Tag Archives: Female Vocalist

Reviews

Calabria Foti – Prelude To A Kiss

1 Comment

I sometimes write about albums that are too big to enjoy on headphones. This is one of those. It demands to be on the studio monitors in the big room.

Calabria Foti - "Prelude To A Kiss"

Calabria Foti – Prelude To A Kiss (MoCo Records)
Released – 1 November 2019

My impression is that there are a few cathedrals for recording music – those spaces that made legendary music by the giants – work to which many aspire, but few attain. The studios at Capitol Records are one of those.

From Wikipedia: “For over 60 years, Capitol Studios has hosted some of the most celebrated artists, from Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Michael Jackson, and Dean Martin to Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and the Beach Boys.”

It is claimed that the microphone that recorded Frank is still used there, as well as the reverb chamber designed by Les Paul. So when artists say they recorded at Capitol Records, it gets attention. Well, gets my attention.

But what I’m thinking is – is it deserving?

That’s not a problem for Calabria Foti, who comes trailing an orchestra of more than 20 musicians, a cameo by John Pizzarelli on guitar and a duet (on “It’s The Mood That I’m In,”) and a eclectic stack of standards arranged to put a gilded frame around her lush and intimate voice. It’s a voice that is more than worthy of the hardware, the “A” list of West Coast musicians, the arrangements, and the friends. She writes, “This is the most expansive project I have ever done, and at the same time, it’s the most intimate and personal. I recorded at Capitol Records with full orchestra, singing some of the most endearing, sentimental songs ever written, about my devotion to the ones I love.”

Whether cooing a tender ballad or something up and swingy, Ms. Foti’s versatile voice demands attention and deserves it.

Calabria Foti

In the days of short attention spans, and the ability to purchase a single track, I’d suggest three. “On the Street Where You Live” is familiar and up-tempo, showcasing a short scat that sells the track for me. “Goodbye” is the single original on the set – penned by Ms. Foti – deserves to stand alongside the classics, lets the orchestra open up, and highlights Ms. Foti’s remarkable range – both in power and emotion. The third would be a toss-up between Mr. Pizzarelli’s appearance on “It’s The Mood I’m In,” and trombonist Bob McChesney’s solo turn on “The Man With The Horn.”

But if you buy those three (or four), you’ll want to get the rest, too.

Mr. McChesney produces – he’s got a lot to work with here, and I didn’t mention that Ms. Foti doubles as an accomplished and confident violinist, as well.

More than worthy of the legendary studio, this is a set that’s also worthy of your big speakers in a big room.

In the evening.

With someone you love.

Highest recommendation for this gem.

Reviews

Simone Kopmajer – My Favorite Songs

Leave a comment

Disclosure – These are liner notes for Ms. Kopmajer’s new album, released last week in the US. I also assisted with some promotional material. But I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if I didn’t think the album was worthy.

It is.

Simone Kopmajer - My Favorite Songs

Simone Kopmajer – My Favorite Songs
Released (US) – 22 January 2020

When Simone’s album first came out in the US more than ten years ago, I wrote, “To the list of young ones to watch, I’ll add Simone Kopmajer. Write it down. She’s going to be around for a long time.”

And here we are, more than ten albums later. Early on, reviewer Alex Henderson wrote of her “delicate vulnerability.” But Simone now breathes life into those songs that only women who have experienced the textures of time can master.

“I don’t want to call it ‘Best Of,'” she said to me. “What about ‘My Favorite Songs?'”

“Well, you’ve made…how many albums?” I asked. “And they haven’t all been in the US or Europe…”

Simone Kopmajer

“Some were in Thailand and Japan.”

So, I suggested – some of these songs are new to audiences in the US or Europe. “And you know which ones are the best,” I said. ‘My Favorite Songs’ seems appropriate.”

Over the years, Simone has slipped me some of the Asia releases. I’ve been able to watch and listen to her grow as an artist. “I’ve had a lot of luck,” she says, “but I’ve also worked very hard. People have been asking for an album of my best work, and many of those albums are now out of print.” You should still seek out those out of print albums if only to appreciate the full body of Simone’s work, her progression as an artist, and the impressive list of musicians with whom she has surrounded herself.

And with that talented group, Simone stands up new standards from the rock catalog – songs such as John Fogerty’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” and the exquisite originals, “I Dream Of You,” and “Didn’t You Say.” These fit right alongside anything we call “The American Songbook.”

