(Reprinted from the May 2024 issue of New York City Jazz Record)
Singer-songwriter Norah Jones titled her newest LP Visions after those bouncing, hypnogogic impressions that thwart sleep. This studio album, her ninth for Blue Note, rides on the insistent pop-rock grooves of drummer Leon Michaels, who co-produced and engineered the record. But its appeal derives from Jones’ dream-inspired musical imaginings.
Jones opens the disc with “All This Time”, a sultry slow-tempo that boasts a beseeching, neo-soul chorus. Jones not only provides the tune’s candy-sweet vocals but their harmonic backing as well; she plays some combination of guitar, piano, organ and keyboards on each of the album’s 12 tracks. The close rapport with Michaels in this comping effort lends a casual warmth to the tunes: it’s easy to imagine Jones and Michaels as just a couple of garage band buddies crafting a major release in their spare time.
The opener’s vamping outro fades into bird calls, a reminder of the dawn that dispels the phantasms of the night. In a reverse move, Jones introduces “On My Way” with this same chirping effect and some off-key whistling—it’s a happy device that heralds the tune’s simple construct. Such simplicity is deceptive, however, as the bridge delves into darker changes and the psychological complexity of the lyrics.
Jones uses this same contradictory simplicity throughout the album to deliver her sympathetic messages: a buoyantly retro rhythm guitar on “Staring at the Wall” that challenges her lament about getting through the night. A strong, hopeful hook that offsets the country blues of “Queen of the Sea”. And a clean horn section reprisal of the head on the bittersweet title track. As always, Jones’ raspy vocals charm completely, especially on tunes like the soul-steeped “I’m Awake” and the longing-filled “Swept Up In The Night”. Jones’ Visions tour takes her to several New York spots: The Capitol Theater in Port Chester (May 10), Brooklyn Paramount (May 16-17) and the Apollo Theater (May 19).
Singer/composer Andrea Wolper tackles every note on Wanderlust (Moonflower Music), her fourth album as a leader, with an infectious confidence. She devotes nearly half of the album—her first in 13 years—to jazz covers of known tunes, like Ray Charles’ “Light Out Of Darkness”, tinged with spot-on vocal blues interjections; Abbey Lincoln’s “Music Is The Magic” as a seductive turn; and Carole King’s “Been To Canaan”, surprisingly intense in the mid-tempo range. But it’s Wolper’s own writing on seven originals that distinguishes this album (aptly titled “for her peregrinations down the byways of improvisatory vocal jazz,” she writes). Just listen to her wordless vocals on the baião air “Sobe e Desce”, the thinly veiled pathos on “Still Life”, the elevating free vocal solos on “The Nature of Life” and the swinging lilt of “The Winter of Our Content.” Wolper releases the CD at Pangea (May 22), and you can catch her before that at Northsquare Lounge (May 5).
Bassist/composer Meshell Ndegeocello follows last year’s smashing success, Blue Note’s The Omnichord Real Book, with Red Hot + Ra: The Magic City, a self-produced paean to avant gardist Sun Ra. Though wholly Ndgeocello’s creations, these nine experimental jazz originals derive from Sun Ra’s “ideas, words and melodies”, Ndgeocello says. Using a variety of tools—like sampled spoken word (“El-soul The Companion, Traveler”), ghostly choral sections (“Solipsistic Panacea (Black Antiques)”) and pointed lyrics (“Bedlam Blues”)—Ndgeocello again renders sound designs of tremendous ingenuity. Like Sun Ra, she imparts wisdom through auditory images of surprising relevance.
The Jazz Gallery will grant a Lifetime Achievement Award to singer Dianne Reeves at its annual gala (May 13), before she joins the esteemed pianist Chucho Valdes and sax master Joe Lovano at the 92nd Street Y (May 16). Next, the vocal “super group” MOSS, featuring Theo Bleckmann, Peter Eldridge, Jo Lawry, Kate McGarry and Lauren Kinhan, brings its “unique sonic art” to Joe’s Pub (May 26). Then, Teri Roiger offers her tribute to Abbey Lincoln at Zinc (May 28).
Finally, in an exciting batch of gigs, free-spirited vocal artist Fay Victor sings in Benefit for Gaza at Nublu (May 4); plays Roulette Intermedium with International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and Prism (May 16); and joins ICE and Either/Or in co-presenting works by Talib Rasul Hakim, co-founder of the Society of Black Composer, at Bruno Walter Auditorium (May 18).