Lissy Walker - Wonderland

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:40
Size: 148,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:24)  1. Dream A Little Dream Of Me / I'll See You In My Dreams
(3:01)  2. You're A Heavenly Thing
(3:45)  3. Tonight You Belong To Me
(4:37)  4. Isn't It Romantic?
(6:44)  5. Lazy Afternoon / Where Of When
(4:31)  6. Little Person
(3:57)  7. Faithless Love
(3:38)  8. There Ain't No Sweet Man  (That's Worth The Salt Of My Tears)
(3:48)  9. I Wish I Was A Fool For You
(3:48) 10. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
(4:08) 11. Remember
(4:43) 12. Lover Man
(4:04) 13. Something Wonderful
(5:10) 14. I'll Be Home
(3:16) 15. Lullaby In Ragtime

Alice had many adventures in Wonderland: they could be fun, they could be touching, but they were seldom musical. Lissy Walker's second album, Wonderland, also provides lots of adventures some fun, some touching, all musical. A quick glance at the song titles "Something Wonderful," "Where Or When," "Isn't It Romantic?" put this album fairly and squarely into American Songbook territory. A quick glance at the instrumentation lap steel guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin suggests that the territory is a bit further out west. But there's a trumpet, strings, a Hammond B3. And there are songs from Randy Newman ("I'll Be Home"), Harry Nilsson ("Remember") and Richard Thompson ("For Shame Of Doing Wrong," adopting Sandy Denny's preferred title of "I Wish I Was A Fool For You"). Confusing, isn't it? Stop glancing at lists, start listening to the music. Suddenly, it isn't confusing at all. Walker expertly draws these disparate sources, instruments and influences together. It's a reminder, if one were required, that musical boundaries are as permeable as a soggy paper bag. Walker's vocal tone owes much to country music, her phrasing stems from a love of jazz. She may lack out and out power, but she can emphasise meaning or emotion with a subtle shift of her voice. 

She can swing, too as she proves on "There Ain't No Sweet Man" and "I'll See You In My Dreams." The mix of jazz, folk and country songs needs, and gets, a band that understands each genre. Walker gives John David Souther's "Faithless Love" a straightforward but heartfelt performance, the song retaining its country roots thanks especially to John R Burr's Floyd Cramer piano flourishes. On "I Wish I Was A Fool For You" Walker's subtle shifts in emphasis capture the ambiguity of the lyrics, Burr's piano and Jason Lewis' understated drumming forming an ideal accompaniment. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein and clarinetist Ben Goldberg's playing is stylish and cool their partnership adding to the swing and optimism of "I'll See You In My Dreams." The combination of "Lazy Afternoon" and "Where Or When" is particularly inspired. Jon Evans' lap steel and Dave MacNab 's 12-string are low in the mix but prominent enough to give the songs an ethereal beauty. Walker's fragile vocal flows seamlessly between the songs, weaving the lyrics together so that they tell a single story. Written around 1919, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" has been swung by Dean Martin, adopted as the theme tune of East London's West Ham United football team, given a punk rock makeover by West Ham fans the Cockney Rejects. Walker takes it back to its waltz time roots and reminds us that in the right hands (and voice) it's a lovely, sad, song. In fact, it's never been lovelier. ~ Bruce Lindsay  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/wonderland-lissy-walker-dogwood-records-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php#.VDHrPRawTP8
 

Personnel: Lissy Walker: vocals, backing vocals; John R Burr: piano, Hammond B3 organ; Jon Evans: bass, lap steel guitar, electric guitar; Scott Nygaard: guitar, mandolin; Jason Lewis: drums; Steven Bernstein: trumpet (1, 2, 6, 8, 11), slide trumpet (15); Ben Goldberg: clarinet (1, 15); Dave MacNab: 12-string guitar (5, 7); Philip Worman: cello (10, 12); Carla Kihlstedt: violin (4, 14); Liz Schultze: cello (4, 14).

Wonderland

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Lissy Walker - Life Is Sweet

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:49
Size: 119,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:00)  1. I Remember You
(5:06)  2. How Deep Is the Ocean
(4:31)  3. Waters of March
(3:59)  4. What'll I Do
(2:49)  5. Let Me Go
(3:06)  6. Moonbeam Song
(2:55)  7. More Than You Know
(4:45)  8. In the Wee Small Hours
(3:54)  9. Isn't It a Lovely Day
(4:17) 10. I Wish You Love
(4:23) 11. Celluloid Heroes
(5:59) 12. Saturday Sun

Life Is Sweet is the debut from Berkeley, California-based vocalist Lissy Walker. In an increasingly crowded pool of female jazz singers it's important to stand out from the norm: two things about Life Is Sweet ensure that Walker can do that. Firstly, there is Walker's song selection a tasteful and unusual mix of standards and more left-field but high quality tunes. Secondly, there's her voice a subtle but unmistakable hint of country music gives it a distinctive and emotive quality. At times, its fragility suggests a slight lack of confidence a pity, because Walker has much to feel confident about.

Walker's band helps things along, too. The core quartet is consistently good, while the guest musicians, especially cellist Philip Worman, add just the right touches with their performances. Any singer who records standards from the Great American Songbook needs to bring something new to their interpretations, and the album's opening tune, Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger's "I Remember You," shows that Walker can do just that. The arrangement, by pianist John R Burr, features a delicate trumpet part from Steven Bernstein and propulsive but light drums from Scott Amendola. Walker's vocal hangs back a little, resisting Amendola's invitation to hurry along and, instead, creating a relaxed, almost laidback approach to the melody.

Elsewhere, a distinct country feel pervades many of the tunes, to great effect. When singing about love lost or found, the country music aesthetic of "three chords and the truth" is often ideal, and Walker and her band apply it with great skill. Burr's piano on "How Deep is the Ocean" is a direct descendant of Floyd Cramer, for example, while on Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do?," voice and cello combine in a delightful country waltz.

Walker's left-field choices also include Randy Newman's "Let Me Go" and Ray Davies' (The Kinks) "Celluloid Heroes." In "Days" and "Waterloo Sunset," Davies wrote two of the finest of all pop songs; unfortunately, "Celluloid Heroes" pales in comparison, and the clarity of Walker's vocal only serves to highlight its unconvincing lyrics. Harry Nilsson's "The Moonbeam Song" and Nick Drake's "Saturday Sun" are another story. Walker gets to the heart of both songs, delivering the album's most affecting performances. "The Moonbeam Song" features Jon Evans' lap steel guitar, while "Saturday Sun" sees the quartet joined by saxophonist Dave Ellis and Hammond organist Julie Wolf. Neither song is particularly well-known, but both are inspired choices; the arrangements ensuring that the poignancy of the lyrics is echoed and amplified by the musicians' sensitive performances.

With Life Is Sweet, and with the help of an empathetic and talented band, Lissy Walker imbues her jazz phrasing with a country edge, and establishes herself as a singer to watch and to listen for. ~ Bruce Lindsay  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=36463#.UmhHQRAufMo

Personnel: Lissy Walker: vocals; John R Burr: piano; Scott Nygaard: guitar; Jon Evans: bass, lap steel (3, 6); Scott Amendola: drums; Steven Bernstein: trumpet (1, 9, 10); Philip Worman: cello (2, 4, 8, 11); Dave Ellis: sax (12); Julie Wolf: Hammond organ (12).

Life Is Sweet

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