CD Review: Solamente

JazzTimes, Christopher Loudon: December 1, 2009

www.jazztimes.com

Carmen Lundy, SOLAMENTE (Afrasia)

By Christopher Loudon

In both Italian and Spanish, “solamente” translates as “only”, “alone” or “just”. Whichever you choose, it aptly describes the bravura tour de force that is Carmen Lundy’s latest. Lundy’s original intent was simply to record demos of 10 new compositions. She handled all arranging, mixing and producing and played all the instruments, laying her own piano, bass and drums beneath her vocals. The results were so outstanding that she was persuaded to release it as her 11th album.

That Lundy is one of the outstanding jazz singer-songwriters of her (or any) age is beyond debate. As she enters the fourth decade of a career that has yet to provide her with the wide acclaim and wider audience she so richly deserves, Lundy’s voice remains as espresso-dark, oak-strong and cognac-mellow as ever. Her writing skills are equally formidable, synthesizing the storytelling power and prowess of Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone. She nods to Maya Angelou as she shapes a soft yet immensely forceful salute to female empowerment on “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, and toys with Ramsey Lewis’ “The In Crowd” with her two-part, tongue-in-cheek “The Out Crowd”.

But Solamente reaches its creative apex on “Move On”, a pull-no-punches discourse on the racial conflicts that continue to plague America. Like a tidal wave instantly calmed, it flows into a velvety “America the Beautiful” that is surely intended as a counterpoint expression of hope at the dawning of the Obama era.