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Lizzie Thomas - New Sounds From the Jazz Age - Jan 24th 2020 Vocalist and musician Lizzie Thomas came to jazz when she realized that it is a purely American art form: It’s steeped in tradition and allows for endless innovation. “I can call a tune for the rest of my life, and I will never sing it the same way. That’s freedom, ” she says, “that’s provocative - that’s jazz.” She studied classical piano at age 8, clarinet at 10 before her voice was discovered at 12. Ms. Thomas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance with graduate studies in Music Education from Belmont University in Nashville, TN, where she honed her craft under the celebrated Sandra Dudley. With Dudley, she found her highly personal musical expression with jazz and the American Songbook. It wasn’t hard to fall under the spell of jazz. Ms. Thomas says, “I fell in love with the improvisational spirit of jazz and the emotions proclaimed and evoked.” Diving into the work of the masters led her to realize that “Ella (Fitzgerald) makes me smile, Billie (Holiday) keeps me honest, and Cole Porter keeps me intrigued.” She then moved to New York City, where she has won high praise working with many, including Russell Malone, Jay Leonhart, Xavier Davis, Alvester Garnett, Michael Kanan, Ron Affif, Frank Lacy, Antoine Drye, Pasquale Grasso, and John Colianni. Ms. Thomas has captivated audiences with her performances in clubs, restaurants, private parties, and the NYC lounge scene. She has also held down a monthly residency at 90 Thompson St in Soho, New York City, for nine years. Lizzie has produced three albums; More Than You Know (2010), Easy to Love (2013), and a timeless holiday offering Santa Baby (2014). Ms. Thomas will celebrate 2020 with the release of her ambitious fourth album, New Sounds from the Jazz Age. It is an innovative interpretation of nine classic standards from the American Songbook. Ms. Thomas lends her formidable musicianship to tackling the demanding tempos in the music - from charts performed at breakneck speeds such as George Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm, ” to the slow-burning indigo blue “Close your Eyes, ” and the ever-changing keys and moods found in “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” and “Cheek To Cheek.” The whole album swings with innovative arrangements and heartfelt lyricism. On New Sounds from the Jazz Age Ms. Thomas does a marvelous job of bringing out new adventurous facets of the songs we know and love. The album opens with “Fascinating Rhythm, ” one of two songs on which the incomparable clarinetist Felix Peikli joins Ms. Thomas. Here the vocalist introduces the song with unexpected rhythm followed by smoky vocals that bring tingles to the spine. She then moves so quickly into the lyrics, you’re left wondering, “What just happened?” The album’s joyousness continues with an intoxicating version of “Our Love is Here to Stay” which begins with a brief intimate solo played by Russell Malone. The arrangement is gorgeously fluid, with the sweet and effortless voice of Ms. Thomas leading the rest of the ensemble into a beguiling version of the song. “I Didn’t Know About You, ” a riveting, lesser-known Ellington song, also features the magical work of Russell Malone and introduces Omar Daniels on tenor sax. Ms. Thomas shows her musical prowess by making the music bridge the space between the singer and the listener. “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” opens with a Rock-N-Roll riff on Sinatra’s “To Go Traveling” as Ms. Thomas brings the heart of the Porter tune seductively into the palm of your hand with a sultry voice. “In the Still Of The Night” begins with a Latin groove before the rhythmic line alternates with a gently swinging tempo. Ms. Thomas’ voice pierces the song’s darkness in all its pristine beauty. Her instrument is gorgeous, lustrous, and fierce as she digs into the meaning of each word in the lyric. Antonio Carlos Jobim’s classic chart, “One Note Samba” is, perhaps the biggest surprise, while maintaining the shuffling samba beat, Ms. Thomas swings her way through it with magical rhythmic control as she re-invents Jobim’s carefree lyric turning it into something brilliant and vivid. On many of the songs, Ms. Thomas lets her unique sense of drama shine. “Cheek To Cheek” is one such song. By bridging mid-tempo choruses with a kind of operatic aria, she unfolds a sensitive yet stirring setting of the lyric by enunciating it in equal measures of angelic purity and commanding vocal presence. “Close Your Eyes” brings back Felix Peikli, and Ms. Thomas responds to the clarinet, by weaving her melodious voice with its distinctive sound. The album closes with a heartfelt version of “The Very Thought Of You” cast in the sensuality of an Afro-Caribbean rhythm, Ms. Thomas brings spontaneity to the portrayal of the character in the song infusing it with an unmatched freshness. The album New Sounds from the Jazz Age is significant because it recognizes and builds on the wonderful reality of the traditional songs found in the American Songbook. What we hear is a uniquely beautiful and provocative new sound. Secondly, Ms. Thomas selects the repertoire, which explicitly expresses her sense of the most authentic combination of lyric and musicality. She then enlists Colianni to carry her vision in the arrangements and through the musical direction in the studio. Mr. Colianni’s arrangements celebrate Ms. Thomas’ ability to vocalize on racing tempos, effortlessly pivot between styles and key changes, and dig deep into the rich complexities of Ellington, Porter, and Gershwin. Ms. Thomas and Mr. Colianni are joined on this date by renowned bassist Jay Leonhart, who also shares the bass chair with Boots Maleson. Russell Malone and Matt Chertkoff share guitar duties. Bernard Linette occupies the drum chair, while percussion colorist Doug Hendrichs bolsters the rhythm section. Noteworthy is a miracle of sound engineering brought off by one of NYC’s best - Peter Karl, who created an intimate and authentic ambiance of an early jazz club by placing all of the musicians within touching distance of one another in a single room to create the dynamic sound of a “live” recording. The result, New Sounds from the Jazz Age is an album that music lovers and jazz aficionados will listen to over and over again. PLAYERS & INSTRUMENT: Lizzie Thomas vocals John Colianni piano Jay Leonhart bass (2, 3, 4, 6) Boots Maleson bass (1, 5, 7, 8, 9) Russell Malone guitar (2, 3, 4) appears courtesy of HighNote Matt Chertkoff guitar (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) Omar Daniels tenor sax, flute Felix Peikli clarinet (1, 8) Bernard Linette drums Doug Hendrichs percussion TRACKS AND TIMES: 1: Fascinating Rhythm 3:08 2: Our Love is Here To Stay 3:47 3: I Didn’t Know About You 4:49 4: You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To 2:44 5: In the Still Of The Night 4:29 6: One Note Samba 2:11 7: Cheek To Cheek 4:22 8: Close Your Eyes 3:48 9: The Very Thought Of You 5:18 |
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