NOTE:
Audio files are REAL AUDIO and are imbedded in liner notes
Track Listing (See Liner notes below for audio samples):
1) Summertime Prelude/Summertime; 2) Lil’’ Darlin; 3) All Directions; 4) Today; 5) (Back To The) Red Clay; 6) Cry Me A River; 7) Choices; 8) Humdrum Blues; 9) Things We Said Today; 10) An Elegant Tale; 11) Like A Wind.
Personnel: (Collective personnel:)
Kaylé Brecher, vocals, percussion;
Tony Miceli, vibes; Frank Butrey, guitar; Harry Salloti, tuba; David Dzubinski, Michael Louis Frank, piano; Howie Thompson, Micah Jones, Vince Fay, Chico Huff, bass; Edgardo Cintron, Armen Halburian, percussion; Bill Jones, Grant MacAvoy, Tom Poitras, drums.
Kaylé Brecher's 'Urban Objects'
Kaylé Brecher continues to impress as a top notch vocalist and composer-arranger. She's impressive singing everything from ballads to up tempo swingers. Kaylé is an exceptional stylist who can dramatize, personalize and bring to life lyrics, as well as scatting inventively and fluently. And check out her ingenious, economical charts; she gets a lot of music from a handful of instrumentalists, and quite proficient instrumentalists, by the way. Among the impressive soloists is guitarist Frank Butrey, vibist Tony Miceli and pianists David Dzubinski and Michael Frank.
Brecher deserves a great deal of credit for putting this CD together so
intelligently. Her excellent singing, of course, contributes much to its
success, but the thought and work she's put into making each track distinctive
and memorable, her fresh arrangements and compositions and astute selection of
musicians should be recognized as well.
The
Tunes:
On Summertime Kaylé artfully
demonstrates a variety of abilities. The rubato prelude section features her
sultry vocal work, followed by a bass vamp leading to a swinging up tempo
section during which she turns in energetic wordless, hornlike improvisation
with her own distinct flair.
Li'l
Darlin turns up one of the more unusual duos you're likely to hear,
The infectious All Directions, an original Brecher composition, has a stop and start, almost mixed meter quality, and is a vehicle not only for her, but the inventive Butrey. This is a group performance, something Brecher consistently strives for - not just a singer and accompaniment - with drummer Poitras and bassist Thompson completing the ensemble for this compelling track.
Much of the Jefferson Airplane's Today is a vibes-vocal duet, which almost seems to have the quality of a gentle English folk-song. But the interplay here takes it to another level. Percussion is added by Brecher and Armen Halburian when Kaylé begins to scat, and the solo section becomes a wonderful sweet-edged improvisational intertwining between Miceli and Brecher which also takes on the feeling of mixed meters.
Chico Huff's fine bass breaks open up the theme statement on (Back to the) Red Clay. In this Freddie Hubbard tune with Kaylé's lyric, Kaylé spaces out the head and directs the rhythm section in a setting reminiscent of Weather Report. On this track and on Choices, a Brecher composition with an Afro-Cuban feel, the rhythm section work gets relatively complex, with percussionist Edgardo Cintron joining the band on both tunes, and Brecher adding extra percussion on Choices. During these two tunes Kaylé sings engagingly, and she solos with strength and flexibility on (Back to the) Red Clay. Also woven in are very fine solos by Miceli, a solid modern player, on (Back to the) Red Clay; Butrey, note his subtle use of distortion and note bending on Choices; Dzubinski, who provides the perfect touch, and sensitive contrast to Butrey's intensity on Choices.
There is still another duet on Cry Me a River, with Brecher contributing sensuous singing and dramatic use of silence, and Butrey working subtly with her. It has a mood similar to the Julie London version, but Kaylé, a distinctive stylist, definitely makes it her own.
On Humdrum
Blues Kaylé pays tribute to Sheila Jordan. Sheila recorded this tune on
her debut album many years ago. and here Brecher takes that same arrangement,
embellishes it with more instruments, a slightly altered mood, and adds her own
personality. The result is a treat.
An Elegant Tale
is a delightful and intelligent Brecher composition in which she has infused
into the drum set traditional West African rhythms interspersed with straight out
swing sections. Drummer Bill Jones executes all this with impeccable energy. All
the other percussion on this tune is played by Brecher, and note the excellent
diction of her singing and her sophisticated lyrics.
Things We Said Today
is taken at
a slow, deliberate pace, as drummer Tom Poitras employs an R&B style.
Brecher's singing has a supple bluesy quality while retaining its delicacy.
Pianist Dzubinski and guitarist Butrey frame her singing with freely interwoven
lines and playful interaction.
The CD ends impressively with Like a
Wind, by Boston composer Darrell Katz, who excerpted the lyrics from
Sherwood Anderson's Winesberg, Ohio. Kaylé's treatment of this tune, presents
another unique lineup: tuba, voice and acoustic guitar (Butrey). Brecher is warm
and personal, and Butrey's playing has a Bach-like quality.
Or purchase 'Urban Objects' CD at:
READ REVIEW: AllAboutJazz.com
Discography/More Audio Samples
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