Jackie Ryan, vocals – Doozy – OpenArt Productions OA 07262 (2 CDs for price of 1) [www.OpenArtProductions.com] *****:
(Jackie Ryan, vocals; Cyrus Chestnut, piano; Eric Alexander, sax; Jeremy Pelt, trumpet/Flugelhorn; Carl Allen, drums; Ray Drummond, bass; Neal Smith, drums; Dezron Douglas, bass; Romero Lubambo, guitar)
None of us writing jazz reviews for this publication are especially enamored of vocalists, preferring the instrumental side of jazz. It takes a very special vocalist to interest me, and Jackie Ryan is one. Her outstanding voice has been praised by many writers as encompassing elements of Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Ella and Diana Krall. On this double album she gaves us 20 completely varied and spectacular tracks, chosen with the intelligence of a real jazz authority – the writers include Billy Strayhorn, Alec Wilder, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Oscar Brown Jr. She does three of Jobim‘s songs in what sounds like perfect Portuguese (like Karin Allyson), plus another song in Spanish. And it’s great to see Jackie selecting two tunes by the late Oscar Brown Jr., who so richly deserves more attention for his genius.
Jackie – who seems to be based in Mill Valley, California – assembled some of the top players on both the East and West coasts and had two separate recording sessions, of which the East session produced the most tracks on the two CDs. At the same time it was being put together, her previous album – You and the Night and the Music – reached No. 1 nationwide on Jazzweek’s chart and remained there for 8 1/2 months. Jackie even wrote her own vocalese lyrics to a Benny Carter tune for the opening track and the title tune of the album. In addition to introducing her versatile and swinging voice, it afford plenty of room for impressive solos from hot pianist Cyrus Chestnut, saxist Eric Alexander and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. Cyrus and Jeremy return for great solos on Oscar Brown’s Dat Dere (but why don’t any vocalists pronounce it “elepunt” as in the original child’s lyric, instead of correcting it to “elephant?”) The entire program is a real tour de force; no danger of boredom listening to both discs in succession!
The album is packed with color photos of the various performers in both the 24-page booklet and the three-fold digipack, and the nesting of the two CDs in it is easier to access than any double-CD album I have seen before. The sonics are excellent thruout. Another winner for Jackie!
TrackList =
Disc: 1
1. Doozy
2. You’ll See
3. Caminhos Cruzados
4. Do Something
5. With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair
6. Speak Low
7. I Must Have That Man
8. Dat Dere
9. Beautiful Moons Ago
10. My How the Time Goes By
Disc: 2
1. Opportunity Please Knock
2. I Haven’t Got Anything Better to Do
3. Brigas Nunca Mas/A Felicidade
4. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
5. Solamente una Vez
6. Summer Serenade
7. Get Rid of Monday
8. Midnight Sun
9. Tell Me More and More and Then Some
10. Some Other Time
– John Henry
