TINA MAY WITH THE ANDY LUTTER TRIO - Café Paranoia
33 Records 33JAZZ256
Tina May (voice); Andy Lutter (piano); Thomas Hauser (double bass); Sunk Pöschl (drums)
additonal musicians
Simone Arntz (background vocals); Emanuel Hauptmann (drums); Uli Wangenhelm (clarinet)
To keep developing as an artist it is essential to push oneself and step into uncharted waters, to be able to do this and still retain ones own individuality, without hiding behind another shadow is something else together, and that it what Tina May has achieved with Café Paranoia.
For this latest project May hooks up with the Andy Lutter Trio, with whom she has had a long association going back to the early nineties, and takes for her inspiration the work of the legendary Mark Murphy (with who, incidently, Andy Lutter was also frequent collborator)and the famous Nacht Café in Munich where Tina and Lutter first played together.
May readily admits that taking part in a Masterclass led by Murphy was life changing for her, and with her performances here she repays that debt in a most heartfelt manner. Never seeking to emulate her idol in any way, the singer stamps her own personality all over the material that is drawn from eight short Haiku's written by Murphy and Lutter and three further songs penned by the pair, along with four songs written by the Lutter/May partnership in a set that is truly masterful and uplifting.
This is a set that is full of joy and good humour, both in the lyrics to Murphy and Lutter's 'Formerly Known as Moon', with Mark's reference to "moonies" and the "art of shoving one's buns thru a vacant car window", and the impeccable and almost carefree delivery of May's vocal that bring out the best in the chosen songs.
If the brief yet wittily written and delivered Haiku's (a traditional form of Japanese poetry) were an important part of the collaboration between the US singer and Andy Lutter, it is the longer song forms that capture the essence most fully, whether the lyrics are written by Murphy or May to the pianist's strong compositions. A perfect example of this is 'Bop 'Til You Drop', that was originally conceived as an instrumental, and lyrics added by Tina sometime later. This was memorably recorded on Tina's One Fine Day album (also on 33 Records) with Alan Barnes, yet if anything this version surpasses the earlier rendition. The unison lines between May's vocal and the Fender Rhodes of Lutter are quite breathtaking, along with May;s scatting.
And that brings us to another fascinating aspect of the album, is the improvisational prowess of the singer. She shows her mastery of the jazz idiom not just in her delivery of a lyric and her ability to swing, but also as a master improviser. She never scats because she can, but because what she has to say contributes greatly to the overall performance, her improvised line never short of an interesting turn of phrase or idea that lead seemlessly to the next.
The songwriting partnership between Tina and Andy is one that will hopefully be one of longevity and will continue to flourish, and it should be mentioned that some of the strongest tunes on the album come from their collaborative penmanship. The aforementioned 'Bop 'Til You Drop' drags all along in it's wake, and two other gems can be heard in 'New York Skyline' and the ambitious and beautiful 'After A Year'.
This wholly satisfying set is rounded off with a Murphy/Lutter tune, 'Dance Slowly' that was recorded as far back as July 2011 (as was 'Formerly Known as Moon', incidently), and brief surprise bonus track that is unlisted on the CD booklet of the master himself, Mark Murphy, singing one of the Haiku's 'Tundraness' that had been heard earlier on the disc performed by May and Lutter.
A superb album that one hopes will yield more from this wonderful musical partnership.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
33 Records 33JAZZ256
Tina May (voice); Andy Lutter (piano); Thomas Hauser (double bass); Sunk Pöschl (drums)
additonal musicians
Simone Arntz (background vocals); Emanuel Hauptmann (drums); Uli Wangenhelm (clarinet)
To keep developing as an artist it is essential to push oneself and step into uncharted waters, to be able to do this and still retain ones own individuality, without hiding behind another shadow is something else together, and that it what Tina May has achieved with Café Paranoia.
For this latest project May hooks up with the Andy Lutter Trio, with whom she has had a long association going back to the early nineties, and takes for her inspiration the work of the legendary Mark Murphy (with who, incidently, Andy Lutter was also frequent collborator)and the famous Nacht Café in Munich where Tina and Lutter first played together.
May readily admits that taking part in a Masterclass led by Murphy was life changing for her, and with her performances here she repays that debt in a most heartfelt manner. Never seeking to emulate her idol in any way, the singer stamps her own personality all over the material that is drawn from eight short Haiku's written by Murphy and Lutter and three further songs penned by the pair, along with four songs written by the Lutter/May partnership in a set that is truly masterful and uplifting.
This is a set that is full of joy and good humour, both in the lyrics to Murphy and Lutter's 'Formerly Known as Moon', with Mark's reference to "moonies" and the "art of shoving one's buns thru a vacant car window", and the impeccable and almost carefree delivery of May's vocal that bring out the best in the chosen songs.
If the brief yet wittily written and delivered Haiku's (a traditional form of Japanese poetry) were an important part of the collaboration between the US singer and Andy Lutter, it is the longer song forms that capture the essence most fully, whether the lyrics are written by Murphy or May to the pianist's strong compositions. A perfect example of this is 'Bop 'Til You Drop', that was originally conceived as an instrumental, and lyrics added by Tina sometime later. This was memorably recorded on Tina's One Fine Day album (also on 33 Records) with Alan Barnes, yet if anything this version surpasses the earlier rendition. The unison lines between May's vocal and the Fender Rhodes of Lutter are quite breathtaking, along with May;s scatting.
And that brings us to another fascinating aspect of the album, is the improvisational prowess of the singer. She shows her mastery of the jazz idiom not just in her delivery of a lyric and her ability to swing, but also as a master improviser. She never scats because she can, but because what she has to say contributes greatly to the overall performance, her improvised line never short of an interesting turn of phrase or idea that lead seemlessly to the next.
The songwriting partnership between Tina and Andy is one that will hopefully be one of longevity and will continue to flourish, and it should be mentioned that some of the strongest tunes on the album come from their collaborative penmanship. The aforementioned 'Bop 'Til You Drop' drags all along in it's wake, and two other gems can be heard in 'New York Skyline' and the ambitious and beautiful 'After A Year'.
This wholly satisfying set is rounded off with a Murphy/Lutter tune, 'Dance Slowly' that was recorded as far back as July 2011 (as was 'Formerly Known as Moon', incidently), and brief surprise bonus track that is unlisted on the CD booklet of the master himself, Mark Murphy, singing one of the Haiku's 'Tundraness' that had been heard earlier on the disc performed by May and Lutter.
A superb album that one hopes will yield more from this wonderful musical partnership.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
