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| Vocalist Nicolas Bearde’s 5th Solo Album  Nicolas Bearde, originally from Nashville, TN is a San Francisco Bay Area treasure who has long been recognized as a charismatic and versatile performer and a distinctive jazz and soul stylist.While Bearde has drawn on his love for both R&B and jazz on his previous four CDs, on Invitation, the singer's fifth release on the Right Groove Records label, he comes out swinging with both feet firmly planted in the straight-ahead jazz milieu. Invitation was released on January 29th, 2016 and was produced largely by renowned pianist/arranger Nat Adderley Jr. - who spent nearly 20 years as music director for Luther Vandross and who grew up in the musical family of Nat Sr. and uncle Cannonball. Reviewer Christopher Loudon, in the March 2016 issue of Jazz Times, says, "Nat's pop sensibility invades all nine tracks; the arrangements are consistently silken, with occasional punchiness courtesy of Vincent Herring on alto sax. Across a stellar spectrum of standards – such gems as "Dindi", 'Lush Life", "Nature Boy", "Save Your Love for Me", Eckstine's satiny, "I Want to Talk About You" and the cunningly noir-ish title track, Invitation, Bearde's interpretations are as affecting as they are elegant." The relaxed phrasing and depth of feeling that Bearde brings to these standards including his choice of a rarely heard vocal version of Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" (with pianist Peter Horvath and Bearde as producers) place him in the tradition of such deep-voiced greats as, Billy Eckstine, Arthur Prysock, John Hartman, Lou Rawls and Jon Lucien. Connoisseurs of fine jazz singing will be thankful to hear Bearde in the uncompromising context of Invitation – his next CD release performance will be at Café Stritch, (named after Rahsann Roland Kirks' stritch horn) in San Jose, CA on Saturday, April 2nd. Invitation is available for purchase at CdBaby, Itunes and Amazon. Produced and arranged by Nat Adderley Jr. & featuring guest soloist Vincent Herring on alto sax write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Jazz News :: home page |