie and television personalities, at producers and directors, at trusted newsmen.  And at government officials.

Music reminds many of us of what can be good, that the creative process brings people and audiences together, if not to change the world than just a small part of it and, maybe, just for two to four hours.

Listed below, and in subsequent posts, are the albums that brought me joy and hope through this year,  created by artists who made me question my beliefs or soothe my spirits.  Step Tempest was quieter than normal this Fall, actually since the end of July.  Not that I wasn't listening to music but, perhaps, I needed it step back to see a bigger picture. True, I was committed to other projects that took more of my time that I expected but, in the past, I found the time to write because the artists who send me their music, the publicists who are kind to hang with me, the people I interact with when I are writing and doing radio interviews appreciate the work I do. No excuses, no apologies. Just thought you should know.

Part one is but 10 of the, possibly, 36 recordings I think deserve recognition.  This list contains albums with voices, many with poetry, some I never had the opportunity to write about.

If you held me down and ordered me to tell which album was my true #1 choice, I would admit to "Matt Wilson's Honey And Salt Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg" (Palmetto).  It's not just because I saw the band live at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT, and was invited on stage to read with the band ("We Must Be Polite" with the delightful Bo Diddley-beat and more)...well, that was great (I mean, Ron Miles, Jeff Lederer, Dawn Thomson, Martin Wind, and the irrepressible Mr. Wilson....did I mention Ron Miles?) but the album has so much going for it, so much diverse music, pithy poetry, and at the center of its big heart, the need to connect in dark times.  Might not be your cup of joe (or Matt for that fact) but every time I listen to the album or relive the live gig, it brings a smile to my face.

Been a good couple of years for poet Emily Dickinson what with, at least three CDs of her works set to music plus the brilliant 2016 movie "A Quiet Passion."  Jane Ira Bloom connected with Ms. Dickinson when she discovered that poet was a pianist and that her poetry has a sense of improvisation about it.  Ms. Bloom and her brilliant ensemble (bassist Mark Helias, drummer Bobby Previte, and pianist Dawn Clement) created the 2-CD "Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson" (OTL Records); CD One features 14 originals plus the Rodgers-Hart classic "It's Easy to Remember" while the second disk has the same songs plus the voice of actress Deborah Rush reading snippets of the poetry that inspired the songs (save for "It's Easy....")  Ms. Bloom takes a different approach than Matt Wilson, the music is not inspired by Americana but is certainly American music, with swing, with flowing melodic passages, splendid interplay, and soaring improvisations.  What a tribute, what a treat!

"Freedom Highway" is the latest album from Rhiannon Giddens and it posits the racial insecurities rife in the United States in the heart of the music.  For all those people who woke up the morning after the 2016 and saw that our country truly was not united (not that it wasn't obvious during the previous administration and the highly flammable voices raised during the endless election cycle), for those people whose voices were just beginning to be heard in this country, this music hears your concerns and gives you hope.  Perhaps the best way to move forward after being knocked to the ground is to keep telling your stories of hope, of reconciliation, of recognition, of dancing until your body expels the evil spirits, of remembering that battles are rarely won without sacrifice and pain. Yes, there are moments of pure joy, moments of anger, pride, lust, love, of hope.

Trombonist-composer Ryan Keberle & Catharsis looked for hope on "Find The Common, Shine a Light" (Greenleaf Music). Original songs mixed with intelligent covers ("The Times They Are A'Changing", "Fool on The Hill", "Al Otro Lado del Rio") played by a band that enjoys working together including trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Eric Doob plus the voice and guitar of Camila Meza.  Also a response to the 2016 election, the music reached out to divergent audiences across this country, reminding people that creative musicians see what's going on in the world they travel through, that they react by playing music to exemplify community, togetherness, showing how men and women from different backgrounds can share a common  vision.

