Customer Reviews

Can You Hear Me Now?

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The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society is a non-profit organization that has been hosting concerts at the Douglas Beach House in Half Moon Bay - about 40 miles south of San Francisco - for the last 40 years. The room, which only seats about 200 people, is ideal for acoustic jazz. On May 13, 2007, Madeline Eastman and her trio burned the building down! Fortunately their performance was recorded and "Can You Hear Me Now" is the result. But allow me to digress....

If you've purchased more than a couple of albums based on Amazon reviews, I suspect that you've had this experience: You read a rave review of a record by a singer you've never heard or even heard of; you buy the album; you pop it into your CD player; and..., you hate it! So I'm giving you fair warning: I like Madeline Eastman - but not withstanding the fact that many "professional critics" seem to like her too, I don't think that she's for everybody. Ms Eastman has a very pleasing, warm contralto voice - but she doesn't use it very much. Instead she's much more likely to use a harder edged, sharper tone. I think that Danny O'Bryan got it exactly right when he said that Ms Eastman, "... sings like a horn with razor sharp articulation." Her vocals are very tricky - her notes slip and slide and she'll drop in to and then out of a minor key at the oddest times - and she'll frequently "talk" her way through a lyric. So.... if you like your vocal jazz to challenge you, Ms Eastman is your kind'a singer, but if you want some mood music, she's not for you. And now that I've got my "disclaimer" out of the way....

Born and raised in San Francisco, Ms Eastman has been on the jazz scene for more than 30 years. She teaches at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and at Berkeley's Jazzschool - she also works on the administrative staff of the SF Jazz Festival. She produces her own records on her own record label, Mad-Kat Records, which she founded with singer Kitty Margolis. "Can You Hear Me Now" is her sixth and most recent Mad-Kat release.

"Can You Hear Me Now" is a set of 12 songs, most of 'em standards. Ms Eastman grabs songs like "Make Someone Happy," "Show Me," and "Slow Boat to China" by the throat, shakes 'em and then beats the ever lovin' stuffin' out of them. The audience was standing on their seats! It's an exceptional performance!

Ms Eastman is backed by pianist Randy Porter, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Matt Wilson. All three of them turn in outstanding performances - particularly Mr Porter, (playing behind a singer as spontaneous as Ms Eastman is can be a real challenge for a pianist, and Mr Porter is "right there with her" the entire time).

The sonics are good: not audiophile quality, but Ms Eastman's vocals are front and center, there's good instrumental separation and you can "hear" the room.

This latest contribution to her ever widening and deepening body of work is nothing short of a sensational performance. Clearly, Mad is in love with all types of music and incorporates them freely in her repertoire...but on her own terms. I'm quite certain it never occurred to Eliza Doolittle to sing Show Me with the sassy, bluesy and jazzy message that Mad's rendition puts across. One of my favorites on the date is Haunted Heart - a plaintive, sensitive, sensual reading of the lyric. And then, there's Epistrophy -- that is classic Madeline. The lyrics are original and so is the delivery. Go Mad.....if we're all very lucky she will......never let up!

An incredible performance, it's one of your best CDs ever Madeline. Loved your exquisite singing and this great trio moment by moment. Illuminating, enlightened and unexpected song choices as always. It's hard to pick a favorite, but if forced, I'd go the "Haunted Heart" as well.

Outstanding trio: Randy Porter (p), Rufus Reid (b), Matt Wilson (d)