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Artist: Melissa Walker AMG EXPERT REVIEW: I Saw the Sky is Melissa Walker's third release for Enja Records and features 11 compositions penned by notable songwriters from a vast array of musical styles. From standards by the great Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer to originals by Walker, Nina D'Alessandro, Kenny Barron, Shedrick Mitchell, and Andrew "Tex" Allen, the music selected for this CD provides an excellent vehicle for Walker's vocal prowess. She attracts your attention immediately with her impeccable phrasing and resonance that is reminiscent of a young Sarah Vaughan on "I'm Old Fashioned." Kenny Barron's solo adds a nice touch of piano magic to Clarence Penn's arrangement. Together, they take this song off of memory lane and turn it into a great 21st century jazz experience. Walker's interpretation of "Some Other Time" is beautiful. She floats through this song with ease as Larry Willis' signature string arrangement adds another layer of emotion to Walker's lovely vocals and her ability to hold a note effortlessly through the fade. "Return to Me" is a sensitive ballad that evokes passionate memories. Walker's voice surrounds the lyrics with tenderness and that special feeling that gives meaning to the mysteries of love. I Saw the Sky succeeds on several levels where Moment of Truth lingered. Walker's compositional integrity has improved and her choice of accompanying musicians, arrangers, and composers for this CD are among some of the best in the jazz world. If there is any truth to the old saying "The third time is a charm," then Melissa Walker is definitely having her shining hour on I Saw the Sky. - Paula Edelstein Melissa Walker If jazz singer Melissa Walker wasn't already widely recognized as one of the most artful and appealing vocalists of her generation, her third Enja Records release, I Saw the Sky, should fairly well seal the deal. Backed by her trio of pianist Shedrick Mitchell, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa, and drummer Clarence Penn, Walker also plays host to special guests Kenny Barron, Stefon Harris, and Makoto Ozone. An uptempo trip through the Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer classic "I'm Old Fashioned" provides the ideal opening showcase for Walker's soulful resonance and subtle vibrato (accompanied by a springy, light-hearted Kenny Barron solo). Harris adds his funky, scrambling vibe improvisations to grooving blues "Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You" and switches to marimba for Marcos Valle's weightlessly bounding, Afro-Brazilian number "The Face I Love," with Walker singing English lyrics against its offbeat, distinctive accents. Walker makes a delightful romp of the Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer number "My Shining Hour," starting out slow, then growing into a propulsive swing -- as she stays in wordless unison with Mitchell's piano. She adds a hint of suggestiveness to Irving Berlin's "Let's Take an Old Fashioned Walk" as Kitagawa's throbbing tones underscore its strutting mid-tempo gait. And on the Mitchell-composed title track "I Saw the Sky," Walker sings her own lyrics to its emphatic cadences, as a lilting waltz-time melody gives way to a tempestuous modal rhapsody. Walker's version of the On the Town tune "Some Other Time" -- modeled, perhaps, after the Bill Evans rendition -- savors the song's slow, pristine beauty with long, gently arcing lines, attended with refinement by a string quartet. And Walker closes out the album with her own arrangement of Joan Griffin's smoky ballad "I'm in Love," which swells in power and intensity, letting her vocals soar over its pounding groove. With her combination of winning personality and technical excellence, Melissa Walker may have employed a visual metaphor with I Saw the Sky, but it's really a delight to the ears. I Saw the Sky, Melissa Walker (Enja) All About Jazz, By Dave Nathan, October, 2001 Canadian born Melissa Walker decided to break off law studies to become a barrister at the court of song, and wasn't that a bit of luck for us. On this her third Enja release, Walker proves conclusively that great standards need never die when in the hands of an imaginative stylist able to restore their magic and glitter. Walker uses a variety of vocal modes and instrumental backup to deliver a set of special interpretations. A string quarter opens "Some Other Time" and then Walker startles with her pure soprano which starkly contrasts with the deep coloration of the strings. Continuing to find ways to use sidemen with ingenuity, they take a chorus on "The Face I Love" with Stefon Harris' vibes taking the lead. More contrast here as Walker wheels along in a much slower pace than that employed by Harris and cohorts as Walker intuitively works within and around the beat. Good stuff! "Let's Take an Old Fashioned Walk" reveals a debt to Sarah Vaughan, before Vaughan moved on to diva status with plummeting and plunging deliveries. But of all the tunes on the play list, it's a poignant and wishful thinking "I Get Along without You Very Well" where Walker gives a clinic on how to caress a lyric. Shunning dramatics, she employs gentleness, on the mark pitch and knowing phrasing to recite the story embedded in one of Hoagy Carmichael's finest compositions. Once more Harris' vibes provide the cushion that allows Walker to effortlessly glide through this lovely tune without excess emotional display. There is a smattering of lesser known and original material on the play list. One of the more expressive is "Return to Me", expressively arranged by Makoto Ozone, which gives Walker an opportunity to glide between soft and powerful regions of her vocal chords. While such guest artists as Kenny Barron are a nice extra attraction, it's the steady rhythm section led by pianist/arranger Shedrick Mitchell that deserves the award for best supporting musicians. Track Listing: I'm old Fashioned; Some Other Time; Nothing ever Changes My Love for You; My Shining Hour; I Saw the Sky; Twilight Song; I Get Along without You Very Well; Let's Take an old Fashioned Walk; The Face I Love; Return to Me; I'm in Love Personnel: Melissa Walker - Vocal; Shedrick Mitchell, Kenny Barron, Makoto Ozone - Piano; Kiyoshi Kitagawa - Bass; Clarence Penn - drums; Stefon Harris - Vibes/Marimba; Vesselin Gellev, Deborah Bock - Violin; Olga Terlitsky - Viola; Ann Kim - Cello Featured Artist: Melissa Walker Musicians: Melissa Walker,vocal. Shedrick Mitchell, piano. Kiyoshi Kitagawa, bass. Clarence Penn, drums. Guests: Kenny Barron, Makoto Ozone, piano. Stefon Harris, vibes, marimba. Review: Melissa Walker made her mark earlier with "May I Feel" and "Moment Of Truth." She combines the richest of voices with intuitive jazz sense and, rather than rest, just keeps working on that incredible talent, The lady still takes voice lessons. Perhaps author, lyricist and occasional vocaiist Gene Lees describes Walker best - "the inventive tradition of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan is not dead." There's never a dull moment on a Walker recording. An eclectic tune mix keeps things interesting and displays her ability form all sides.The group is very much together-and versatile. Walker, drummer Penn and pianist Mitchell all arrange. Incidentally, Mitchell more than holds his own with guest pianists Kenny Barron and Makoto Ozone . Vibist Stefon Harris and a string quartet also contribute to this session. Walker plays with time and melody on a hard-driving "I'm Old Fashioned", scats and romps with Ozone on "My Shining Hour," does a light-hearted "Old Fashioned Walk" and takes"Some Other Time" at a teasing tempo. (Singing that slow isn't at all easy but she never lets you know.) There's also a moody version of Barron's "Twilight Song", Brazilian composer Marcos Valle's "The Face I Love" ,and a haunting "Return to Me",written by Andrew Tex Allen (Debbie's brother). The title track is special. "I Saw The Sky" was written by African-American poet Henry Dumas, mistakenly shot down by a New York City Transit policeman on 23 May 1968, at a mere thirty-three. A Walker/ Mitchell song on the theme and Walker's reading of the poem are dedicated as a "celebration of life " to Walker's mother. Dumas lives on and the presentaiion wil move you. A talent like Walker's doesn't show up every day. It's a once-in a blue-moon happening. Savor it!
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