Haunting. In love with Lizz Wright.

Happy Friday!  Let me introduce you to my new fave, Lizz Wright.

How can you lose your song
When you’ve sung it so long
How can you forget your dance
When that dance is all you’ve ever had
It must be true
You can’t separe the two
It’s impossible to do
Just like the salt that’s in the stew
It’s all a part of you
One thing that life can’t do
It can’t take your song from you-

(Album: Lizz Wright  “Salt”)

I fall in love with her since 3 months ago,
her husky voice made her one of the most significant artist in the new age Jazz world;
her performance has never been compromising,
as she is serious about the tune she’s performing,
Lizz Wright, a great undiscovered gem in Jazz world,
I will update more info about her very very soon, real soon.

Another great composition of this wonderful and beautiful singer.

This girl and this song are terrific. I discovered both of them more than four years ago, they still have a  tremedous effect on me.

Em 2005, seguindo uma sugestão da Amazon.com baseada nas minhas compras anteriores, comprei , o CD Lizz Wright, Dreaming While Awake, sem saber nada sobre ela.  Depois que o CD chegou ao Rio de Janeiro, suas músicas preencheran grande parte dos meus dias.  Simplesmente ADOREI!  Aqui está uma delas:

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

- Sept. 16. (Wed.) Dominick Farinacci. The twenty-something Farinacci has been making waves lately as an emerging new trumpet star. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210.

- Sept. 16. (Wed.) Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua and Darek Oles. Listen to this gifted trio of jazz masters in one of their too-rare performances, and you’ll wish that their busy schedules would allow them to play more frequent gigs. Upstairs at Vitello’s.  (818) 769-0905.

- Sept. 16 – 20 (Wed. – Sun.) Viva Mexico Festival L.A. A celebration of the 199th anniversary of Mexican independence via theatre and popular and classical music events, many of them free to the public. Among the musical artists performing at the California Plaza and Hancock Park: Omar Torrez, Oscar Chavez y Los Morales, Kinky, Viola Trigo, Conjunto Hueyapan and Banda Santa Rosa.  Viva Mexico Festival L.A. (213) 368-2728.

- Sept. 17. (Thurs.) Soulive. The jazz/funk/pop/reggae group’s many manifestations now seem to have morphed once again back to an instrumental context. But whatever form they take, they’re always interesting to hear. The El Rey. (323) 936-6400.

- Sept. 18. (Fri.) Kool and the Gang. More than forty years on the scene, the band — performing with two original members, continue to display their winning combination of fun, pop, r&b and soul. The Cerritos Center.  (562) 916-8501.

- Sept. 18. (Fri.) Carol Bach-y-Rita with Sambalicious. A singer with the moves of a dancer and an engaging vocal style, Bach-y-Rita performs with the right group to explore her love of Brazilian music. The Culver Club for Jazz.  (310) 649-1776.

- Sept. 18 & 19. (Fri. & Sat.) The Gipsy Kings. Call it rumba Catalonia, call it rumba flamenca, whatever the label, the surging, rhythm driven guitar sounds and stirring vocals of the Kings continue to be among the great pleasures of world music. The Greek Theatre.  (323) 665-3125.

- Sept. 18 – Oct. 18. Medea (w. Annette Bening). Bening has always been something more than just another pretty film star, and she affirms her dramatic skills in the Euripides classic — UCLA Live’s first theatrical production, directed by Lenka Udovicki. The Freud Playhouse, UCLA. (310) 825-4491

- Sept. 20. (Sun.) “India Calling.” With Malkit Singh, Anoushka Shankar, the Ravi Shankar Centre Ensemble, Kailish Kher’s Kallasa, Rhythm of Rajasthan. An evening jam-packed with an overview of the stunning length and breadth of Indian music and dance. The Hollywood Bowl. (323) 436-2827.

- Sept. 20. (Sun.) Julie Kelly Quartet. Kelly’s love of jazz, combined with her ability to bring new life to old songs, is present in everything she sings. Charlie O’s.  (818) 994-3058.

San Francisco

- Sept. 16 – 18 (Wed. – Fri.) Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Two thirds of Return to Forever return to action. Corea, Clarke and White, however, are a different entity from RTF, producing compelling, more mainstream-oriented, displays of world class contemporary jazz. Yoshi’s Oakland.  (510) 238-9200

- Sept. 19 & 20. (Sat. & Sun.) Lizz Wright. The ever-fascinating Wright, with her warm sound and intimate singing style, will no doubt showcase some material from her most personal album yet, “The Orchard.” Yoshi’s Oakland. (510) 238-9200.

