These three young jazz singers might very well be the hope of the future. Carrying the torch handed to them by the likes of Anita O’Day, Abbey Lincoln and Cassandra Wilson (to name but a few) are Laura Ainsworth, Alison Adams Tucker and Lyn Stanley, all of whom have just released new albums which have hints of greatness to them.
LAURA AINSWORTH–-NEW VINTAGE features the Dallas-based vocalist working her way through fourteen tunes (one of which is an original, “The Man I Love is Gone”) in spirited fashion. Ainsworth favors long-forgotten torch songs like “Wasting My Love on You” and “All About You,” but she can also change things up and show a playful, comic side (“It’s a Nuisance Having You Around”) or swing like mad (“A Little Jive is Good for You”). Eclectus Records, lauraainsworth.com
ALLISON ADAMS TUCKER–-WANDERLUST showcases the singer’s versatility and her interest in foreign cultures. Tucker, who grew up in San Diego and learned Spanish at an early age, later majored in linguistics (with a minor in music). Having lived in Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Spain, it’s no wonder that she was able to sing in six languages on WANDERLUST, interpreting compositions by Bjork, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ennio Morricone and Hubert Giraud (Edith Piaf’s songwriter).
Whether investigating a samba, a love song, a blues, a Japanese lullaby, or scatting to Pat Metheny’s “Better Days Ahead,”
Tucker‘s voice catches you up in its beauty and purity.
Origin Records.com
THE MOONLIGHT SESSIONS–-LYN STANLEY (Vol.2). Stanley sticks to the classics here, revisiting such tunes as “The Very Thought of You,” “Over the Rainbow” and “I’ll Be Seeing You” with careful, loving attention to the lyrics. A ballad-singer par excellence, Stanley puts heart and soul into each of the fourteen tracks on the album, working seamlessly with three different pianists (Mike Garson, Tamir Hendelman and Christian Jacob), a slew of top-notch sidemen and even the Budapest String Symphonic Orchestra, to create a lush atmosphere of romance and love. (A.T. Music, lynstanley.com)