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JACK BOWERS bigbandman@earthlink.net allaboutjazz.com LADY MEM'FIS Expressions of a Legacy Lady Mem'fis is actually from Louisiana, but that's unimportant, as her soul is pandemic (look it up). Unlike too many of her pallid contemporaries, the Lady sings with honest emotion, not to mention a sizable measure of talent. One senses that she not only understands the lyrics to the songs she sings but empathizes with them as well, so visibly honest is the impression of heartache and yearning on, say, Willie Nelson's "Crazy," Lennon / McCartney's "And I Love Him" or Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You." Lady Mem'fis can be playful too, as on "Teach Me Tonight," "Them There Eyes," "Such a Night" or Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies." She pays homage to the legendary Billie Holiday with "You've Changed" and the heartrending "Strange Fruit," to blues monarch Ray Charles with "It's Alright." At her core the Lady's a blues singer, as she affirms on "It's Alright" and Miles Davis' "All Blues," but she's no less engaging when reprising torch songs ("Stormy Weather," You've Changed"), folk themes (Avery Robinson's "Water Boy") or lighthearted pop tunes. Stylistically, there are occasional nods to Billie, Dinah and others, but Lady Mem'fis has a special persona of her own, built on tradition but thoughtfully framed and deeply personal. What's her secret? The Lady offers some insight in the liner notes: "As I sang certain songs," she writes, "I could smell and taste the red clay dirt from back home . . .I saw all the people in the neighborhood - the ragman, watermelon man, gambling man and, yes, the preacher man. I saw big families, little familes and ladies walking under the hot sun with beautiful umbrellas. I reached back and retrieved those feelings, thoughts, smells [and] colors . . .I thought of all the heartache, pain, joy and laughter of those who came before me and paved a way so that my travels might be a bit easier. I thank heaven for them." And in the end, it is their song that the Lady sings. It's interesting to compare her version of "Strange Fruit" with Billie's, as they are dissimilar in style yet comparable in their anguished response to its melancholy theme. Further comparisons are pointless, as Lady Mem'fis sounds nothing like Lady Day, nor does she bear much resemblance to Sarah, Ella, Carmen McRae or any of the other prominent Jazz and blues singers who have gone before her. The voice sounds closest to Dinah's, but even here the similarity is more casual than precise. Lady Mem'fis does it her way, and that could be refreshing enough to turn some heads. The Lady has excellent support on this self-produced album, and she gives her comrades plenty of space in which to flex their improvisational muscles. Tenors Bobby Tynes and Robert Stewart are especially impressive, with forceful statements as well by a number of others. This is one of the best vocal albums we've stumbled across in many a moon, and it's disheartening to think about how few others may have a chance to share our excitement. Track listing: Blue Skies; Stormy Weather; Exactly Like You; Crazy; And I Love Him; All Blues; Teach Me Tonight; The Very Thought of You; Them There Eyes; You've Changed; Such a Night; It's All Right; Strange Fruit; Water Boy (65:08). Personnel: (collective) - Lady Mem'fis, vocals; Bobby Tynes, Robert Stewart, tenor sax; Tammy Hall, James Campbell, piano, keyboard; Kash Killion, cello; Mike Bacile, Mark (Heshima) Williams, bass; Ranzell Merritt, Mark Lee, drums; Raul Ramirez, percussion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Expressions of a Legacy Artist Lady Mem'fis Album Title Expressions of a Legacy Date of Release Oct 28, 2001 AMG Rating Genre Vocal Library View Click here to see this album in MARC format AMG EXPERT REVIEW: San Francisco boasts of being the home for many good jazz singers. One of the higher-ranking vocal inhabitants, by the way of Baton Rouge, LA, is Lady Memfis (formerly known as Jacqui Johnson). As the title implies, this album is dedicated to those giant jazz singers, past and present (mostly past), who this singer respects, especially Billie Holiday, LaVern Baker, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington. The opening track, "Blues Skies," sets the tone and standard for this excellent vocal album as Lady Memfis displays excellent phrasing and diction with a voice that seems to have been especially crafted for jazz vocals. This cut also is highlighted by an incredible bass solo by Mike Bacile followed by a far-ranging drum solo by Ranzell Merritt. This is jazz singing as it was done when some of those honored by this album were still around, straight from the gut, no holds barred, leave nothing in the studio, exultant, a sometimes gospel-inflected celebration of song. "Them There Eyes" has the singer and tenor Robert Stewart going at each other hard and heavy, while Dr. John's (Mac Rebennack) "Such a Night" is given an old-time music hall treatment led by the piano roll like 88s of Tammy Hall. Lady Memfis' rich coloratura kicks off "Water Boy" a cappella as if she were leading a New Orleans brass band on the way