Post by egoodstein on Jun 26, 2006 21:15:18 GMT -5
Not vocalist, but jazz alto sax player from San Francisco.
SARAH MANNING, TWO ROOMS SAME DOOR, LIVE AT YOSHI'S ('06). ****. Manning is a young artist who IMO made a really impressive debut in '04, "House on Eddy Street." This one recorded in Nov. '05 at Oakland's Yoshi's, the premier jazz club in the SF Bay area. And she's a worthy headliner. She plays here in her usual, quietly powerhouse quartet, Randy Porter on piano, John Witala on bass, and Akira Tana on drums. The other three have played for years as a trio on the West Coast, backing acts from trad. vocalist Rebecca Kilgore to making some fine albums, including nice tribute to be bop pianist Elmo Hope. With Sarah, the interplay is fluid and melodic, if with complicated runs and interaction that take off from sax, or sometimes each player. Nice wide berth for soloing, though IMO the ensemble intensity/intereaction is best feature. Manning's tone draws from Coltrane and Rollins, but also she loops the alto towards a higher timbre, sometimes even recalling Wayne Shorter. In any case she also has a distinctive sound and very assured ideas I think-- sometimes richly melodic (if with complex harmonies) as on "Lullaby of Lost Time," sometimes just deriving from simple, pointed riff, as opener "Small Fire Breathing Dragon." The three part suite in the middle, including title song, is very rich, varied and interesting, and really worthy of buying this album alone. She has some nice patter with the audience which reveal her as being nice, if a bit self-conscious (it was her debut at Yoshi's). None is necessary for enjoyment here, and the final short 'credits roll' 'extro' of the band on older tune "Zooey" is pretty surperfluous. In some ways the words interrupt great music a bit-- but nice for the occasion. (I made a CDR with just the tunes as a contrast). Sound especially for a live album is terrific-- though I've heard other live albums from Yoshi's, and they too have really been clarion clear and wonderfully rich. Apparently there's a DVD of this too-- haven't seen that. But this another fine one from SM-- a sax player who can wail but also 'sing' eloquently. I very much recommend her 1st too of course. This album is only available online, from that innovative site, Artist's Share. Info: www.sarahmanningmusic.com. Ed
SARAH MANNING, TWO ROOMS SAME DOOR, LIVE AT YOSHI'S ('06). ****. Manning is a young artist who IMO made a really impressive debut in '04, "House on Eddy Street." This one recorded in Nov. '05 at Oakland's Yoshi's, the premier jazz club in the SF Bay area. And she's a worthy headliner. She plays here in her usual, quietly powerhouse quartet, Randy Porter on piano, John Witala on bass, and Akira Tana on drums. The other three have played for years as a trio on the West Coast, backing acts from trad. vocalist Rebecca Kilgore to making some fine albums, including nice tribute to be bop pianist Elmo Hope. With Sarah, the interplay is fluid and melodic, if with complicated runs and interaction that take off from sax, or sometimes each player. Nice wide berth for soloing, though IMO the ensemble intensity/intereaction is best feature. Manning's tone draws from Coltrane and Rollins, but also she loops the alto towards a higher timbre, sometimes even recalling Wayne Shorter. In any case she also has a distinctive sound and very assured ideas I think-- sometimes richly melodic (if with complex harmonies) as on "Lullaby of Lost Time," sometimes just deriving from simple, pointed riff, as opener "Small Fire Breathing Dragon." The three part suite in the middle, including title song, is very rich, varied and interesting, and really worthy of buying this album alone. She has some nice patter with the audience which reveal her as being nice, if a bit self-conscious (it was her debut at Yoshi's). None is necessary for enjoyment here, and the final short 'credits roll' 'extro' of the band on older tune "Zooey" is pretty surperfluous. In some ways the words interrupt great music a bit-- but nice for the occasion. (I made a CDR with just the tunes as a contrast). Sound especially for a live album is terrific-- though I've heard other live albums from Yoshi's, and they too have really been clarion clear and wonderfully rich. Apparently there's a DVD of this too-- haven't seen that. But this another fine one from SM-- a sax player who can wail but also 'sing' eloquently. I very much recommend her 1st too of course. This album is only available online, from that innovative site, Artist's Share. Info: www.sarahmanningmusic.com. Ed