Spring Crop of Singers Yields Bountiful Results

The jazz singers just keep coming. It’s hard to think of another category of performance that generates so much activity in such a wide range of styles.

Part of the reason may be that there are so many definitions of just exactly what jazz singing is. For some listeners, it’s shooby-doo scat singing; for others, it’s sensuous renditions of tunes from the great American songbook. Still others insist upon the melismas of gospel phrasing, while the roots accents of the blues are the inspiration for yet more. And the advocates of each approach have models to look up to, from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to Billie Holiday, Joe Williams and Mel Torme.

Nonetheless, there are several elements that seem essential to jazz singing, regardless of style or manner. First is the capacity to swing, the ability to create a sense of rhythmic lift in one’s phrasing, whether it’s generated from the rhythms of swing, bebop or funk. Next is the creative spark that brings a new slant to a song--the ability to improvise, whether through melodic paraphrase or harmonic variation. Both those elements are intrinsic to instrumental jazz, as well, of course. But jazz singing, because it must deal with music and words, makes a further demand--the need to tell a story, the skill to retain and express the message of the song while fulfilling the need to improvise and swing.

Tough demands. It’s no wonder that so many are challenged to take them on, and why so many don’t quite make the grade. Here’s a sampling of current releases by lesser-known performers with the fortitude to give it their best shot.

Claudia Acuna, “Wind From the South” (***, Verve). A young singer couldn’t ask for much better support than Venezuelan-born Acuna receives on her debut album via the presence of pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Avishai Cohen and saxophonist David Sanchez, among others. Acuna takes on the jazz responsibilities without asking any concessions. On her own piece “Viento Del Sur” (Wind From the South), she sings a rapid-paced, scat-like melody; the 5/4 rhythms of Lindner arrangements on “As Long as You’re Living” and “The Thrill Is Gone” are handled with ease; and on each of the up-tempo numbers, she counters the rhythm section drive with an upfront, aggressive energy of her own.

Acuna’s range is also impressive, with an effective ballad rendering of “What’ll I Do” and unusual interpretations of “My Man’s Gone Now” (done over a repetitious vamp) and “Prelude to a Kiss” (delivered at a romping up-tempo). The one classic Latin item in the program--Violeta Parra’s “Gracias a la Vida”--is also transformed via a driving, 6/4 jazz rhythm and stirring solos from Sanchez and trumpeter Diego Urcola.

At first glance, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers appear to be yet another of the quasi-camp swing revival outfits. But, both in their live appearances and in a new album--”Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout Miss Thing!” (** 1/2, Fat Note Records, available from https://www.lavaysmith.com)--Smith manages to produce performances that sound like true swing-era flashbacks. The Skillet Lickers, in fact, are a solid, mid-size band with some first-rate soloists--tenor saxophonist Herman Riley and trumpeter Bill Ortiz among them. And Lavay’s lush contralto and stylish phrasing are perfectly framed by transcriptions and rearrangements of such period items as “Hootie Blues,” “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You?,” “Sent for You Yesterday” and the classic bop item “He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped.”

Mary Pearson’s debut album, “You and I” (** 1/2, Arkadia), reveals another singer who is willing to take on some musical risks. The recording is actually a series of duets--musical cameos in which she is individually accompanied by pianists Lynn Arriale, Fred Hersch and David Lahm, guitarist John Hart, bassist Harvie Swartz and drummer Steve Davis. The challenges are generally well-met, despite the difficulties, for example, in rendering a tune such as “Lazy Afternoon” to the accompaniment of Davis’ drums. Pearson’s description of the collection of familiar love songs and a few originals stresses the presence of “intimacy, devotion, seduction, passion and love.” And the explanation is right on target, with her lush-sounding voice serving as a superb storytelling medium. If the album has a problem--and it won’t be a problem for fans of romantic music--it’s that Pearson’s focus on love songs becomes a bit wearying over the course of an entire program of music.

L.A.’s Tierney Sutton is loaded with vocal skills, all of them on full display in her debut Telarc album, “Unsung Heroes” (** 1/2, Telarc Jazz). A very controlled singer with precise pitch and an extremely fluid voice, she executes jazz lines with the ease of an instrumentalist. Two impressive examples: Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” and Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” the latter especially impressive, since it’s sung with the sole accompaniment of guitar and fluegelhorn. Her improvising, however, works best when she steers clear of instrumental simulation in favor of working with word phrasing. And her slower numbers would benefit from a warmer tone and a more intimate involvement with the lyrics. But Sutton is obviously a work in progress, and one with considerable potential.