Year: 2004
Record Label: MCG Jazz
Style: Jazz Vocals
Musicians: Nancy Wilson (vocals); Phil Woods (alto sax); Paquito D’Rivera (clarinet); Bill Watrous (trombone); Toots Thielemans (harmonica); Joe Negri, Marty Ashby (guitar); Gary Burton (vibraphone); Jay Ashby (percussion, keyboard, background vocals); Ivan Lins (keyboards); George Shearing, Llew Matthews (piano); Dwayne Dolphin (bass); Jamey Haddad (drums); Kim Nazarian (background vocals)
Andrés Cárdenes (violin); Tatjana Mead Charris (viola); David Premo (cello)
The All-Star Big Band: Mike Tomaro (alto sax, clarinet); Andres Boiarsky (alto sax, flute); Andy Snitzer (alto & tenor sax, clarinet); Eric DeFade (tenor sax, flute); Jim Germann (baritone sax, bass clarinet); Jim Hynes, Bob Millikan, Steve Hawk, Dennis Reynolds (trumpet); Mike Davis, Jay Ashby (trombone); Gary Piecka, Max Seigel (bass trombone); Marty Ashby (guitar); Llew Matthews (piano); Rufus Reid (bass); Lewis Nash (drums)
Review: Nancy Wilson, after a long and highly successful career, is at the point where she can record a new album whenever she wants to, book a nightclub engagement whenever she wants to, perform at a jazz festival whenever she wants to, worship when she wants to, collect an award or two when she wants to, collaborate on someone else’s CD when she wants to, spend time with her family when she wants to, call George Shearing or Anita Baker and shoot the breeze when she wants to, take a vacation when she wants to…or do nothing at all. Now that Wilson is ready to hang it all up and retire—or so she hints—she is finally getting her due as one of the influential singers of her generation. A recent issue of Down Beat polled 73 top jazz singers, and whose album appeared at the top of the list as the greatest jazz vocal album? Not Ella’s. Not Carmen’s. Not Billie’s. Not Frank’s. Not Sarah’s. Not Anita’s. Not Betty’s. It was Nancy Wilson And Cannonball Adderley.
And she did it her way, singing the songs that have meaning to her, and avoiding those that don’t. Not worrying about labels or whether the jazz press lionized her or ignored her. She sold records anyway. The people who counted recognized Nancy Wilson’s influence: her peers. Over the years, having been influenced by Little Jimmy Scott and Etta Jones, Wilson went on to influence scores of successive singers. And even those she didn’t influence admired her for her integrity, authenticity of voice and depth of feeling.
Now, Wilson has released, through the auspices of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, a CD of songs that she always wanted to record but never had occasion to do so. They had always been in the back of her mind, just waiting for the right moment. Well, that moment is now.
But…Nancy Wilson never recorded “That’s All” over the course of 67 recordings? Amazing. Reportedly, she wouldn’t have recorded it on R.S.V.P. either, but for Jay Ashby’s arrangement, which stretches out the phrases over reharmonized changed as she sings over Gary Burton’s work on vibes. Other guests show up on the album, offering shifting accompaniment and a variety of tempos and moods over all 12 tracks. There’s Paquito D’Rivera adding soft colors to “How About Me” along with two other clarinetists, and then there’s Bill Watrous going mellow as he backs her up on “You’ll See.”
The back-up vocalists are just important to the success of the CD as well. R&B singer Kenny Lattimore works with her on “Why Did I Choose You,” a song she associates with early Marvin Gaye recordings before his later popularity and unfortunate early demise. On “I Wish I’d Met You” with Pittsburgh guitarist Joe Negri, one-fourth of New York Voices, Kim Nazarian teams with Jay Ashby to sound as if they were New York Voices, with their choir-like harmonies. And then another fourth of New York Voices arranged the next song, “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart,” even though Darmon Meader doesn’t sing on it. Phil Woods does play one of his typically instantly recognizable solos.
Wilson bookends the CD with songs giving unabashed reference to the pleasures of looking back on a life well lived, “An Older Man Is Like An Elegant Wine” (which she performs with Toots Thielemans and Phil Woods, her contemporaries), and “Blame It On My Youth” (with George Shearing). If this really is Nancy Wilson’s last CD before heading into retirement, she has left her fans with a stylish summing-up of her still-intact appeal, for still, her voice is as distinctive and as effective as ever.
Tracks: An Older Man Is Like An Elegant Wine, Day In Day Out, Why Did I Choose You, I Wish I’d Met You, I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart, Goodbye, How About Me, Minds Of Their Own, Little Green Apples, You’ll See, That’s All, Blame It On My Youth
Record Label Website: http://www.mcgjazz.org
Reviewed by:
Don Williamson
Click here for printer-friendly version of review.
Send this page to a friend.
JazzReview.com