Keep watching Simone Kopmajer. And make room for “My Favorite Songs, Volume Two.”

She’s going to be around for a long time.

This double album is very highly recommended.

Reviews

Hannah Truckenbrod – Nobody Else But Me

Leave a comment

Hannah Truckenbrod – Nobody Else But Me
Released: 15 December 2018

My friend Bill is a vocalist. He performs in clubs all over my area, and once shared billing at the big local venue with a big band and – well, the whole nine yards.

Last weekend, he went to see the Glenn Miller Orchestra perform.

“Was there a girl singer?” I asked.

“Yeah. She was good. Hannah…something.”

I kicked myself for not getting a ticket. I’m a sucker for big bands. I knew they were coming, but the date fell off the calendar. So I went looking for the orchestra, and “Hannah…something.”

Truckenbrod. Hannah Truckenbrod. And she’s better than “good.”

The album contains mostly fresh covers – with a couple of delightful detours down side streets. One of them – “I Can’t See For Lookin'” peaked for a week with “Cashbox” at #24 for Nat King Cole in 1944. It is updated nicely here – with some playful call and response with Hannah’s brother Jake on trombone, in front of a live audience.

I’m also a fan of the title tune, “Nobody Else But Me,” added to the 1946 revival of Broadway’s “Showboat.” Ben Schmidt-Swartz on saxophone provides a nice bridge and frame for Ms. Truckenbrod’s voice – on this, as well as “I’m Putting All Of My Eggs In One Basket,” an Irving Berlin tune first recorded by Frank Astaire with Johnny Green’s Orchestra in 1936.

She writes, “When ‘art’ is selfish, one can argue it isn’t really art at all. The culture of humanity survives because people view art as a gift from someone else unto themselves. We feel understood when we hear a piece of music that resonates with us, or view a work of art that touches us in a way we’ve never contemplated, or when we listen to our bodies asking us to dance because they thirst to exist in a common rhythm. This is why I advocate for the arts; I am advocating for humanity.”

Her gift to us is a pleasant surprise: it sometimes seems the market is crowded with what I call the “beauty pageant” singers. They hit the notes, but tentatively and without a lot of emotion. Ms. Truckenbrod puts it all out there – as if to say, “Here it is, hit it.” And that very confident alto sets her apart from the pack.

Just a year out of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, she now fronts the Glenn Miller Orchestra – and while the lineage between the original Miller band and this one gets a little convoluted, the name can’t help but conjure up others like Paula Kelly and Marion Hutton. That’s not bad company.

And as Major Miller himself might say, “We’ve got a gal from Kalamazoo.”

This album was a pleasant discovery and is very highly recommended.

Website

(Photo by B. DeMaso Photography)

Reviews

Victoria Day

Leave a comment

Victoria Day
Released 7 July 2019

If you go looking for “Victoria Day” on the Internet, you’ll most likely find the Canadian holiday:
“…celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday.”

Keep looking.

Eventually, you discover Victoria Day, the young singer, whose Facebook page says: “I am an 18-year-old vocalist from Middle Georgia that has had the privilege of growing up in one the most musically influential areas in the Southeast.”

And that’s where the fun begins. It’s a debut offering from this Georgia-based singer, now turned 19 – she credits such influences as Otis Redding, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Nicks and Adele on this showcase of her versatile stylings.

The five tracks on this EP include a rendition of the Willie Nelson-penned “Crazy,” and Ms. Day’s channeling of the great Patsy Cline. “My Baby Just Cares For Me” recalls a young Renee Olstead. The offering is rounded out with Chris Stapleton’s “If It Hadn’t Been For Love,” covered by many but mostly remembered by Adele on the “21” album; and with the delightfully swingy “Is You Or Is You Ain’t My Baby.”

That’s four – but the fifth – “Accentuate The Positive,” energized, she says, by the backing of a live big band – is the one that jumps out of the speakers. If she’s to settle on a style, I hope it’s in that groove.

Worth a fiver to hear a young vocalist you’ll likely hear much more of (and about) in the future?

You bet.

You’ll be able to say you’ve been listening all along, and knew she’d make a name for herself.

This EP is highly recommended.

Facebook

(Photo by Fred Carpenter.)

Performances, Reviews

a friday in fullerton: with gina saputo

Leave a comment

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.