I notice Lady Blackbird getting a lot of love in the new edition of Jazzwise (the one with Charles Lloyd on the cover) as she’s on at the Love Supreme festival at glistening Glyne in Sussex, so I thought I’d dig out this album and give it another listen. Actually, it didn’t take much digging as it’s lived in a pile next to the CD player since I bought it last year.
When I first heard of the lady I
thought she was another one of those stunningly attractive singers with nothing
original to say and a sound that copies more than it innovates. (I’d previously
put Kandace Springs into that category and I was wrong about her as well).
Usually such performers have a huge supporting cast of designers, make-up
artists, frocktologists, synthesiser and bass players and a never ending list
of ‘thanks to’s’ on the album sleeve. There’s usually a Svengali involved as
producer, arranger, songwriter, master of ceremonies and musical director.
Next step was to file all of
those prejudices, show some respect and just listen to the music, which is
stripped down soul/ jazz (more jazz than soul) and is topped off with a voice
that roams around that area on the spectrum where the works of Nina Simone or
Cassandra Wilson can be found. There are some well-chosen covers such as Blackbird from Nina Simone, an unusual
cover in the James Gang/Joe Walsh tune Collage,
and a beautiful adaptation of Peace
Piece, the finest example of Bill Evans at his most elegantly fragile (here
under the title of Fix It).
As with Cassandra Wilson on her
album Blue Light ‘Til Dawn the
instrumentation here is sparse and used to frame Lady Blackbird’s voice. At
times, when her contribution to the song is complete, the band play on, usually
delicately, retaining the mood, not starting any fires. That’s not to say that
this is easy listening. The lady wails, beseeches, and on Fix It, caresses the tune a simple two note motif with flourishes
from Johnson over a solid bass performance from Flaugher. A tune to close your
eyes and fall into; a delicate, nocturne of great beauty. Ruler of my Heart, which follows, is spring reborn, an invitation to a dance with an extended coda
by piano and bass again. Nobody’s
Sweetheart opens with producer Chris Seefried’s electric guitar and is probably
the most ‘Cassandra Wilson-ish’ performance on the album. Trombone Shorty’s
trumpet solo is the purest blues.
If you want a torch song then I
direct you to Five Feet Tall which
even starts ‘Torch my heart, burn my soul’ in case you missed the point. As
you’d expect it’s all late nights, Gauloise smoke floating up from an ashtray, loosened
ties, a Club after dark with only a single spotlight still shining onto the
stage. (NB: Don’t smoke, kids. It’s not cool). Mind you, life doesn’t seem any
happier in Lost and Looking (‘I’m
lost and a looking for my baby and I’m wondering where my baby can be found…..
Lord knows my baby ain’t around’).
The title track closes the album.
We have rolling drums, bowed bass and piano and mellotron flourishes and choral
multi-tracked vocals building to a climax and then a snap finish. It’s a band
co-write along with Seefried and is unlike anything else on the album, but it
works as a statement of intent.
Going back to my previously outlined prejudices, there is always a concern that the jazz police will find nothing of interest at all, in fact nothing to even keep them awake on duty. Often the target is large sales to be found somewhere around the lowest common denominator with no horses scared in the process. This album isn’t like that. The stripped back arrangements constantly force you to acknowledge the emotion in the singing and the character behind the voice. I find it hard to believe that she will do another album like this but wherever she goes, she will, I think, be worth following. Dave Sayer.
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