Monterey

- Sept. 18 – 20. (Fri. – Sun.) The Monterey Jazz Festival. Not just the longest-running jazz festival, MJF is arguably — year in and year out — one of the best jazz festivals in the world, bearing the label “Jazz” proudly via its choice of programming. Among this year’s highlights in a remarkably rich line-up — Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Conrad Herwig, Esperanza Spalding, theMJF All-Stars, John Scofield, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Hank Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dave Brubeck, Jason Moran, Chick Corea, Lennie White, Stanley Clarke, Brian Blade, John Patitucci and much, much more. The Monterey Jazz Festival.  (831) 373-3366.

New York

Sept. 15 – 20 (Tues. – Sun.) Ravi Coltrane Quartet. He may be the son of one of jazz’s most iconic saxophonists, but Ravi Coltrane has been emerging lately as a vital innovative artist in his own right. The Village Vanguard.  (212) 255-4037.

Sept. 16 – 20 (Wed – Sun.) Marlena Shaw with Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra. The veteran jazz vocalist gets together with Maricle’s stirring, all-female big band as part of the Fifth Annual Diet Coke Women Inn Jazz Festival. Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.  (212) 258-9595.

Sept. 17 – 20 (Thurs. – Sun.) Richard Bona Group. Cameroonian bassist/singer Bona — whose work with Joe Zawinul, Joni Mitchell and others has established new musical standards of versatility — leads a seven piece band. Hopefully, he’ll introduce a tune or two from his new CD, “The Ten Shades of Blues,” scheduled for release in mid-October. The Jazz Standard. (212) 576-2232.

I’m jealous that my friend Amy got to see them perform in London… I love Lizz Wright.  She, Simone (Nina’s daughter) and Diane Reeves hold it down.  And Diane is feeling it at the end.

The lyrics and the song itself are just heat. The embedding request for the video has been denied by the label but you can still quickly access it by clicking on the link within the notice. You will then be redirected to the great video on Youtube for this one.

“Just like salt in the stew, they can’t take your song from you… because it’s all a part of you.” – from “Salt” by Lizz Wright.

If you’ve never listened to Lizz Wright, you don’t know what you’re missing.

I know it’s early, but for Christmas, Santa Baby, can you please bring me this coat?

- Item compliments of Katy Kane Vintage and Couture Clothing at http://www.katykane.com/cd16034.htm

If I had all the money in the world, a nice chunk of it would be spent on vintage items like this! Finish off with a pair of cream, wool cigarette pants, kitten heels and clutch and you’re set. The updo of course is a given.

- Item compliments of Katy Kane Vintage and Couture Clothing at http://www.katykane.com/f14035.htm

I remember the first time I saw the video of Al Green performing this song many years ago and I thought to myself why have I never heard this jewel? All of us know Al Green’s classics — Love and Happiness, Let’s Stay Together, Sha La La La — the list is far too long for a blog. But somehow, this one got by me for a minute.

Al had me hooked with the first words he uttered, “if I gave you my love…”

“Simply Beautiful” is so sensual and romantic, written in a time when love songs were LOVE songs. The lyrics are just too good NOT to post:

If I gave you my love,
I tell you what I’d do
I’d expect a whole lotta love out of you.

You gotta be good to me
I’m gonna be good to you
There’s a whole lot of things you and I
Could do.

Simply beautiful.

What about the way you love me
And the way you squeeze me.

Simply beautiful.

And you get right down it
And the love is getting you through it.

Definitely, Mr. Green, Simply Beautiful.

El periódico español El País dedicó hace un par de meses un excelente artículo para hablar de las divas del jazz, las más conocidas, las que se mantienen en la sombra. Recomiendo que lo lean. Pero además de eso, recomienda cinco discos de cinco grandes artistas para sumergirse en el jazz femenino actual. Estos son los discos que aqui también reseñamos.

- Madeleine Peyroux. Dreamland (1996) Sería discutible decir si este es el mejor disco de esta artista, que nos ha ofrecido cada vez algo distinto. La cantante estadounidense tiene eso que hace sentirte como en casa.

- Norah Jones. Come Away With Me (2002) Ni qué decir hace falta que esta mujer arrasó literalmente con este disco. Ventas millonarias y ocho Grammys fue lo que se llevó.

- Lizz Wright. Salt (2003) Destaca por su poderosa voz. Tiene un toque que recuerda la pasión que ponía Nina Simone a la música.

- Diana Krall. Quite Nights (2009) La elegancia por excelencia. Esta vez, Diana Krall nos trae los sonidos que recogió en sus viajes a Brasil, versionando a algunos de los grandes de la música de Brasil. Por cierto, Diana Krall adora Brasil, y eso se nota.

