Customer Reviews

Potato Radio

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

 

 

This was my introduction to the all-too-brief musical association between Nancy King and Glen Moore, two denizens of the Pacific Northwest. Moore is an exceedingly talented string bassist and pianist, who seems way too serious for Nancy King, a flighty diva of jazz. He seems more the brooding presence like what you hear in the spooky "Your Love." She's a lot more like the "Little Bronco Buster" in the first cut.

But before we go any further, please note the amazing contributions of one of the greatest jazz piano players you never heard of: Art Lande. He does stand-up straight work on "Four," quirky weird riffs in "I Got Rhythm," but wonderful, wonderful Art Lande work in "Crooked Road."

I first heard of these two when I heard "Alligator Dancing" ten-plus years ago in Florida, and had to have more. Bennie Wallace does the wonderful tenor sax work there.

Now, they've gone their separate ways, although still performing live together occasionally. You won't be disappointed by this great album...

King and Moore are unique in jazz recording. Their albums are seldom seen in music stores, but are worth searching for. Imagine "Mountain Greenery" sung in a sort of 3-beatover a solo bass pedal note- and it works, brilliantly. Literally everyone I've played them for has fallen in love with this duo's unique approach to jazz. Treat yourself.

King & Moore started out strong and kept sliding as they progressed. Potato Radio is the second outing from the duo and features much less of the stripped down instrumentation (just voice and bass) which marked their debut album, "Impending Bloom". Still, there are a number of great moments throughout the CD. It's a pity the duo never released a live CD. I saw them live in Portland summer of '92 and was left most impressed by the sounds that two people could make.

If you like Manhattan Transfer, you might like this. If you find them to be a soulless jazzy glee club, then you probably won't like this. The singer has one of those generic woman's jazz voices that mistakes vocal gymnastics for expressive power. Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, for example, had amazing voices that did all sorts of tricks, but at their core they sang with feeling.

This album is like a special effects movie with a poor plot and bad acting. All the sounds are there, but the emotion isn't. Yuck.

This is a great album! I've actually seen Nancy King a couple times now, and this just mirrors who she is a what she does. It features her unique interpretation of lyrics, colors and tones in scatting, and moods that she creates in the music. She really is, in many ways, a "one-man-show". Though she is working with bass, or piano, or both at the same time, that's really all she needs. Other than that, she really stands on her own.

She knows how to bring out the "loneliness" and intimacy of a ballad, like in "Night Club Skin", but then she can turn around and bring out the brightness and air of celebration of a bossa/latin, like in "I Sing For You". Don't be afraid to order this album. You're really gonna like it. She's similar to Carmen MacRae, in the sense that she's not "smooth", like Sarah Vaughn or "pretty" like Ella Fitzgerald. But she's got her own beautiful sound, with a bit of roughness and edge. She scats like a horn player, not like a singer trying to sound like a horn player, if that makes any sense.

But seriously, if you've had any doubts, I hope this helps. You really should buy this album!