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Avg: 3.5 (12 ratings)
- Date Released: March 27, 2009
- Genre: Jazz
- Label: Challenge Records / IODA
Honesty, poetry, and intimacy abound on Shank's best collection yet
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We Say...
While Shank doesn't immediately dazzle listeners with distinctive star power, her compensations — honesty, intelligence, technical aplomb, and intimacy without artifice — provide more durable and perhaps profound rewards for her fans and her muse. Mosaic documents her continued growth: It's her most sharply honed, fully realized collection to date. The highlights are the thematic song couplets, especially the first two, which chronicle the bumpy but nuanced affairs of the heart. Shank's own "Reflections in Blue" portrays the power of proud perseverance enabling a genuinely fresh chance at romance as it gracefully segues into Irvin Berlin's "Blue Skies." That the hushed cymbals and overall ambiance can gradually morph from bleak and foreboding to heraldic and dawning is simply marvelous artistry. A reverse dynamic occurs as the spry bittersweetness of "Laughing At Life" elegantly tumbles into the wistful perseverance of "Smile" on the next track.
Bottom line, Shank's not afraid to bare her soul, self-aware of the bravery inherent in mixing maturity and romance. Her molasses pace and blunt yearning add new depth to Carole King's "So Far Away," and her use of poetry by Rumi (following in the footsteps of Kurt Elling) flirts with and then surmounts sappiness on "Water From Your Spring"/"Beautiful Love" song couplet. She is also abetted by her longtime ace quartet, especially the sublime pianist Frank Kimbrough, who shines on his own composition, "For Duke." -
They Say...
Kendra Shank opens Mosaic with a gem that many post-bop vocalists wouldn't consider including in their repertoire: Carole King's early-'70s ballad "So Far Away," which Shank performs in a straightforward fashion. Shank's heartfelt performance packs a strong punch emotionally, although it doesn't have quite the improvisatory appeal that her performances are usually known for having. But after that opener, Shank's improvisatory skills assert themselves in a major way -- and she is delightfully uninhibited on impressionistic versions of songs ranging from Bill Evans' "Time Remembered" and Cedar Walton's "Life's Mosaic" to Irving Berlin's Tin Pan Alley standard "Blue Skies" (which is part of a medley that also includes Shank's own "Reflections in Blue"). And true to form, Shank reminds listeners that jazz vocalists can be cerebral without being cold, distant, or aloof. Shank has long had an impressive ability to be intellectual and warm at the same time -- and that holds true on Mosaic whether she is turning her attention to Cole Porter's "All of You" or Johnny Mandel's "The Shining Sea." Not only do beauty and intellect coexist on this 2008 recording -- they complement one another and are equally important parts of Shank's artistic makeup. For all its post-bop abstraction, Mosaic is never lacking when it comes to emotion or vulnerability. Mosaic isn't quite as essential as A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook, the superb tribute to jazz vocal icon Abbey Lincoln that Shank recorded in 2005. But it is still an excellent addition to her rewarding catalog.
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11 Total Tracks, 66:35 Total Length
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Credits
- Frank Kimbrough - Piano // Frank Kimbrough - Piano // John Abbott - Photography // Dean Johnson - Bass // Ben Monder - Guitar // Kendra Shank - Vocals // Kendra Shank - Vocals // Kendra Shank - Producer // Kendra Shank - Producer // Coleman Barks - Translation // Billy Drewes - Clarinet // Billy Drewes - Sax (Soprano) // Billy Drewes - Sax (Tenor) // Manfred Knoop - Engineer // Manfred Knoop - Mixing // Andrew Rowan - Producer // Andrew Rowan - Liner Notes // Andrew Rowan - Photography // Marcel van den Broek - Art Direction // Marcel van den Broek - Cover Design // Marcel van den Broek - A&R // Tony Moreno - Drums
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Performers
Dean Johnson // Frank Kimbrough // Ben Monder // Tony Moreno // Kendra Shank // Billy Drewes
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