Sari Kessler's Do Right - Has Struck the "Right" Chord

contents

jazz

To say that Sari Kessler has traveled a long way in her shoes is more than a metaphor. The New York-based jazz singer, songwriter, and arranger is also an avid runner, and it was only after finishing her first half-marathon that she knew anything was possible. Trading in her hard-earned career as a clinical psychologist to be a full-time musician, Kessler has pursued jazz singing with likeminded persistence, achieving a deeply personal and soulful sound.

Kessler speaks to the hearts of her listeners by revealing her own. "I know my stories and I know myself, " she says. "Being an effective jazz singer means finding myself in the lyric, where I can invest each word with meaning." Looking at a list of Kessler's influences—including Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, and Ray Charles—highlights a tradition of great storytellers, each of whom carved an unbeaten path across the landscape of the Great American Songbook. While Kessler's background in pop and soul gave her the foundation to use her voice as an expressive tool, it was Grammy-nominated singer and educator Kate McGarry who helped her investigate rhythmic and harmonic aspects of the jazz tradition in service of telling the story.

Kessler's urge to sing has been central to her identity from a very young age. Though circumstance prevented her from actively pursuing it, now that she has, everything has come full circle. On that journey, Kessler has shared the stage with the legendary talents of Houston Person, Gene Bertoncini, and Phoebe Snow. She has also recorded or performed with eminent jazzmen Howard Alden, Tootie Heath, Harvie S, John di Martino, and Freddie Bryant, among others. Kessler has performed in the San Francisco Bay Area and at leading Manhattan venues such as 55 Bar, Somethin' Jazz Club, Zeb's, and The Rainbow Room. In the Hamptons, she's been featured at Shelter Island Jazzfest, LI Winterfest, and The Art of Song Parlor Jazz Concert Series. Her wide-ranging resume also includes studio work, providing lead and background vocals for Miramax, public radio, and other corporate marketing ventures.

All of these experiences have nourished her appropriately titled debut Do Right, to be released in May 2016, an album that celebrates Kessler's contemporary spirit while acknowledging the greats who inspire her. With freshly laced shoes and determination to match, Kessler now embarks on a marathon of even grander proportions.
EPK Link

CD Description
Sari Kessler's debut album, Do Right, might read like an admonition to some, but for her it's an inner edict—a way of life for an artist who does right by herself and the traditions that inspire her. As Kessler notes, "The title grew directly out of the process of making the record, from a commitment to the interior lives of the songs." It's an approach fully embodied in her take on Walk On By. The desolate trumpet of Nadje Noordhuis, which introduces the tune, proves complementary to Kessler's story-driven delivery and ensures listeners they're in for an emotionally genuine experience. Arranged by innovative producer James Shipp, the track exemplifies his ability to masterfully meld tradition with contemporary sensibilities.

The New Orleans-flavored, second-line treatment of After You've Gone spotlights Kessler's playful delivery and interaction with the band. Indeed, drummer Willard Dyson and guitarist Ron Affif play as much off Kessler as the other way around. Her bold reading of the classic Sunny, arranged by Randy Porter, brings the listener through changes of meter and key, revealing a singer who can be nothing but herself, reclaiming joy and optimism at every turn. Meanwhile Too Close For Comfort, despite its jovial exterior, is a cautionary tale of boundaries gone awry.

The songs on Do Right, chosen as carefully as her musicians, yield a few emotional wallops—most notably, The Gal From Joe's. In Kessler's sober reading of this rarely-heard Duke Ellington tune, she patiently wades through pianist John di Martino's gri evous waters, affording insight into a painful past. Kessler's original, My Empty Bed Blues, holds its own in the present set list. This narrative of longing and solitude, elevated by the authority of Houston Person's iconic sound, is perhaps the most universal of the tracks.

Kessler delivers the well-traveled ballad, I Thought About You, with a uniquely contemplative reading that guides the listener on a journey of introspection. Accompanied only by piano, she navigates Moonglow with tasteful phrasing and ornamentation. Before that, we are treated to declamatory readings of Why Don't You Do Right? and The Frim Fram Sauce, a novelty song that Kessler turns into a viable statement on knowing what you want and getting it. And in the end, that's all you need.