- Esperanza Spalding. Esperanza (2008) Dicen que tiene un gran talento musical, y es que además de regalar su voz, también es bajista. Tan sólo tiene 23 años, y puede ser una gran promesa.

¿Con quién se quedarían?

SugahMama

In America, we’re slipping into a deeply troubling place.

President Obama, remain strong and vigilant in your desire to unite a deeply divided country.  We’re still much farther apart than you may have imagined but I have unwavering faith in you and all that you are trying to do for all of us regardless of race, creed, color, gender or any of the other things that really don’t matter at the end of the day.

Lizz Wright is flawless anyway, but this is my favorite performance of her rendition of Old Man.  From AVO Sessions in Basel, 2005.

It’s no secret that I come from a classical voice background.  Growing up, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline and Carmen McRae were my first singers, but I grew up in Wasilla, Alaska (cue the obligatory Sarah Palin questions.  For the record, I didn’t/don’t know her and don’t care to).  To say there wasn’t exactly a flourishing jazz community in Wasilla is akin to saying it got a little chilly come December.

So classical study it was.  I logged countless hours in children’s choir, private voice lessons and competitions, and was even a soloist with the Anchorage Opera.  I went to college to study classical voice and was completely miserable.  One day my voice teacher said to me, “You can make it to any jazz show that comes to town; why won’t you get yourself to the opera once in a while?!”  The light came on, and I moved away from classical and toward jazz for the better part of ten years.

The road not taken...

I resumed serious classical study when I moved to New York City, mostly because I had suffered a vocal injury and wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.  I also resumed classical singing because I wanted to finish my college degree, which had been hanging over my head for a long time.  I did finish the voice degree and had the chance to sing the lead in a Monteverdi opera and the soprano solo in a Vaughan Williams piece (backed by 80-voice choir and full orchestra).  

As Poppea in Monteverdi's "L'Incoronazione di Poppea"

By the time I muscled my way through my senior recital, it was abundantly clear to me that a career in opera just wasn’t for me.  

My reasons for not pursuing a classical voice career are myriad and will probably show up in a future posting, so the question arises: if I knew at 18 years old that I didn’t want to be an opera singer, why did I keep circling back again and again to study classical voice?  

Simple: I’m a technique junkie.  I love the mechanics of how the voice works.  I love the way that a simple adjustment to the breath or vowel can transform a phrase.  I am endlessly fascinated by all the vocal colors and textures available to a singer when she really knows her instrument and how to use it.  It drives me crazy that, outside of classical music, talking about vocal technique on its own terms almost never happens.

Disclaimer: this is where my wee rant begins.  Contemporary singers these days tend to fall into one of two categories: melismatic, chest-voice-pulled-up-over-the-rafters belting, or a wispy, precious, overly aerated sound that is often characterized as “ethereal” but can more accurately be described as “unsupported.”  I’ll leave the melismatic belters alone for now because, frankly, I don’t really care about the American Idol contenders.

But I’m really sick of listening to this never-ending succession of female singers who sound like little girls, whispering breathy intimations into the mic with absolutely no core, nothing to anchor their sound.  It’s lazy, it’s disingenuous, and–forgive me–it’s really fucking boring. Feather-light, head voice-dominated cooing is a fabulous color to have on your vocal palette, but if it’s the foundation of your sound, there’s nowhere to go!  

Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying that everyone needs to go study opera (shudder).  But how about singing with some backbone, ladies? (Caveat: there are singers who actually have ethereal, airy voices, and they inhabit their voices beautifully, with presence and resonance. Those aren’t the singers I’m referring to, here.)

Anyway, with all that in mind, here’s my glowing endorsement: Lizz Wright, you are doing some serious 360-degree singing.

The lovely and amazing Lizz Wright

Lizz Wright               The Orchard, 2008               12 tracks, 52:27 in length

Genre: Pop

 With the exception of seeing this album in front of the register at an unnamed coffee chain, I had no previous exposure to this artist, but I have to say I am impressed. That may be understating it.

This woman has a voice that would humble any who would make the challenge. Her songs exude a contagious sensuality that negates any distraction. Blending sounds from around the world, she makes them entirely her own, and I can’t help but be awed, jealous, and inspired all at once.

Had it been possible, I would have performed this album in my bedroom mirror fifteen years ago, pretend microphone and all. I’ll settle for my shower solos now, though.

Would I listen to this album again?

Without a doubt.

Would I spend money on this album?

Absolutely.

Will I add any songs to my collection?

Yes, track 2 “My Heart,” track 7 “Leave Me Standing Alone”