Jazz and The New Songbook, Live at The Madrid

Jazz-Not-Jazz, Dirk Binsau (Germany)
December 7, 2005

http://blog.jazz-not-jazz.com/archives/2005/12/07/carmen-lundy-jazz-and-the-new-songbook-live-at-the-madrid/

As a long-time fan of Carmen Lundy,I’m certainly a little bit biased when it comes to Carmen’s music. She hardly can do no wrong for me so it’s certainly no surprise for you that I think her new double live album is one of the best live jazz albums you can get.

It’s not only Carmen’s rich voice that puts a big smile on my face when I listen to songs like Firefly or Better Days but also the fact that Carmen’s one of the few jazz singers who sings her own compositions right from the beginning when she surfaced on the scene with her debut album Good Morning Kiss. So Carmen’s approach to jazz has always been a little bit broader than that of most of her peers. There’s nothing wrong with reinterpreting jazz standards (actually Carmen can do that like no other and she’s capable of making a standard her very own song) or doing jazz versions of pop/rock songs, but of course the real creative genius is to keep jazz evolving with original compostitions. And that’s why Carmen’s one of jazz music’s greatest for me.

Over the years Carmen has created her own songbook which she celebrates ebulliently on Jazz And The New Songbook. Here we have songs from her albums Something To Believe In, This Is Carmen Lundy, Old Devil Moon, Self Portrait, Good Morning Kiss and two songs she penned for and sung on Curtis Lundy’s Against All Odds album.

Recorded live on February 18, 2005 at the Madrid Theatre in LA this album is pure bliss. Carmen and her musicians like Robert Glasper, Billy Childs (piano, keys), Phil Upchurch (guitar), Nathan East (electric/ silent bass), her brother Curtis Lundy (acoustic bass), Mayra Casales (percussion), Bobby Watson (alto sax) and the LA String Quartet obviously had a ball that evening.

If you’re not familiar with Carmen Lundy this album is a great introduction to her music. All the songs here have the potential to become classics. And I really can’t make up my mind which song here is my favourite. They’re all great. With Afrasia!, Happy New Year and Walking Code Blue there are also three new songs. Afrasia! is an inspiring funky groove/chant in the tradition of 70s funk-jazz artists like Oneness of JuJu or Doug Carn. With Happy New Year there’s finally a beautiful jazz ballad you can play on New Year’s Eve (aren’t we all tired of What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?). Walking Code Blue is a soulful downtempo song with a great key solo by Billy Childs.

I could tell you so much more about each of the eighteen songs here but I guess it would get a little dreary praising each song. So I just advise you to get a copy of this brilliant double album and to discover Carmen’s music. By the way, there’s also a DVD available.