Jazzaholic

Written by Don Albert

Some Jazz Grammy Nominations

I raved about Denise Donatelli in Financial Mail (July, 2009). She now has a new CD out on Savant named When Lights are Low, which as garnered two Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist for Geoffrey Keezer’s arrangement of “Don’t Explain.”  Donatelli and Keezer fit together like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

The album kicks off with a swinger “It’s You or No One”  Her first chorus is pretty straight and then her lead in to the second chorus is a subtle lesson in vocal phrasing. Keezer’s piano solo is brilliant.  The ending of piano punctuations over the solid drumming of Jon Wikan, and then the vocal is stunning.

“Don’t Explain” has strings smoothly moving, like water slowly flowing over a waterfall, darkly swirling under a heartfelt vocal or offering a blanket underneath a thoughtful flugelhorn solo from Ingrid Jensen. “When Lights are Low” is taken at a relaxed walking tempo. It’s interesting hearing Donatelli singing the background to Ron Blake’s tenor solo. Sting’s “Big Lie, Small World” is given a bossa nova rhythm and vocal choir background, while “Why Did I choose You?” is a duo of piano and vocal. Keezer proves he’s a superb accompanist on this beautiful song with outstanding lyrics and handled with the vocal aplomb it deserves. Have the tissue box close at hand. “The Telephone Song” has Donatelli backed by Peter Sprague on nylon stringed guitar and Wikan playing pander laying down a fast bossa beat. Sprague gets to spread out on electric guitar on Cedar Walton’s “Enchantment (Firm Roots)” and Keezer provides another exciting piano solo, and soaring over the whole thing is the supreme voice land phrasing of Donatelli.