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Harry Who? On her latest album, “Harry Who”, Jay Clayton salutes Warren with impeccable renditions of the above songs and five other Warren classics. While Clayton is best known as a member of the jazz avant-garde, her performances here are very accessible, and the spare but rich accompaniment of pianist John DiMartino and tenor saxophonist Houston Person gives the album a relaxed after-hours feel. While the focus is on Warren’s melodies, Clayton offers sensitive readings of the lyrics of Mack Gordon and Al Dubin. She includes the verses for most of the songs, and performs her pointillistic—and technically demanding—scat throughout. And in an unusual change of pace, she whistles in unison with DiMartino’s piano on “Shadow Waltz”! This beautifully modulated tribute is a constant delight, and at 55 minutes, it is over all too quickly. However, the good news is that Clayton, DiMartino and Person have barely scratched the surface of Warren’s prolific output. With so many great Warren songs left to sing, perhaps this trio might be persuaded to record a sequel. Harry Warren certainly deserves the extra adulation. It is not recent news that Jay Clayton is one of the most phenomenal vocalists in creative improvised music. What she offers in terms of flexibility, diversity, durability, and keen originality sets a high standard for all other “singers.” This solo recording has Clayton in her usual mode of combining lyrics with wordless vocals in her own ethereal way, while adding spoken prose, poetry, and an electronic palate to the proceedings. The result is unlike any other vocal recording you might have ever heard this side of Urszula Dudziak, Grazyna Auguscik, or maybe the more experimental side of Joni Mitchell. What Clayton brings to the table is pure elegiac savvy, an earth mother’s wisdom, a siren’s sensuality, and a challenged soul. There are many examples here of her chemical alchemy; using her voice as a dumbek during “Love Is a Place,” evoking ghostly atmospheric spirits for the title track, or speaking of creationism via “God’s big breath” on “Why, Because.” Her multi-tracked voice on “Sometimes” evokes Native American motifs, and her heartfelt association with Sheila Jordan. She exclaims “sometimes I think/I’m not so sure/I know I don’t/really want to/just don’t care/ought to know”. Then, as most would expect for “Free Me,” after an overdubbed counterpoint and sampled mbira in modal 7/7 time, she is wanting to sing like the birds “not worrying about who hears, or what they think”. The all spoken “Let It Go” is most prosaic, “Secrets of Living” a scatted child’s song with the sweetest of harmony lines, and “No Words, Only a Feeling” actually has lyrics rendered in an underlying dark tone in an amazing display of multiple techniques and sonics that are simple and complex, elegant and playful, and deeply profound. Of the many excellent projects Jay Clayton has offered, this is her very best effort, one that comes highly recommended, and lifts the art of improvisational vocal music to a new level. It’s near perfect. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi |
In and Out of Love I hope to get a chance to review this album in a manner that does it justice. Given the drop-off in CD production, I was simply relieved to see a new album from one of America’s greatest singers, who moreover now has to contend with the “youth bias” which–like it or not–plays heavily in all commercial production decisions. In fact, I was prepared to make a few concessions to father time–after all, legends like Ella, Sarah, Carmen, Sinatra and, without saying, Billie, were forced to come up with creative “workarounds” when their pipes and breath support began to fail them in the last decade or two of their careers (no doubt the new prohibitions against smoking will have a salutary effect on the longevity of today’s artists).
But simply ignore “concessions” with regard to this remarkable musician, whose regimen, whatever it is, should be followed by anyone who has aspirations of singing professionally, regardless of style. Jay is sounding better than ever, her coloratura range, pure and crystalline timbre, and pellucid diction are even more apparent in 2010 than on the 2002 date she made with pianist Fred Hersch.
Jay alternates easily and naturally between traditional standards from the American Songbook and cutting-edge “experimental,” or “avant,” music, thereby risking to alienate half of her following. But that’s the kind of creative, adventuresome spirit she’s always been: just as her knowledge of the tradition makes her innovations sound especially genuine, her appetite for challenging the old conventions assures interpretations of familiar material that sound fresh as the new-day sun.
By Samuel Chell
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Harry Who?
Review by Peter Hum Vocalist Jay Clayton manages to make this tribute to songwriter Harry Warren sound reverent and adventurous, effusive and intimate all at once.
On the disc’s 10 tracks, Clayton, 72, performs with pianist John Di Martino and bluesy elder statesman/saxophonist Houston Person. The music’s very fresh and off-the-cuff, although Clayton and Di Martino make the extra effort to present the verses of songs and not just the meat of them that jazz musicians use as points of departure.
Clayton does not a big, virtuosic voice, but hers is a very expressive one. There’s often a captivating, conversational quality to her singing.
