Nnenna Freelon

Nnenna Freelon (vocals; b. 1954)
Homefree (Concord Music)

Nnenna Freelon is one of those artists you really must see live. While her albums are exceptional it is the live performance that has always been the clincher for me. I have to admit, I hadn't listened to a Nnenna Freelon album in awhile but listening to the new record Homefree (Concord) I was reminded why I became a fan just under 20 years ago.

Freelon interprets soul, pop, jazz and the American Songbook with the versatility not seen in most singers today. For anyone who hasn't heard Nnenna Freelon before your first impressions may be Billie Holiday or Sarah Vaughan but Freelon has developed her own distinct voice over the last two decades. This is an artists that when you hear her voice coming through the speakers you know it and she commands your attention.

Homefree, Freelon's 7th studio album, is another beautiful reconstruction of the American Songbook with delicate and well crafted arrangements of "The Very Thought Of You," "You The Night And The Music," "Skylark" and more. One of most exciting and refreshing things I've always enjoyed about Nnenna Freelon is her ability to turn a standard into her own. Her arrangements are not what you immediately expect from a jazz singer. I sometimes think how Tony Bennett, Peter Gabriel and Bryan Ferry can rearrange a classic and make you think they actually wrote the song.

The band are another reason for Freelon's creative versatility. With some truly elegant work from Brandon McCune (piano), Kinah Ayah (drums), Wyane Batchelor (bass) and the rest of her ensemble Freelon takes the listener on luminous journey filled with emotion, passion and occasional swathes of funky soul that shines on every tune. From the funky opener "The Lamp Is Low'" to the one Freelon penned number "Cell Phone Blues", Homefree displays her rich gift as both a truly fascinating vocalist and original arranger.

The one startling number for me was towards the end with the standard "Lift Every Voice And Sing" which includes a rap by Pierce Freelon. It's a little jarring but on second listen it settles into the Freelon cannon as another interesting revision on a classic. As with such vocalist as Claire Martin and Mark Murphy, Nneena Freelon has always been a risk taker and appears to enjoy the challenge of re-imagining what can be done in the vocalists songbook.

Homefree is definitely a diverse and rewarding experience. If you end up getting this, you might also want to check out Better Than Anything (Concord) which is a compilation of her previous six albums and makes for the perfect companion piece to Homefree.

Five Corners Quintet: Looking At A New Century

The Five Corners Quintet
(group; formed 2005)

Five Corners Quintet hail from Helsinki, Finland. Many of the members were originally with the short-lived collective, Nuspirit Helsinki, an electronica outfit that used jazz as a small jumping off point. The Five Corners Quintet flips the script by utilizing those jazz elements to create something that pays homage yet is fresh for a new decade.

They have also collaborated with one of the greatest living jazz vocalists, Mark Murphy on both of their albums, Chasin' The Jazz Gone By (Ricky Tick Records) and Hot Corner (Ricky Tick Records), which shows they did their homework. Both albums employ a hard bop approach with splendid musicianship (especially on the vibraphone and horn sections).

Chasin' The Jazz Gone By really is superb. A collection of new beats, hard bop and hip-shakin' grooves that not only are perfect for the party atmosphere but will also compliment your evening alone with a nice glass of Merlot. The tracks with Mark Murphy ("Start Of Something", " Before We Say Goodbye","Jamming") are excellent showcases for both the band and the legendary vocalist. But don't let those tracks fool you. You need to check out "Devil Kicks" and "Straight Up" as case studies in how European bands are absorbing American influences and turning it into something unique and highly interesting.

On first listen to their debut I thought they would be a one album wonder. Then I picked up the second and was genuinely floored by the fact that Five Corners Quintet actually mean business and this may be a band that will be around for awhile. Hot Corner is an uptempo floor-burning album with more emphasis on melodies and instrumentation than the added use of electronics. The barn-burning '"Hot Rod" opens the proceedings and set the stage for what will be an exciting ride for the next 45 minutes. Mellow groove of "Midnight In Trieste" and "Waltz Up" for me shows some lessons learned from Lee Morgan and Sonny Clark. Again Mark Murphy joins in on the funky, latin-tinged "Kerouac Days In Montana" with great effect. A whole album of Mark Murphy backed by Five Corners would awesome. The other vocalist on Hot Corner is named Oku and she provides an additional soulfulness on the lovely "Rich In Time". The album stays funky and contemporary on the outro with "Habib's Habit" with some wonderful trumpet playing from founding member, Jukka Eskola.

Both Chasin' The Jazz Gone By and Hot Corner are pretty easy to find in most stores and are definitely available online. While I don't think The Five Corners Quintet will change the face of jazz, I do think they will give a reason to listening over and over and over. Great stuff from a band born out of electronica and finally finding its feet in the tradition in jazz. If you looking for something fresh with a graceful nod to the past, The Five Corners Quintet is a good place to start.