LEDISI FEELING ORANGE BUT SOMETIMES BLUE JAZZ SINGER (LIMITED EDITION)
US LeSun Music, 2002
When Ledisi's debut set
Soulsinger was released, I was amused to
notice that some critics stated that she's
"rather a jazz singer than a soul
singer". Well, there was a distinct jazz
flavour in Ledisi's phrasing, no doubt about it,
but for me Soulsinger was just about the
perfect soul album with a suitable amount of jazz
added in the setting. Now that Ledisi releases
her eagerly awaited second set, entitled feeling Orange
but Sometimes Blue (US LeSun 0101, 2001) -
with the subtitle Jazz Singer (Limited
Edition) - I can readily state that THIS is
the jazz album, and those who don't like straight
jazz, can instantly pass the set - yes, it's that
jazzy!
Still, I certainly have nothing against the new
CD - on the contrary. I'm truly happy she had the
guts to take this step - doing a straight jazz
set and showing that she really can sing jazz
standards and straight jazz. However, all the
tracks still have that special Ledisi touch all
over them - they have been remade in a way that
only Ledisi can do them. Of the old jazz
standards, my favourite is Round Midnight,
on which Ledisi interprets the Thelonious
Monk classic over a delicious backdrop
featuring Nelson Braxton on
electric six string bass, Brian Coller
on drums and Sundra Manning on
Fender Rhodes. Other jazz standards featured are Straight
No Chaser, In A Sentimental Mood and Autumn
Leaves - excellent choices to cover, indeed.
As good as these interpretations are, I prefer
the original tunes written by Ledisi herself
together with Sundra "Sun" Manning.
Still on the straightforward jazz side, Meeting
Marcus on a Thursday is an instant classic,
much like Hotel around Midnight from her
debut set, but in a more authentic jazz setting
with Ron Belcher on upright bass
and Khalil Shaheed on trumpet -
absolutely wonderful stuff!
Another monster of a track is the title tune
Feeling Orange, But Sometimes Blue, which is
unadulterated Latin Jazz featuring Pete
Escovedo on timbales and Karl
Peraza on congas and bongos, and Ledisi
sounds perfectly at home on this percussive Latin
groove. If you wish to hear more tracks in this
vein, please do check out the latest effort by
Poncho Sanchez - on which Ledisi scats
over a fabulous salsa groove on a track called Going
Back to New Orleans (album: Poncho Sanchez: Latin
Spirits).
Also worth a special mention are the creamy
self-written soul-jazz ballad tune Land of
the Free, as well as the opening track
So Right, which has a modern Badu-ish
feel and some truly breathtaking vocalising by
Ledisi. The vibrant jazz-soul track we already
enthused over in our Quality Time countdown, I've
Got It, is also included, as well as the
inspiring, extremely dynamically delivered
combination of D'Angelo's Brown
Sugar and Stanley Turrentine's
Sugar. Orange has already received enormous
critical success - "the best vocal jazz
album in years" etc.- so you had better make
sure that you won't miss this album simply
because this is more of a jazz than a soul album
- it will be a true classic anyway. And you may
rest assured that Ledisi will be recording more
soul-oriented albums in the future as well - read
her exclusive interview in our next issue! -IT
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