I
want to share a personal secret with you. For a very long time and having
performed with them, I have always had a special affection for exotic dancers,
especially belly dancers. While obviously enticing and visually riveting, what always
adds to the pleasure is the accompanying music: rhythmically intense,
melodically pungent, and perfectly underscoring the undulations.
When I learned by way of her publicist, Holly Cooper, that vocalist/educator/actress/lecturer and dancer, Kay Kostopoulos had toured for 18 years both nationally and internationally as a belly dancer, that made me enjoy her tasteful and engaging most recent album, All This Is Possible all the more. On it, Kostopoulos and her premier team of New York Killer Cats deliver eight impeccably performed, marvelously produced and arranged entries from the GAS, Charlie Parker, and Broadway. It is a recording of depth, subtlety, and artistic uniqueness in which Kostopoulos dazzles.
Lover/Diggin’
for Diz opens the session with a burning retro-bop
take on the classic with Kostopoulos swinging hard and pianist John DiMartino “Monk-ing”
in shrewd accompaniment. The two tenor saxes (Noel Jewkes and Peter Brainin)
revisit Parker’s Diggin’ for Diz. It is very hip entrée. Jay Livingston
and Ray Evans’ Never Let Me Go has Kostopoulos, a vulnerable lover, intimate
and dramatic with fine lyric and dynamic subtlety. Check out the ending of her
phrases as it adds so much heartfelt sadness. This is a shining interpretation
you may not let go. I’m All Smiles, from Broadway’s The Yearling, is
an upbeat waltz with Kostopoulos buoyant and a fine soprano saxophone solo over
an energized rhythmic section. Mad About the Boy, a fascinating take, has Kostopoulos, eros-inebriated,
stating the lyric before launching into song. The vibe here is misterioso with
DiMartino’s upper keys, Sean Conly’s bass, and Vince Cherico’s toms being the
advocates in support of the madness.
Across
this session Kostopoulos demonstrates that she is a top-tier vocalist of significant
versatility, honesty, with substantial musical and theatrical skills. She’s an
enticing instrument throughout her entire vocal range, but when she dives
lower, she is a siren enticing you to your demise. Her pitch sense, time,
and dynamic control are sublime. DiMartino’s accompaniment is always A-1. Both
saxophonists on the recording brilliantly excel. Sean Conly’s bass drives things
and Vince Cherico’s set work is supreme. The production values here are
excellent, by the way.
Bird’s
uniquely complex Segment (a rare minor key excursion for him) has Kostopoulos
tripping us back to the bop era, however this time in a more Night in
Tunisia-like mode. She is dripping in hip, doubling soprano sax as she voices
her original lyrics. DiMartino spins a tasty, yet exotic, ride, as does Peter
Brainin, while Conly and Cherico cook It
is an addictive track that begs looping. Things quiet down with McCoy Tyner’s Search
for Peace(All This Is Possible), here, as was the original, performed a reflective,
textural statement. Kostopoulos, lithely singing Joe Henderson’s played line
and her own lyrics, covers with a sincere wish for same. Jewkes offers a
delicate solo. We re-visit Broadway again with I Enjoy Being A Girl from
The Flower Drum Song. The take here is intentionally exotic via a reharmonization into
minor, finger cymbals, duetted soprano saxes and percussion. It’s quite the fun
track. More Than You Know, another Broadway remnant from the late 1920s
that has been recorded by many, closes the date. Kostopoulos delivers the goods
in a slower, almost rubato take. An intimate rendition with gobs of
sentiment.
While there are no tassels twirling or abdominal ripples here (to my dismay), All This Is Possible is a delectable, seductive performance by a masterful vocal artist and her outstanding crew. Nick Mondello
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