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Carla Cook ranks among my favorite contemporary singers...Simply Natural,
is doubly appropriate, reflecting Cook's natural talent while reminding
us that she remains delightfully free of artifice or affectation. With
Cook, there is never a wasted gesture... At last, a jazz singer who truly re-covers the standard waterfronts with
fresh coats of paint. A real presence. A mad-loose straight ahead jazz
diva with a gospel soul, big band heart, classical cool and improvisational
hot. And what a beautiful voice - warm amber-hued contralto. Cook gets
to fulfill all her brass fantasies on Dem Bones. Cook's Dem Bones (***1/2), her follow up to her Grammy-nominated
debut, It's All About Love, draws its material from sources as diverse
as traditional hymns, Duke Ellington and Bobbie Gentry, all while taking
innovative approaches to the songs. The title track features her scatting
over a grooving three-trombone arrangement. And when it comes to programming an album, Cook belies her limited experience
on the topic. Standards, Brazilian tropicalia tunes, and a couple of jazz
classics flow into and out of each other like tributaries of a might river.
Cook herself wrote the delightful title track and a standard-to-be, "A
Lover's Lullaby." Dem Bones has the air of a minor classic
guided by a singer/musician of blossoming ability. As impressive as she sounds on her new album, Dem Bones, she was
even more impressive away from the studio in an airier, more open setting.
What makes her special is the way she meshes musical sensibilities with
the easy forcefulness of her personality. Whatever she took on, she did
so with a lovely sense of control, making judicious sue of her radiant,
crystal clear high notes. She scatted with a richness and range that is
beyond most of her contemporaries. Carla Cook indicates a talent and desire that suggest that Dem Bones,
the follow up to her 1999 Grammy-nominated debut, It's All About Love,
is more than just a high profile affair. In a larger sense, the great
company she keeps also includes the pantheon of great women singers who've
always thought of themselves as members of the band. When the smart trombone
section moves in, we are reminded of what this album is all about: namely,
a singer resting comfortably in the arms of her bandmates, who blow all
around her, supporting her as she offers a unique and inimitable voice. A Detroit native weaned on Motown and gospel, Cook has a hefty, bluesy
timbre, with a honeyed brightness in the upper half of her range. She
phases as naturally as the sun sets and on ballads and down-tempo standards
her blend of sung melody and speech rhythms practically glows; when she
scats, it's not a perfunctory trick but an organic, improvisatory extension
of the written line. Vocalist Carla Cook follows up her 1999 Grammy-nominated album with a
sterling mixed bag of songs that range from bossa nova and bop to funk,
gospel, and even country. To top off the eclecticism, she employs the
trombone trio of Fred Wesley, Craig Harris and Tyrone Jefferson, resulting
in an intoxicating album that is as adventurous as it is accessible. "Cook covers a range of great material on her new recording, Dem
Bones. Among the standouts is the title song, which Cook composed
with three trombones in mind… and her take on the pop tune, Ode to
Billy Joe on which she puts a soulful groove. Throughout the 11 song set,
Cook's distinctive voice is the star. "The fact that singers as gifted as Carla Cook aren't deluged with
gold records is downright criminal. Luckily, we've discovered her. It's
All About Love is bound together by Cook's rich and flexible voice, deliriously
proficient scatting, and a band that cooks too. It's hard do describe
how deeply satisfying are Cook's vocal skills, her tempi and "She has sass that enlivens her impeccable diction, and tremendous
soul that lets her swagger with gutbucket finesse, but it's all buttressed
with sparkling optimism and innocence." "Her debut album 'It's All About Love' was nominated for
a Grammy this year. Cook lost, but the world now knows about the rich
texture of her contralto; her natural feel for the rhythm of bebop, R&B
and Brazil; and the impressive tightrope she walks between improvising
and reading a lyric." "The first of the new MAXJAZZ label singers to breakout, Cook was
nominated for a Grammy this year… Shows great range in music styles,
and bluesy, swinging approach to songs that guarantee music longevity." "This young woman handles the wide range of material with remarkable
ease and good taste. I was especially taken with September Song, a tune
that never made my list of favorites in the past. Carla rendition is superb." "I'm already tempted to call her one of my favorite jazz singers.
Part of Cook's appeal is her reach. She has a real command of every idiom,
not just eclectic taste in material… She folds those elements into
her overall style so that they peek through as delicious accents…
she sings Basie, Rodgers & Hart and Nascimento. But also taps into
the music of her native Detroit and her experience in gospel choirs. Even
if she were to scat on two tunes in a row, I'd still want to hear more
on the third. She's capable of real magic." "It would be difficult to name a contemporary jazz singer with an
instrument as arresting as Cook's rich, warm voice or one with such meticulous
intonation. Her scatting, usually the stumbling block for young singers,
is as inventive and thoughtfully structured as the improvisations of a
master instrumentalist. With her beautiful sound, uncommonly wide range,
razor sharp intonation, and sensitivity to lyrics, Cook is set to emerge
as one of the "There's no doubt about it: Carla Cook's got it. From the opener
of It's All About Love, the vocalist's debut as leader, it's clear
that Cook possesses intuitiveness and seriousness, qualities that set
her apart. She's not merely a singer leading a band, she is part of the
mix and improvisation. Notably, the album earned her a Grammy nomination
for the "Cook's rise to the forefront of young jazz vocalists was signaled
when It's All About Love, the vocalist's debut recording garnered
a Grammy nomination. In her music she uses the same improvisational freedom
as instrumentalists do. In fact, her style is as electric as pianist Jaki
Byard's solos. She rolls up different musical forms, then ties them to
a solid blues sensibility." "She isn't a dewy blond or a postadolescent waif, so Carla Cook
would seem to be facing a rocky path across the current jazz terrain.
But she can sing, really sing." Cook can Cook!" | ||
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