Customer Reviews

Maiden Voyage

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just saw her at the Telluride Jazz Celebration and Herb Wong introduced her as the next great jazz diva, likening her to Billie Holiday. I thought, "Hmmm," and tucked in for the ride. She was amazing. Incredibly expressive, great phrasing and nuance, she's got the goods. Very connected to women's energy. Her "Four Women" by Nina Simone is what is making me buy this CD right now. Don't miss her live. She's very appreciative of those who attend live music. She thanked us for being there but it was all of us in Telluride who should be thanking her.

Nneena Freelon's "Maiden Voyage" turns 10 next year. It's a bouncy jazz confection. The opening track "Come Into My Life" was penned by Nona Hendryx for Labelle's 1976 Epic set Chameleon. A lovely jazz arrangement transforms the song. Nina Simone's "Four Women" is a bit more experimental with Michael Abene's piano bouncing throughout the arrangement. Herbie Hancock's track is the title tune from this set with a free form jazz style and Nneena's great voice milking the lyric, "Soon you'll cry lovely things." I acquired this CD because I was interested in how Nneena would treat Laura Nyro's "Buy & Sell" from Laura's The First Songs. Herbie Hancock does honors on piano with Avishai Cohen's bass throbbing periodically as Neena's vocals seem to be loosed in a memory, "Cocaine and quiet beers, Sweet candy and caramel, Pass the time and dry the tears on a street called buy and sell." For those familiar with folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Until It's Time for You to Go," Nneena's version sounds like it dropped into a Henry Mancini soundtrack like "Peter Gun." Sippie Wallace's "Women Be Wise" is given a jazz-blues hybrid, "Don't advertise your man." Nneena's reading of Oscar Hammerstein II's "I Won't Dance" has Sammy Figueroa's scintillating percussion, making this an exciting track. "Maiden Voyage" reads well nearly a decade after its original release. Enjoy!

I saw Nnenna perform selections from her CD at Yoshi's in San Fransico. She was excellent. All the tracks are by female artists and performs them with passion, especially Nina Simone's Four Women.

Not too many singers are like this today. This album features her at her best. Singing loose and freely. its one I play from first track to last. The jazz is excellent and the vocals are too.

I ordered this album because of the title cut, Herbie Hancock's lovely Maiden Voyage. This is a mysterious melody that time and time again serves as a rich life support system for beautiful improvisations by almost any instrumentalist without ever running the risk of damage to the song itself. I have heard Hancock perform this piece many times live and on record; it's always different and always flawless. This tune is bullet proof. That's until Ms. Freelon got hold of it. While she is blessed with an incredible set of pipes, the syrupy, "caramel" (as another reviewer on these pages put it) delivery of inane lyrics written by Mrs. Herbie Hancock, make it hard to take seriously. The mystery of this voyage has been drowned, and not even Hancock's intriguing piano work could save it.

This recording exemplifies what I've often found so bothersome about lyrical/vocal jazz, particularly of this period. Flowery, sugary sweet, lyrics that are too far beyond realistic conversation or feelings, with arrangements and improvised vocal excursions that make you think the singer is first and foremost just trying to be different. The end result is almost clinical. It is sad. This is a really good singer with a fabulous voice. But this is also one record that somehow doesn't seem necessary. I'll mail my copy to the first person who wants it. Somebody might; I could be wrong.