These sounds begin in a latin jazz vein on ‘Vida,’ singer Lauren Henderson’s original. Singing in English and Spanish throughout, Henderson, 38, from the States and who has Panamanian and Caribbean roots, is accompanied by vibist Joel Ross as main foil when fully revealed. Album personnel also includes bassists Dezron Douglas and Eric Wheeler, drummer Joe Dyson, percussionist Luisito Quintero and pianist Sullivan Fortner.
Besides the originals there’s a treatment of Mexican singer-songwriter José Alfredo Jimenez’ ‘Si Nos Dejan,’ a song that goes back to 1968’s Cariño del cariño.
Also on the album is a smokey vibrato laden cover of George and Ira Gershwin’s late-1930s classic ‘Love Is Here To Stay’ that begins slowly and lands a world away from early versions. Henderson originals ‘Flight’ and ‘Luna’ are also a significant element and her title track original ‘Sonidos’ – ”sounds” – is kept to the end. There are a lot of songs, none longer than a shade under 5 minutes. Most are highly specialist jazz radio friendly, the sort of album that gets listed on the US Jazz Week airplay chart eventually but may not gain as much traction elsewhere given how different tastes can be in Europe. The particularly atmospheric ‘Luna’ works best.
Sonidos was recorded at a New York studio called Flux. Lerner and Loewe My Fair Lady song ‘On the Street Where You Live’ and Irving Berlin’s ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance’ also get a look in as does Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s ‘This Time The Dream’s on Me’ which is the best of the standards deftly harmonised with her own backing vocals. First recorded by Priscilla Lane in the 1940s the song was interpreted by June Christy, Helen Merrill and Annie Ross down the years among others – Naama Gheber did a memorable version in more recent years on her album Dearly Beloved.
But the real strength of this album is more than any one number or even the dominant latin jazz quotient and Henderson’s own ‘Soledad’ particularly leaps out of the speakers. That’s maybe because throughout it is about the distillation of a feeling and a firm grip on the direction of the styles grappled with that win the day. Previous albums of Henderson’s include Sombras last year, Conjuring and La Bruja.
Verdict? Perhaps some tracks could do with more impact and could be extended a little more with additional room for improvisation. And there are too many songs! But that said the voice of this singer who hails from the town of Marblehead in Massachusetts is convincing given her distinctive vocal characteristics and almost Sade-like slinkiness in places – the mix of latin jazz and standards more meaningful than often found when singers are going through the motions and just put in latin numbers for the sake of it. Perhaps the best is still yet to come from Henderson but for the time being this will do very satisfyingly indeed.
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