Leírás
Jazz, New York Jazz, Vocal Jazz, CD kiadvány, 2024-es album.
Papírtokos, nyitható borítóval, CD kiadvány, 2024-es album.
Comes in gatefold card case.
NYC-based jazz vocalist April Varner graduated in May of 2022 with her Master’s degree in Jazz Voice Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. At the age of 26, April has already performed and studied with a multitude of legendary artists and jazz luminaries. She was recently awarded the 2023 Winner of the International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition.
April starts the recording by highlighting her love of the blues with her original “April Blues”, performed with a mature delivery and phrasings that are in lock step with bassist Reuben Rogers’ beat. The punchy horns on “I’ll Remember April” begin a swinging romp through the classic tune. April simply and purely, without apology, loves to sing. She shows this penchant on a couple of popular melodies: first, the beautiful “April Come She Will”. She and Russell Malone deliver a powerfully simple rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel classic.
Prince’s “Sometimes It Snows in April”, an emotional lyric that requires a depth of feeling to perform. It takes time to find the right way to convey loss in a song, and April handles this delivery well. On Frank Ocean’s prayerful “Dear April”, April is at her most vulnerable. In “April Give Me One More Day”, the motion of the medium-slow arrangement shows off April’s phrasing. Her vowels and turns reminds me of the brash balladeering of one of my favorites, Anita O’Day. I love the melody of “April Again”.
On “April in Paris” – a swinging duo with pianist Caelan Cardello – both are taking chances on phrasing and style to keep the performance fully in the moment and fresh. It’s a nice souvenir of one of the classic standards. It takes maturity for any musician to play a slow ballad, and towards the end of the record, “Lost April” shows off April’s proficiency at these kinds of tempos.
The title and lyrical images in April’s original, “Who Let April Back Into My Dreams?”, show off April’s songwriting chops. The chromatic melody could be a future standard, and April delivers the wistful lyric with confidence and vulnerability.
Felállás:
April Varner – (vocals)
Caelan Cardello – (piano)
Russell Malone – (guitar)
Reuben Rogers – (bass)
Miguel Russell – (drums)
Benny Benack III – (trumpet, vocals)
Dayna Stephens – (tenor/soprano sax)
Theo Bleckmann – (vocal arranging & production on „Dear April”)
YouTube video:
„I Remember April”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKKk7zXbJKE
APRIL VARNER: https://www.youtube.com/@aprilvarnermusic/videos
Felvételek:
1.April Blues 04:40
2.I’ll Remember April 03:51
3.Joy Of April 05:39
4.April Come She Will 02:15
5.April Give Me One More Day 04:33
6.April Again 04:29
7.Sometimes It Snows In April 07:11
8.Dear April 04:06
9.April In Paris 03:15
10.Lost April 05:37
11.Who Let April Back In My Dreams? 04:23
(Barcode: 0628308830121)
