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."

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.