Ms. Meza is also part of pianist-composer Fabian Almazan's album-length suite "Alcanza" (translate to "reach") - the music, released on the pianist's Biophilia Records, speaks to the need of conservation of natural resources, to education, to the proliferation of wars and homelessness and more.  The rhythm section of Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Henry Cole (drums) know when to stoke the fire (and when to hold back) while Almazan's string arrangement are sophisticated and essential.  Note how melodic the solos are, how those arrangements frame and interact with the voice and soloists, and just how powerful the music is.  A shout-out to the string section of violinists Tomoko Omura and Megan Gould, violist Karen Waltuch and cellist Noah Hoffield for their stellar work.  All in all, a splendid recording.

Trumpeter, vocalist, saunter player, composer and arranger Amir elSaffar expands upon his studies of Iraqi maqams with his 2-CD masterwork "Not Two" (New Amsterdam Records). Written for his 17-piece Rivers of Sound Orchestra, the songs flow with grace and elegance, moves on the power of the brilliant rhythm section (drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Carlos de Rosa), and draws on many traditions to create an aural sound painting  that shifts gears all the time. Keeps you on your toes does this music without condescending to popular tastes or being strictly traditional - the more creative composers do that and Amir elSaffar is deserving of all the accolades he has received for his brilliant contributions to music and to educating his listeners to the width and breadth of Arabic culture.

Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou - collectively known as Duchess - added much-needed brightness to a cold and dark winter (heck, the whole darn year) with "Laughing at Life" (Anzic Records). The group's music, a potent and pleasurable mix of standards from the "Great American Songbook" and beyond.   Each with solo careers and two with young families, they come together to invite listeners out of the ordinary and the humdrum into a world where harmonies, melodies, smart and sassy arrangements (from the fertile mind of Oded Lev-Ari) and sometimes saucy and often sweet lyrics tell delightful stories.  Special guests Wycliffe Gordon (trombone, scat vocal) and Anat Cohen (clarinet) augment the musical trio of Michael Cabe (piano), Matt Aranoff (bass), and Jared Schonig (drums) - guitarist Jesse Lewis and tenor saxophonist Jeff Lederer also add their unique voices to several tunes.  The music can certainly stand on its own but does the sun shine brighter when these three voices step out in front. Whew! What joy!

Ms. Gardner joins forces with pianist Ehud Asherie for "The Late Set" (Anzic Records), an aural evocation of smoky nightclubs, out of the glare of the lights of Broadway, perhaps down a set of stairs, with glasses clinking while the audience sits quietly listening.  Mostly composed of ballads, the performers do not rush through these performances (mostly from well-known composers of the 1920s-1950s. Asherie is the perfect accompanist, framing Ms. Gardner's supple voice with lovely reactions,interactions, and harmonies.  O, and that voice....plenty of emotion, a dash of playfulness, every lyric can be understood, even felt. "The Late Set" is more than the midnight hour at the cabaret - listen to the songs and you'll hear the fine line between blues, joy, and sadness.

I'm still processing the amazing 2-CD "Dreams and Daggers", the latest album from Cécile McLorin Salvant. Mostly recorded live at The Village Vanguard with her Trio of Aaron Diehl (piano), Paul Sikivie (bass), and Laurence Leathers (drums), this music often shimmies, shakes, struts, slithers, slides, and sashays out of the speakers. Plus don't miss the songs that whisper, sigh, shudder, and sit in wonder. There are also several shorter tracks recorded in the studio where Ms. Salvant's voice is accompanied only by the strings of the Catalyst Quartet and piano - those tracks, arranged by bassist Sikivie, add a classy touch but your brain will be forever rearranged by the torch songs, by the intelligent choice of material from the Great American Songbook and the early blues of Bessie Smith (pianist Sullivan Fortner accompanies the vocalist on "You've Got To Give Some") and Ida Cox.  The multi-sectioned "Somehow I Never Could Believe", composed by Langston Hughes and Kurt Weill for their "American" opera "Street Scenes" (1947), is a certifiable masterpiece as performed by Ms. Savant and the Trio.  So much to behold here.

