American world? Sure. This week we feature music from artists who, although based in the US, make music that breaks boundaries and feels like it's built from colorful, jagged pieces of the whole world.
Susan Krebs & the Soaring Sextet, Jazz Aviary
A jazz concept album about birds - not Charlie Parker, but actual birds - sounds potentially pretentious, or precious, or both. But this disc, from singer Susan Krebs, musical director-pianist Rich Eames, and some ace sidemen, is actually a sweet, sincere, unprepossessing, and lovely set of bird-themed tunes. Most of the tracks could stand alone, but the set also flows together like a flock of - I don't know - some kind of flocking bird.
There are well-known songs, like "Skylark," "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," the Beatles' "Blackbird," and, in a nod to Bird with a capital B, "Ornithology." There are more obscure songs, like Abbey Lincoln's "Bird Alone" and Krebs and Eames's original, meditative tune "The Peace of Wild Things," which faintly echoes "'Round Midnight" and features some beautiful flute playing by Rob Lackart. And there are surprises, like Ralph Vaughan Williams's "The Lark Ascending," which the musicians give a reverential, meditative treatment, aided by a string section.
A few tracks feel a little icy and overly careful, but Krebs and Co. hit the mark far more often. One of my favorites is their epic take on Dave Brubeck's "Strange Meadowlark." Another is "Bob White" with its herky-jerky rhythms.
Krebs is not the most powerful or adventuresome vocalist — she sings with what I think of as a shy artistry with a touch of humor. The latter comes into play, for example, in Hoagy Carmichael's "Baltimore Oriole," and in the medley of roots and pop (non-jazz) standards that starts with Hank Williams's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." My biggest beef with jazz vocalists is that they frequently lack a sense of fun. Not so here. The "twinkle" in Krebs's delivery is an important part of this disc's appeal. So are the little throwaways - quotes from poems, recorded bird sounds, percussion sound effects - that dot the tracks.
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