Showing posts with label Patti Wicks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patti Wicks. Show all posts

Monday, September 27, 2021

Patti Wicks - Love Locked Out

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:42
Size: 139,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:26)  1. Love Locked Out
(4:27)  2. After You
(4:45)  3. I Have the Feeling I've Been Here Before
(4:36)  4. An Empty Glass
(4:54)  5. Body And Soul
(3:41)  6. Where Were You in April?
(4:53)  7. If You Could See Me Now
(4:09)  8. I Never Told You
(5:09)  9. It Never Entered My Mind
(2:42) 10. I Told You So
(3:51) 11. Would You Believe?
(4:14) 12. Blue Gardenia
(4:56) 13. When Summer Turns To Snow
(2:52) 14. On Second Thought

The term “torch singer” isn’t heard much nowadays but it’s an apt description of Patti Wicks, who sings from the heart, not the ego and plays great piano too. She’s at her best on this album of sad-eyed ballads that, in her words, “expresses the driving force of all humanity, the need and desire to love and be loved.” The moods of love vary from euphoria to heartbreak, and it is the latter emotion on which most of these songs are based. Wicks’ husky voice and unassuming style are perfectly tailored to express that painful sentiment, and she gently summons the listener to feel the sadness and the pain in every lyric.  Unlike most other contemporary singers (those who have read my reviews know how I feel about them as a whole), Wicks doesn’t bend or alter a lyric to suit her purpose, nor does she forswear passion for pyrotechnics. She simply sings, allowing the words to flow freely from a wellspring of knowledge and experience that is known as living. Her range is somewhat limited, leading one to wonder if she’ll be able to reach that next note, but she always does. In that respect, Wicks reminds me of Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong or Jimmy Durante, three others whose voices seemed unfit for singing until one heard them sing. As each of them proved, and Wicks affirms, when it comes to getting the most out of one’s pipes, there’s a lot to be said for sincerity and soulfulness. Besides singing and playing marvelously, Wicks has a knack for uncovering and burnishing long-neglected nuggets, and there are a number of them here including Cole Porter’s “After You,” Ray Noble/Max Kesler’s “Love Locked Out,” Luiz Bonfa/Dick Manning’s “An Empty Glass,” two gems by Duncan Lamont, “Where Were You in April?” and “I Told You So,” and two more by Cy Coleman (“On Second Thought” and “Would You Believe?“) More familiar but no less charming are Rodgers and Hart’s “It Never Entered My Mind,” Tadd Dameron’s “If You Could See Me Now” and Bob Russell/Lester Lee’s “Blue Gardenia.” Wicks is accompanied on most selections by bassist Keter Betts and drummer Joe LaBarbera, who do what is necessary while keeping a decidedly low profile, as befits the album’s wistful makeup. In reviewing one of her earlier albums ( Room at the Top ), I portrayed Wicks as “an uncommonly gifted Jazz pianist who deserves far wider recognition and applause than she’ll probably ever earn.” Aside from amending the description to read “pianist-slash-singer,” that opinion remains unchanged. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/love-locked-out-patti-wicks-maxjazz-review-by-jack-bowers.php
 
Personnel: Patti Wicks, vocals, piano; Keter Betts, bass; Joe LaBarbera, drums.

Love Locked Out

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Patti Wicks Trio - Italian Sessions

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:33
Size: 108.9 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[3:47] 1. This Hotel
[3:21] 2. I've Got The World On A String
[4:14] 3. Where Do You Think You're Going
[4:43] 4. E Minor Waltz For Gavin
[2:23] 5. A Beautiful Friendship
[4:37] 6. I Keep Goin' Back To Joe's
[7:25] 7. Laura
[4:57] 8. It Might As Well Be Spring
[3:51] 9. Here's To Romance
[4:37] 10. Day Dream
[3:32] 11. Baby Don't You Quit Now

Patti Wicks: piano, vocals; Giovanni Sanguineti: bass; Giovanni Gullino: drums. Featuring Gianni Basso: tenor saxophone.

Patti Wicks represents the historical apex of female jazz pianists/vocalists, with Nina Simone and Shirley Horn on one side and Patricia Barber and Dena DeRose on the other. Wicks has loads of talent and the unique ability to take the simplest cocktail jazz trifle and make it sound like Shakespeare. Her previous recordings, Room at the Top, Love Locked Out and Basic Feeling, all tastefully revealed a vast, understated talent worthy of ample acreage in the field of jazz vocals. Wicks' voice is nominally considered an alto, but that tag may be misleading. It's deep and broad, speaking of experience, which is in this case is practice obtained from years on the bandstand.

A wicked ballad performer like her friends Rebecca Parris and Nancy King, Wicks' voice and time can add an additional dimension to any song she sings. "This Hotel opens The Italian Sessions. Brushes on the snare and careful bass playing buoy Wicks' piano and voice on a light wave. If music had a smell, this one would be of just-lit, filterless Lucky Strikes and vodka martinis. Wicks' piano and voice blends the smoky and the heady in a solution of relaxed bliss. Wicks' arrangement of "I've Got the World on a String is a revelation. The song is counted off and introduced by two rapid staccato chords that recall Nat King Cole. Wicks' conversational singing style is best illustrated here as she comfortably strolls through the Ted Koehler lyrics.

The Italian Sessions sport two Wicks originals, the slowly lilting "E Minor Waltz for Gavin, where Wicks' piano playing mimics her vocal style, and "Here's To Romance, where she address love in a waltz, laconically resisting love's wiles. Her smart piano soloing closely follows her vocal approach. On the upbeat side, Wicks' playfully romps through the Kahn and Styne standard "A Beautiful Friendship. She makes Fisher and Segal's "I Keep Going back to Joe's her "saloon song in the same way Sinatra did with "One More For the Road. Here it's not Lucky Strikes and vodka, but a Cohiba Coronas Especiales with a single-malt scotch.

Recorded with an Italian rhythm section, The Italian Sessions recalls the ambience of Wicks' last recording, Basic Feeling, where she employed the same players, drummer Giovanni Gullino and bassist Giovanni Sanguineti. Tenor saxophonist Gianni Basso makes a dry, reedy appearance on "Laura and "It Might as Well Be Spring, but the real star here is Wicks, whose talent cannot be contained—and shouldn't be. ~C. Michael Bailey

Italian Sessions