Carmen Lundy at Ronnie Scott’s

The Guardian, Kevin Le Gendre: September 13, 2007

http://music.guardian.co.uk/jazz/reviews/story/0,,2167773,00.html

Carmen Lundy at Ronnie Scott’s

**** Ronnie Scott’s, London

If the rule is that jazz singers don’t write their own songs then Carmen Lundy is a resounding exception. Since the late 1970s, the American has penned material so prolifically that it is no surprise she announces halfway through a dynamic performance that she has just published her first song book – a privilege usually reserved for jazz pianists and saxophonists.

Throughout the evening, Lundy presents both new and old pieces that prove she is not just banging out sub-prime pub tunes. San Rafael, Afrasia and Gossip reveal a zestful approach to several areas of an improvising musician’s lexicon: tasty chord progressions beholden to the minor key waltzes that Coltrane worked to such good effect; dramatic melodic shifts that flow from both gospel and the great American song book; bold tempo changes that bring a rush of airborne quarter notes after earthy long tones. Lundy’s voice is flexible enough to negotiate these hoops, and her dark-to-light timbre works well on more soulful ballads such as You’re Not in Love, a piece Stevie Wonder could have written for Dee Dee Bridgewater or Roberta Flack.

Pianist Anthony Wonsey is fiery and focused, and the drums and bass team of Jason Brown and Daryl Hall keep tight on the beat but smartly open things up when the singer launches into wily scats. Yet Lundy’s most effective foil is percussionist Mayra Casales, who uses bongos, congas, shakers and triangle with tremendous subtlety to bring a microtonal finesse to a set that lasts a good hour and a half.