Carol Welsman. JOURNEY. Justin Time Records.
Carol sings straight, no vibrato in a husky whisper. Her songs come across without strain, the stories clear, the approach more classy than sassy. The setlist is classics, mostly: the 1946 Bob Troup hit”Route 66,”(covered variously by Nat King Cole Trio, Perry Como, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones; Willie Nelson’s “On the Road again;” “You Came a Long Way from St. Louis (1948); Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”. Carol does a good job with French lyrics and sings passably in Portuguese. This is a concept album–all songs about being on the road–and the concept works, holds the attention as Carol runs her variations on that theme. Journey is Carol’s eighth album, and if “you think you maybe trust her, you’d be right. Her arrangements are impeccable, her backup is pro:Marc Rogers—bass; Jimmy Brandy—drums &percussion; Pierre Cote—guitars; Ron Di Lauro—trumpet. Look for Journey to be released in April, 2012.
Halie Loren. HEART FIRST. Justin Time Records.
Halie, singing the same old songs casts a different kind of spell, kind of like Cassandra Wilson can do. Hers is a voice of many colours. Halie can do the breathy femme flourish, but among the whispers in Halie’s emotional arsenal there are groans, sighs, and seductive achey moans . She shifts her vocal textures to break up expected phrasings so the standards she sings sometimes come out funky, psychedelic or reggae or blue ,while other arrangements she just swings or gives them a bit of a bounce. She is a lively thang. Her band has solid piano—Halie and her co-producer, Matt Treder, with exotic effects entering the tracks from harmonica—Hank Shreve, accordion (getting in the French chansonette flavour)—Sergei Teleshev, guitars, trumpet. The setlist includes tunes by Neil Young, Charlie Chaplin, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, and Halie Loren—in for four including the title tune. Her own music has a healing vibe. I walked with Heart First for an hour last night and had a good time.
Kenny Werner. ME, MYSELF, & I. Justin Time Records.
Kenny Werner, solo at the piano and unaccountably in the mood to just play his heart out, recorded as an afterthought, live in a bar at the 2011 Montreal Jazz Festival, has on offer here some of the best playing he has ever done. Monk’s “Round Midnight” is right— all frags and snatches and quirky angles. Kenny’s own tune “Balloons,” wild figurations over an obstinate 2-note bass motif, conjures a poetic mood amid the subdued clink of cutlery, rattle of glassware.” All the Things You Are” (Hammerstein/Kern) is done on the subtle with a sea-shell delicacy. Miles Davis’ “Blue and Green” starts out lacy, develops a deep sensitivity, the feeling of a prolonged conversation with the blues, before it veers away from heartbreak and swings into a more intellectual mood. Joni Mitchell’s “I Had a King” gets a teasingly clear treatment. Kenny plays with the irresistible melody, extending it into semi-oriental, Hebraic modalities. In Thad Jones’s “A Child Is Born”, Kenny’s penchant for discord comes out—his touch goes glassy, gets weird, wired, whistling overtones going, which are very fun. If you can dig the mood of a smart and funny dude, Me, Myself & I is a record for you.
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