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Reviews

Lissy Walker – Wonderland

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Lissy Walker - WonderlandLissy Walker – Wonderland
Released – September 23, 2014

As intimate as a whisper in your ear, Lissy Walker’s “Wonderland” is a sweetly swinging charmer, delivering on the early 20th century mood the publicist’s pen promises.

Admittedly a muddler of genres, Ms. Walker manages to sound country one moment, modern alt-something the next. But hard to put into a box also means unique, right down to the choice of tunes on this disc – from 1918’s melancholy “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles,” to 1970s folk-rock “I Wish I Was A Fool For You,” written by Richard Thompson, a restrained arrangement that fits the lyric much better than the over-produced version Sandy Denny delivered in 1977.

Photo by Anne Hamersky

Alternately, there’s nothing at all restrained about Ms. Walker’s cover of Billie Holiday’s “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?),” which reveals Ms. Walker’s theatrical background through a display of longing that could leave you wanting a cigarette when it’s over.

That’s one of my favorites from this set – along with “Isn’t It Romantic?” the Rodgers and Hart classic, once called “…the perfect song,” which opens with just the backing of Scott Nygaard on guitar, and then builds with strings to a bigger finish. Backing musicians are all first rate – in addition to Mr. Nygaard, Jon Evans on bass, Steven Bernstein on trumpet and John R. Burr on piano.

They’re joined by guest artists Carla Kihlstedt on violin and Ben Goldberg on clarinet. At times, as good as they all are, the recording mix can nearly overpower Ms. Walker’s delicate voice. I would have turned ‘em down a little.

But that’s a small quibble with this hand-crafted work of art, a fine addition to any collection of jazz vocalists, and is very highly recommended.

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Performances, Reviews

a friday in fullerton: with gina saputo

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It was a long weekend in California – to a writers’ conference, working on that other thing I’d like to do someday.  I learned lots of new things, met many interesting new people, and spent Friday night in Fullerton, in Orange County – at a club called “Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe.”

And there, I got an introduction to Gina Saputo.

Before I packed up, a little Googling led me to quotes like “a young Sarah Vaughan” from the LA Times, or that she’s five years out of USC (on scholarship) with a degree in Jazz Studies.  Ms. Saputo has done backup work for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Neenna Freelon, and Bonnie Raitt.

Nice blurbs from Tierney Sutton, who produced Ms. Saputo’s first album.

But nothing compared to the recommendation from the fellow on the phone when I made the reservation. 

“You like girl singers,” he said, “you’re gonna love her.”

He was right.  As I write this, I’m listening to tracks from Ms. Saputo’s MySpace site, and I’m reminded not only of her range but her stellar phrasing – whether a ballad or some of the swinging rafter-shakers that closed the set.  Easy banter with the band and the audience – a cool pair of socks from a Japanese tour, and half song’s worth of channeling Billie Holiday made it a fun night out.

The backing band included Yoon-Seung Cho on piano (with whom she’s working on a new recording), Steve Pandis on bass, and Evan Stone on drums.

By the end of the first set, they were firing on all cylinders.  The venue is a good one – I’d recommend reservations and early arrival for a close-up view.  Being a tourist, I was unfamiliar with it – but I’ll be back when I return for next year’s conference.

I hope Ms. Saputo is there, too.

Reviews

Suzy Bogguss – Swing

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Suzy Bogguss – Swing (Compadre)

First – the good news. This is a great album.

Suzy Bogguss

Now, the bad news. In the mid-90s, Suzy Bogguss took time out from a country music career that had been on a fairly sharp upward trajectory. Bad move. Since then, it’s been one disappointing album after another. Not that the albums weren’t good – it’s just that Shania came along, and Faith, and Martina, and – well, it’s a tough crowd to elbow back into.

From there, there was predictable label trouble. It’s been a downward spiral from having your stuff produced by Capitol, to Liberty, to Platinum (whoever they are), to – well, we’re down to Compadre Records – an apparently well-regarded distributor of self-published stuff, based in Houston. I downloaded this one from EMusic. It was released last year. More about EMusic on the home page.

What a fun disc! Ray Benson (Asleep At The Wheel) produces. It’s recorded in Austin. Duh. Some of the AATW gang was apparently in for support – Floyd Domino on keyboard, Jason Roberts on Violin, David Sanger on drums – and of course, Benson himself on guitar.

Suzy fronts ’em just fine. This one has just the right mix of standards and new tunes. Suzy’s cover of Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right” sparkles – “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” – A Duke Ellington classic, is good, too.

But the new stuff fits right in. April Barrows, a Nashville songwriter, placed five cuts on this disc – My favorite of that bunch is “Burning The Toast,” a smoothly-done ode to newlyweds that pops, with Benson’s fingerprints all over it. Almost a ballad, “It’s Always New To Me,” written by Bogguss, Songwriter/Husband Doug Crider and Paul Kramer, is also an excellent tune.

Back to bad news. Who’s going to find this gem? Little label, no promotion – heck, I found it by accident. A Google search indicates that Bogguss is on the road, pushing this one to country radio stations. It needs some airplay – but I’m not even sure Country is the right venue.

As much as I like Ray Benson – and as much as I would move to Austin in a heartbeat, to be close to that music – it’s more of a public-radio/Texas Music/”Austin City Limits” crowd. It’s not a “today’s country music” crowd.

Back to good news – heck, Texas is as big as some countries. And given the current state of country music, there are much worse crowds to hang with.

Very highly recommended.