Track, (Time)

Walk On By (4:50)
After You've Gone (4:44)
Why Don't You Do Right? (3:15)
The Gal From Joe's (4:08)
Sunny (4:36)
It's A Wonderful World (3:39)
I Thought About You (4:26)
The Frim Fram Sauce (4:07)
Feeling Good 4:59)
My Empty Bed Blues (4:21)
Too Close For Comfort (3:17)
Moonglow (2:44)

Player and instrument:

Sari Kessler- vocals

John di Martino- piano

Ron Affif- guitar

Steve Whipple- bass

Willard Dyson- drums

James Shipp- percussion

Houston Person- tenor saxophone

Nadje Noordhuis (pronounced Nadia Nordhouse)

"This is not another run-of-the mill jazz vocalist sings the Great American Songbook album; Kessler is enjoyably far-reaching in her choice of material...She is an expressive,
charming vocalist who does take her share of chances."
-Alex Henderson, New York City Jazz Record

Kessler's velvety, vivacious jazz vocals make each of the tunes on this new album sparkle. The top-notch backing musicians give her room to shine. She brings a fresh, vibrant feel to Bacharach/David's "Walk On By." "After You've Gone, " "Too Close For Comfort" and "Why Don't You Do Right?" gently swing. There's a torchy feel to "The Gal From Joe's." A touch of whimsy enlivens "The Frim Fram Sauce." Kessler reaches deep down for emotional power on "Feeling Good" and "My Empty Bed Blues." And her version of "Sunny" is terrific. Right on, Ms. Kessler!
-Paul Freeman, Pop Culture Classics

Kessler has a fine voice, with a warm tone, spot-on pitch and jazzy phrasing. The creative and able playing of the musicians round out this skilled collection of songs.
-Cathy Riches, The Whole Note Magazine

Sari Kessler, a vocalist who illuminates music in a manner that few new vocalists do. Kessler expresses both the fragility and the force of vocal music through glinting, gauze-like textures and moments of clattering tumult and the joyousness of the blues, using it as the perfect springboard for the more jazzy elements of this album Do Right. Its incandescence is irresistible.
-Raul da Gama, Jazz da Gama

"This is a fine introduction to a very talented...woman. She will be around for a long time."
-Grady Harp, Amazon, 5 stars

It's an emotional reading made only more alluring by superior
arrangements. For a debut album Sari sounds so truly skillful.
-Dan Singer, In Tune, International

"A jazz thrush opens a new chapter on the great American songbook. Tasty stuff that shows she knows how to pick her songs as smartly as she knows
how to pick her sidemen. A totally delightful debut."
-Chris Spector, Midwest Record

"Kessler proves to be a first-rate interpreter and dissector of songs...(able) to tap into the marrow of a lyric and bring it's essence to the foreground...her intonation is spot-on...and her phrasing is oh-so-natural and flexible. In short, she's the real deal."
-Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz 4/5 Stars

Kessler is like listening to your best friend, you are engaged in the story, it feels good, and you enjoy your time together and look forward to what is next. Kessler has a very likeable timbre to her voice; it is relaxed, yet convincing as well as focused, warm and round, all very likable and listenable qualities.
-Constance Tucker, All About Vocals

"Kessler doesn't rush the listener through the lyrics but etches
vocal nuances that prove to bring out the potency of the words."
-Susan Frances, AXS

"By the time you reach the final track, the listener has been removed from the everyday and treated like a confidant, let in on the secrets of what life is, the trials as well as the joys. There's a self-assured quality in the voice of Sari Kessler, a singer who one can tell is an avid observer and certainly a storyteller. Pull up a chair and enjoy this musical journey."
-Richard Kamins, Step Tempest

“…an impressive debut recording…Kessler has learned well the art of putting a song across. Her voice is a pleasant alto, she has a fine feel for phrasing, and has
absorbed well the jazz influences around her.”
–Joseph Lang, Jersey Jazz

“Surrounded by a stellar cast - Kessler brings freshness to delightful, hand-picked
gems of the jazz repertoire."
-Kenny McKenzie, WFCF St. Augustine Florida

“With her first release, Do Right, jazzy swinger Sari Kessler sure knows how
to make things feel all right—right off the bat with the CD's first cut. She's an interpreter whose thinking shows and pays dividends.”
-Rob Lester, Talkin’ Broadway

“When Sari Kessler changed professions, the world of psychology might have lost a good practitioner. But the world of jazz music gained a great vocalist and composer. If this album is any indication, Sari Kessler is a name that the jazz world will come to know very well.”
–Bruce Von Stiers, BVS Reviews

I love it! Best New Singer This Year
Marilyn Arnold, KVLU 91.3 FM Texas Public Radio

Vocalist Sari Kessler has a bright

write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Jazz News :: home page