Vocalist Lizz Wright strikes pay dirt on "Grace", her second album for the Concord Music Group. Produced by Joe Henry, who surrounds this lovely alto voice with the twin guitars of Chris Bruce and Marvin Sewell, the acoustic bass of David Piltch (one great underrated bass player), drummer Jay Bellerose, and the keyboards of Kenny Banks and Patrick Warren plus an occasional choir.  Compare her version of "Stars Fell On Alabama" (first recorded by the Guy Lombardo Orchestra in 1934) to the one on the Duchess CD - two great interpretations with Ms. Wright's dreamy reading displaying her Southern roots (born in Georgia and now living in North Carolina) while Henry's arrangement gives the song a glow of late evening.  Ms. Wright covers tunes from Birds of Chicago, Bob Dylan, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, k.d. lang, Ray Charles, and others, making each song her own without losing the beauty, joy, anger, and soul within.

Each one of these albums buoyed my spirit - the next list will feature albums from younger musicians, from veterans, from masters, and several delightful reissues.

Three Ladies in Melody

The Holiday season is upon us, the winter is fast approaching (getting dark in CT by 5 p.m.), and we are continually being assaulted by advertisements plus bombarded by bad news.  This Saturday evening at 8 p.m., one can leave all the negatives behind to "accentuate the positive" with the Duchess Trio.  Duchess - Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou - is bringing their delightful sounds to the Milford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue in Milford CT.  Billed as a "Holiday Show", these delightful songstresses will mix and mingle music from their two Anzic albums with songs of the seasons.  One of the most engaging elements of their music is how they blend songs from the 1930s and 40s, some you may know, many you might not, and make one tap his feet or smile from the emotional tug at the heartstrings.  On top of that, all three are wonderful solo singers and, collectively, create sweet harmonies.

Joining them in concert will be pianist Michael Cabe, guitarist Jesse  Lewis, and bassist Noah Garabedian.  Yes, no drummer, so the music will be on a more intimate level (but it will still swing with glee) plus it's a "cabaret" setting and one might feel as if he/she was sitting in a 1920s jazz club (just maybe).

No matter what, Duchess will brighten your mood, make you laugh (check out their podcast "Harmony & Hijinks" for a healthy taste of the trio's stage banter as well as a closer look into their creative process plus interviews with fellow musicians and producer Oded Lev-Ari) and, ultimately, feel good. Can't ask for more than that!

For ticket information, go to milfordarts.org/about-us/tickets/. To learn more about this Trio (which, this month, celebrates its fourth anniversary), go to www.duchesstrio.com.

Here's a taste from the group's second recording:

Hiatus Listening & Watching: Podcasts & Artistic Video

Among the orders I have to follow over this hiatus, sitting still and lying down are among the top 10. So, I have been watching some television and poking around YouTube as well as other sites.  But, I have been also listening to podcasts.  I am hooked on Leo Sidran's "The Third Story" as he is not only a musician but also a fine interviewer.

This morning, I checked out his interview with Duchess Trio, that delightful vocal group featuring Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou.  One learns a lot about how to keep a group together, about the history of each vocalist, and even an impromptu (sort of) performance.  Go to www.third-story.com/listen/duchess and check it out. While you're at the site, check out the other people he has interviewed (including his father, Ben Sidran).  There's a lot to learning from listening.

That should logically lead you to this: www.duchesstrio.com/harmonyandhijinks/. They are such engaging people, it's easy to sit and listen to several episodes at a time.  It's summertime, time for lazing about, time for enjoyment but, with all the political and social unrest at the moment, one might  feel as if frivolity is just wasted time.  It's not, nor should it ever be. If we lose our senses of humor and perspective, we run the risk of becoming one-dimensional and, frankly, dull.  So, my prescription would be "one episode per day. morning, noon, or night."



Here's a video to enjoy as well:



I started this series with a short set from the Vadim Neselovskyi Trio.  Here's a new video the Ukranian-born pianist posted this week from his January 2017 release "Get Up and Go" -  this track features the lovely voice of Sara Serpa: