There are a lot of good voices around, whether they’re old or new artists. Some are outstanding: excellent intonation, impressive breath control and perfect execution of notes. But are they able to really give meaning to the songs they sing? Sadly, most of them are mere vocalists. Yes, their voices are pleasing to the ears, but oftentimes their renditions fall short in interpretation. This is truly unfortunate especially if they are singing their own compositions.
To most people, songs are like landmarks of memories. There are songs that evoke sadness or arouse joy in remembered moments. When a singer is able to arouse feelings of happiness or sorrow, and triumph or pain in his listeners, such a singer becomes an extraordinary companion on a musical journey.
It is within this purview that I decided to “audition” several vocal artists using an all-tube (from pre-amp to power amp) audio system. This is the advantage of having an all-tube system. Since it reveals minute sound details that a solid state sound system could not, one can distinguish brilliant singers from the mediocre.
With due respect to those who failed my “audition,” they will not be named. Among the relatively new artists (those whose careers took off no earlier than the 1970s) who passed my criteria are, to name a few: Philippine-born, Hong Kong-based audiophile favorite Jheena Lodwick; the late American vocalist and guitarist Eva Cassidy; American jazz and adult contemporary singer Jane Monheit; Scottish jazz singer Carol Kidd; American jazz singer Stacey Kent; Brazilian bossa nova artist Ana Caram; British-American singer-songwriter-actress Rebecca Pidgeon; American singer-songwriter-actress Christy Baron; Singaporean singer-actress Jacintha, and American jazz singer Tierney Sutton These singers adeptly maintain the fragile balance between the melodic and poetic ideas of both the creator and the writer. They are true artists in the sense that they never make themselves more important than the songs they sing.
CHRISTY
Take Christy Baron’s album “Take This Journey,” for instance, where she gives remarkable justice to her song choices and their treatment. In one of the rare interviews she gave to famed reviewer David Finck, Christy admitted that she feels awkward with what she terms as “weak or lazy writing.” This is when the words and the music are not connected, or where the lyricist has fused a sentence with a musical phrase that distorts the language or forces the singer to accent the wrong syllable of a word. For sure, Christy knows which words in a sentence are the most important, and how they are connected to the musical line. She draws her genius from her expertise in jazz, pop and rhythm and blues.
Hear her rendition of Burt Bacharach-Hal David’s A House Is Not a Home (track 5), and feel the magnificence of the song’s meaning. Feel her mellifluous embrace with Not While I’m Around (track 3) by Stephen Sondheim, and rejoice with her with Garry Bonner-Allan Gordon’s Happy Together (track 1).
ANA
Ana Caram’s voice is light and sensual. She ably complements beautiful, pensive melodies with modest elegance, a rarity in jazz singing. Turn down the lights, and bask in the delightful music that her album “Blue Bossa” will share with you.
Desafinado (track 1), Triste (track 3) and So Timba De Ser Com Voce (track 4) remind us of Astrud Gilberto. Ana is a protégé of world-renowned bossa nova icon Antonio Carlos Jobim. By blending traditional Brazilian rhythms with the sounds of American Jazz Jobim was able to fuse the musical cultures of Brazil and the United States. His greatest contribution to music was combining the samba with the sounds of 1950’s West Coast Jazz. Taking Jobim’s lead, Ana’s “Blue Bosssa” marries the sounds of her native Sao Paolo to the music of Los Angeles.
“Blue Bossa” takes you to a tropical paradise. With Ana’s unforced, soft wind-like vocals, you get the feeling that she’s right beside you, her voice a soft caress in your ears. The album traces the 1960s jazz fusion with a touch of samba and bossa nova. Unsophisticated in instrumentation with very little percussion and guitar, Ana hypnotizes you with her unique style.
Isn’t it great to have vocalists who can make your heart sing, too?
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For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com