to the cemetery to lay to rest one of the brothers, except here the major instrument is Kash Killion's cello. The singer's vocal chords supply the brass. This is the first album for Lady Memfis, but hopefully not the last. She is an outstanding singer who has the equipment and style to make a solid contribution to vocal jazz. Highly recommended. — Dave Nathan 2001 CD Effania Brown Productions 001 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ D. OSCAR GROOMES O's PLACE JAZZ NEWSLETTER P.O.BOX 337 MAPLEWOOD, NJ 07040-0337 O@OsPlaceJazz.com http://www.OsPlaceJazz.com/ 413-448-5269 Lady Mem'fis - Expressions of A Legacy 4+/4***** Lady Mem'fis is from Louisiana with soulful southern roots, strong allegiance and pride. That warmth comes through in her voice. You can hear the blues, the church, the soul and emotion from her memories loud and clear! These are all classic jazz ballads but Lady makes them her own backed by a swingin' band that places the accents where they belong. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JERRY ATKINS KTXK-FM RADIO 2500 N. ROBISON RD. TEXARKANA, TEXAS 75599 jbbop@aol.com 903-792-2946 Lady Mem'fis - Expressions of A Legacy***** Her liner notes are right on target when she states that "each song takes on a life of its own". I hear those sounds because I also have spent my life in the Ark-La-Tex that refers to Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas and the rhythms of the Red River. She is a great interpreter of Lena, Humes, Dinah, Esther, Billie, and even Patsy. My radio audience will love this. I have to wonder what her ties to Memphis TN are? I certainly hear that influence as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BILL FRISCH MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM WSHR RADIO LAKE GROVE-LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK bfrisch@earthlink.net***** I just finished listening to Expressions of A Legacy......three times. Lady Mem'fis is one heck of a singer. I plan to air the album this coming Wednesday. Quit hiding this knockout voice in San Francisco. Get her a venue in New York. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JACK SIMPSON'S JAZZ on the BEACH WUCF RADIO P.O.BOX 235 COCOA, FLORIDA 32920***** It can't be easy to sing "Strange Fruit" but the Lady does it justice-as she does the others-the fun ones-the great standards. I liked her musicians too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRUCE TATER THE ART OF SOUND KETR-FM RADIO COMMERCE, TEXAS atater@koyote.com "Okay, now for the bombshell!!! Lady Mem'fis--absolutely fantastic!! I personally think that this is the best vocal record I have received in the longest time. She can and does it better and with more feeling than almost imaginable. I can not commend it highly enough. Her rendition of STRANGE FRUIT almost had me crying listening to it. Thank you so much for handling this record and sending it to me for my hip audience. They called and told me so. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DAVID LEWIS CADENCE MAGAZINE (4)LADY MEM'FIS EXPRESSIONS OF A LEGACY, LADY MEM'FIS# As the title and program of(4)make evident, Lady Mem'fis possesses a roots connection with the music, a fact made clear by the lucid program notes that illuminate her heritage. This singer has an extraordinary voice with a distinctive edge that I can only compare to Dinah Washington. Yet the more her voice suggests Dinah, in "Exactly Like you," Teach Me Tonight," "You've Changed," and "Such A Night," the more apparent becomes the differences between them. Lady Mem'fis numbers Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday and the Beatles among her influences while her cover of Mac Rebennack's "Such A Night" celebrates her Louisiana roots in sensuous style. This solid mainstream set features compelling performances by the players, notably in "Blue Skies," "All Blues," "Them There Eyes," "It's Alright" and "Water Boy." The intensifying call and response patterns of "Water Boy" show how the field holler and the work song evolved into such forms as gospel and soul music. It provides (4) with a finale that echoes the kind of power generated by Max Roach in his Freedom Now Suite. Hearing Lady Mem'fis in the context of bass, cello and drums indicates the creative directions that she could explore in future, unless a conventional commercial direction predictably shatters such potentiality. At any rate it ought to be exciting to hear her progress. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boletín de prensa Fecha: 29-nov-02 Ref: 199-02 Actividad: Lady Memfis AL RITMO DEL JAZZ CON LADY MEMFIS La destacada jazzista Lady Memfis, cautivó a los leoneses con su maravillosa voz e interpretación musical. El singular estilo que la distingue, hizo vibrar a los presentes en cada melodía que interpreto. Mientras que en el piano fue Tammy Hall quién acompañó a Memfis en su velada de Jazz, en el Doblado. El público no dejaba ir a la intérprete, lo que habla de un espectáculo de primera que dejo más que satisfechos a los presentes. L.C.C. Gaby Gómez Guerrero Prensa ICL prensaicl@hotmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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