Lonesome Thing: Anaïs Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn

Anaïs Reno - Lonesome Thing: Anaïs Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn - Harbinger Records

Listening to this debut album by Anaïs Reno, one is astonished that she was 16 years old. Yet, she sounds as if she was much older. At 16, she has received acclaim for her dedication to jazz and the Great American songbook, having won several awards previously and having performed at Birdland Jazz Club, the Friar's Club, Carnegie Hall, and other locations. This is pretty heady, but she comes from a musical family, her father being a former opera singer (who helped develop her vocal technique), and her mother is a concert violinist. 

Pianist Emmet Cohen leads the backing trio with Russell Hall on bass and Kyle Poole on drums. Tivon Pennicott adds tenor sax to several tracks, and her mother plays on two selections. Cohen and Reno did the musical arrangements. The songs include some of the most familiar songs of the Ellington-Strayhorn songbook. With the Cohen trio providing exquisite support, Reno displays a supple, honey voice, as well as having a wonderful sense of time, clarity of her phrasing, and dynamics. This can be heard from the opening moments of "Caravan" with a delightful Pennicott tenor sax solo to the rousing closing of "Take the 'A' Train," again with more splendid tenor sax as well as Cohen's sublime piano. 

Other songs that stand out include a captivating rendition of "Mood Indigo," where her mother contributes a violin solo that evokes Stephan Grappelli. Reno captures the meaning of the lyrics, such as the longingness expressed in a rendition of "Daydream" and the bluesy feel she provides singing "I'm Just a Lucky So and So." This latter number is one of several showcasing her horn-like scatting. Cohen's accompaniment and solo are particularly gripping, and the preciousness of her performance of "Lush Life." There is also a stunning mashup of "Chelsea Bridge" and " A Flower is a Lonesome Thing." She delivers "Chelsea Bridge" as a wordless vocal" before singing "A Flower" with a touch of gentle melancholy. 

As Will Friedwald writes in liner notes, "At 16, Anaïs achieved what precious few adults accomplish: namely, to actually enhance our appreciation and enjoyment of the Ellington-Strayhorn canon." There is little one could add to Friedwald's concise appreciation of this superb recording. 

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here Anaïs Reno sings "A Flower Is a Lonesome Thing."

Troy Roberts Days Like These

Troy Roberts
Days Like These
Toy Robot Music

Tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts new recording has him playing with two masters with whom he played and recorded with. Roberts currently is a member of organist Joey DeFrancesco's group and appears on some of the organist's recent recordings. Before that he was a member of Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts Quartet for five years, appearing on three of Watts albums. Watts has appeared on two of Roberts' prior recordings. DeFrancesco plays on the first three of the eight songs here. Emmet Cohen plays organ on the remaining five tracks. Cohen and Roberts were in an organ trio together when Cohen was a student at the University of Miami’s Frost School Of Music and Roberts was on the faculty.

This is a wonderful collection of organ trio recordings starting with "“My Girl is Just Enough Woman For Me." With superlative backing, Roberts shows he can play tough and tenor with a big sound in the manner of Gene Ammons, Stanley Turrentine (who recorded this song several times) and Houston Person. This is a swinging number that also showcases their brilliance of DeFrancesco and Watts, both of whom solo. DeFrancesco sets the tone opening the torch song, "Why Was I Born," with Roberts displaying his exquisite ballad playing. Roberts' original "Trams" has appeared on a Grammy Nominated album by Orrin Evans & The Captain Black Big Band of which Roberts is a member. It is an intriguing composition with engaging, driving interplay among the trio, not to mention the unexpected twists and turns in the solos.

Another original, "The Waltz of Parting Days” is constructed around a brooding melody, with Roberts again playing with warmth and clarity as Cohen and Watts complement Roberts playing. Roberts' “Sly Old Dog” is a contrafact of Cole Porter’s “It’s Alright With Me." This is a raucous uptempo burner with Roberts' blistering tenor sax (evoking Johnny Griffin), along with Cohen's spirited organ, and Watts driving percussion. After the relaxed, jaunty "Jack the Sipper," Roberts delights us with the Wayne, Hoffman and Sigler tune “Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day.” This performance again illustrates the warmth he brings to a standard as his velvety playing caresses the melody of this standard.

An uptempo original, “Wizard of Ozroop" enthralls with a gripping performance by Roberts with unexpected and imaginative twists and turns. Troy Roberts is an excellent saxophonist with a big sound who constructs thoughtful, imaginative and passionate solos. He receives superb backing throughout and his session mates provide their own engrossing solos. With the first-rate renditions of rarely performed songs and Roberts originals, listeners need more "Days Like These."

I received a download for review from a publicist. This review appeared in the November-December 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 3387). Here is Troy Roberts performing "Trams."

Ashley Pezzotti We've Only Just Begun

Ashley Pezzotti
We've Only Just Begun
Self-produced

This debut recording by the 23-year-old singer Ashley Pezzotti is one that displays a very intriguing talent. She is backed by Emmet Cohen on piano, Bob Bruya on bass, and Kyle Poole on drums, with Alex Weitz adding tenor saxophone to 7 of the 13 songs on this release. Her intonation, the clarity of her phrasing, her vocal dynamics, and her timing are impeccable, and she is also a wonderful songwriter inspired by the American Songbook.

The opening "It Only Takes a Moment," is taken at a breakneck tempo which she navigates with ease singing the lyrics as well as scatting. The title track is a wonderful original with her handling tempo changes and Weitz adds a wonderful solo while the rhythm section is terrific. There is the Latin spice of another original, "Solo Tú," where she sings in Spanish with another marvelous tenor sax solo and Cohen's exquisite piano solo. Poole also pushes this swinging performance with a deft, light touch.

"That Way" is a sprightly performance with some horn-like scatting, and followed by her lovely ballad, "I Hope You Find Her," another striking lyric as well as vocal. There is plenty of warmth in Weitz's tenor sax that caresses her captivating voice on "September in the Rain," with some sublime scatting, Cohen's fine solo and Weitz's feathery tenor sax solo. Bassist Bruya solos and trades fours with Poole.

There is also her wistful vocal on "Darn That Dream," accompanied only by Cohen, followed by the performance of "Jackie," that is taken at a brisker tempo than Annie Ross' original. Again she delivers the lyrics and scats with clean, swinging precision with the same sympathetic backing as present throughout this recording. It is an exhilarating close to a superb debut of a vocalist we will be hearing more of.

I received a download to review from a publicist. This review appeared in the January-February 2018 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 382), although I have made minor changes. Here is Ashley performing at New York City's Birdland Theater.