Cadence Magazine
Vol. 31 No. 2, February 2005
Apparently a debut recording
for Veronica Nunn. According to her web site, to which I referred
in the absence of substantive liner notes,
she started singing in public at age 9, arrived in New York City right
before her 20th birthday, where while working on a B.A. in Theology,
she found time to sing on the cabaret circuit for six years, eventually
enrolling as a protégé of Big Nick Nicholas through whose
good graces her entry into the great wide world of Jazz was realized.
The timeline given in the site's bio is sketchy, but indicates that
somewhere along the line she spent five years in Switzerland as part
of a duo, singing "Jazz and original tunes of strong R & B
and Rock & Roll origin," as well as playing original material
with a group of her own. Back in New York, she continued to pursue
the Jazz muse, ultimately hooking up with Michael Franks, with whom
she has "toured the world since 1993 (and been) featured on several
of the duets he has written." On this, her "new solo album" (as
her web site describes it), she certainly validates her cabaret credentials,
while earning solid Jazz credits. Though her web site annotator suggests
her voice is "reminiscent of early Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae," I
found her vocal approach to suggest Audra McDonald unleashed, which
is never truer than in the surprising Jazzification of Stephen Sondheim's "Finch" (from "Sweeney
Todd"), which is often treated as if it were simply intended as
a showcase for the resident soprano's vocal virtuosity. Nunn and company
clearly have other ideas and slice neatly through the song's self-mocking
air of melodic hyperbole (perfectly appropriate in the context of the
show) with a healthy rhythmic surge, in the midst of which Kebbi Williams
plays some bristling post-Trane tenor. My bet is that
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Sondheim, himself, would heartily
approve. The opening medley contains more Sondheim, and the intertwining of
Gladys Rich's
lovely "Lullaby" with "Not While" (also from "Sweeney
Todd") comes off as seamlessly as a hand sewn Bendel Bonnet, with
more strong tenoring from Williams as a bonus. Ms. Nunn can swing, as
she demonstrates on "Don't" and "Wonderful," both
featuring even more gritty tenor from Williams, as well as some Fuller-some
slide
from Ron Westray. "Living Room," by Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach,
is a marvelous track, with a succinctly direct vocal attack from Nunn
and a beautifully resolved trombone statement from Westray. Ms. N. sings "Meaning" as
well as it can be sung, but "Porgy" is a slight letdown, in
that she seems to be avoiding the song's inherent pathos, by replacing
the lyric's
edgy desperation with an inappropriate air of rhapsodic serenity. Certainly,
Ms. Nunn is familiar with "Porgy & Bess" and knows what
the song is all about, in terms of Bess' triangular love life predicament. "You
Know" is the singer's own tune, and "Joy" a collaborative
effort with Gerald Niewood. Both indicate that Ms. Nunn is as clear headed
and aesthetically economical in composing and lyric writing as she is
in employing her voice. The resident husband, Travis Shook, accompanies
his
wife on piano throughout and is as empathetically attentive as a soulmate
could possibly be. His percussive solo on "Joy," and his carefully
placed intimations of dissonance on "Meaning" indicate he has
his own distinctive musical story to tell. Jennifer Vincent and Jaz Sawyer
complete a rhythm team that takes each turn of the vocal road crisply
and cleanly. Unmistakably, this is an exceptional debut, even factoring
in
the somewhat flawed reading of "Porgy." It's so good, in fact,
that one is tempted to suggest Nunn quit right now, while she's clearly
ahead. I assume she'll do no such thing, of course, and find myself already
anticipating her next release.
- Alan Bargebuhr
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