The disc as a whole has a lot of character and playfulness to it, never more so than when Clayton is scatting, as on the framing sections of the loping bossa-style This Heart Of Mine or during Shadow Waltz, when Di Martino whistles along with his lyrical piano solo.
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The Peace of Wild Things Jay Clayton has made it her life’s work to innovate and push the limits of her instrument. The Peace Of Wild Things finds Clayton contemplating the words of some legendary poets, most notably e.e. cummings, in the most personal way, just her voice with electronic manipulation. Innovative singer Jay Clayton has forged a career out of taking chances and exploring the possibilities inherent in the human voice. The Peace of Wild Things is a subtly adventurous mix of voice, electronics and poetry. Each of the nine songs features a poem; five are by the renowned poet E.E. Cummings, with others by jazz innovator Jeanne Lee, the farmer-poet Wendell Berry, Lara Pellegrinelli and Clayton herself. What’s so fresh about this CD is the spare and spacious approach Clayton and her co-producer Jay Anderson have taken; they use electronic effects in a judicious fashion that lets Clayton’s gifts breathe and allows the poetry to be heard. A good example is “Love is a Place,” which features one of Cummings’ poems. Clearly Clayton is inspired by Cummings; she echoes his elliptical, joyful poetry in her airy arrangements and playful delivery. Through the use of innovative mixing, Clayton sings and speaks over a percussive background that consists of her own voice. Different melodic and percussive lines emerge throughout the song and these are gradually layered over one another as the song progresses. Yet even with the layering of sound, the song remains spacious with a gentle, lilting quality both understated and vibrant. Another wonderful song is “No Words, Only a Feeling,” written by the late, great Lee. In this gently funky piece, Clayton’s natural voice plays against an electronically enhanced version and a minimalist approach creates a bouncy lightness, a veritable souffléé of sound. The CD’s title comes from Berry’s poem, a gentle meditation on finding peace within nature. The Peace of Wild Things does indeed exude peace and its gentle exuberance and sense of celebration make it a welcome offering in Clayton’s long and illustrious career. Review by Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide It is not recent news that Jay Clayton is one of the most phenomenal vocalists in creative improvised music. What she offers in terms of flexibility, diversity, durability, and keen originality sets a high standard for all other “singers.” This solo recording has Clayton in her usual mode of combining lyrics with wordless vocals in her own ethereal way, while adding spoken prose, poetry, and an electronic palate to the proceedings. The result is unlike any other vocal recording you might have ever heard this side of Urszula Dudziak, Grazyna Auguscik, or maybe the more experimental side of Joni Mitchell. What Clayton brings to the table is pure elegiac savvy, an earth mother’s wisdom, a siren’s sensuality, and a challenged soul. There are many examples here of her chemical alchemy; using her voice as a dumbek during “Love Is a Place,” evoking ghostly atmospheric spirits for the title track, or speaking of creationism via “God’s big breath” on “Why, Because.” Her multi-tracked voice on “Sometimes” evokes Native American motifs, and her heartfelt association with Sheila Jordan. She exclaims “sometimes I think/I’m not so sure/I know I don’t/really want to/just don’t care/ought to know”. Then, as most would expect for “Free Me,” after an overdubbed counterpoint and sampled mbira in modal 7/7 time, she is wanting to sing like the birds “not worrying about who hears, or what they think”. The all spoken “Let It Go” is most prosaic, “Secrets of Living” a scatted child’s song with the sweetest of harmony lines, and “No Words, Only a Feeling” actually has lyrics rendered in an underlying dark tone in an amazing display of multiple techniques and sonics that are simple and complex, elegant and playful, and deeply profound. Of the many excellent projects Jay Clayton has offered, this is her very best effort, one that comes highly recommended, and lifts the art of improvisational vocal music to a new level. It’s near perfect. Review of “Free Me” from “The Peace of Wild Things”“I want to sing like birds sing,” Jay Clayton announces midway through this performance. And—dang!!—the lady pulls it off. Give Olivier Messiaen a mike and, I guarantee, he couldn’t do better than Ms. Clayton in vocalizing a type of ornithology the beboppers never knew. Of course, this vocalist has long demonstrated that jazz singing can be more than the usual cabaret rehash. But here Clayton delivers one of the freshest and freest releases of the year. She tosses aside the standards. She does without a rhythm section. Much of the time she works without words, too. But the more Jay Clayton tosses overboard, the higher she soars. If you have given up on jazz singers, thinking that only pretty boys and glamour gals are releasing CDs these days . . . well, think again. This CD is an aural trick and treat, coming just in time for Halloween. |