For the Record...

Monique Danielle

Smile

Personnel: Kansas City musicians: Roger Wilder, piano; Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman (guitars); Bob Bowman, James Albright, Steve Rigazzi (basses); Rod Lincoln and Tim Cambron (drums); Stanton Kessler (trumpet, flugelhorn); Mark Cohick (baritone sax); Bay area musicians: Dan Shea (producer, piano, acoustic guitar, vibes, drums); John Thies (acoustic guitar); Dave McNabb (electric guitar); Dan Feiszly (bass); Rita Thies (alto/tenor/baritone saxes, alto/bass flute, percussion); Mike Olmos (trumpets, flugelhorn); Adam Theis (trombone) note: spelling of some personnel varied from promo material to liner notes

The first thing I noticed about Monique Danielle is her dead-on intonation; you could tune any instrument to this voice. The first few cuts were pleasant, pretty... the title song, “Smile,” a no-frills, smooth rendering — then a mellow “Taking a Chance on Love.” I was temporarily transported back to the (forgive me) good old 50’s and 60’s – Rosie, Patti, Jo, pop-chart Sassy, Ella, Dinah Washington. Speaking of whom, if you liked Dinah’s hit “What a Difference a Day Makes” you’ll love Monique’s, which begins with just bass under vocal and then bursts into a tight, open throttle big band chart beneath what is clearly one of the best singers I’ve yet to hear.

A bent-note “Summertime” is followed by a rhapsodically simplistic “Insensatez (How Insensitive)” demonstrating once again that gratuitous vocal gymnastics are always trumped by impeccable taste. This is a balladeer who instinctively lives in the song.

“You Do Something to Me” is cute and flirtatious in waltz time, Monique once more propitiously stretching the phrase(s).

(By now, I’ve heard so many great instrumental solos it would take another page to properly credit each; there are seventeen musicians on this CD, each a top-tier talent and most taking at least one turn. Plus, the arrangements will knock you out and the accompaniment on each cut is truly flawless. Buy the disc and witness for yourself.)

“The Look of Love” as a Tango? Monique not only makes Dan Shea’s fabulous chart work – her dark, sensual conformation will surely raise an eyebrow or two. An ever-so-slow, soulful “At Last,” perfectly seasoned with Rod Fleeman’s unmistakable comping, gives way to “This Can’t Be Love,” the vocal effortless, self-assured, ideation-R-us.

Another surprise: a 6/8 “That’s All.” I played this again and again, mesmerized by the smooth, flawless intervals. YIKES!!!! This woman lives and works right here in Kansas City. We are indeed blessed.

It take chops to hold your own with guitar, bass, and (drum) brushes but – no surprise – Monique has ‘em and shows ‘em off with “It Could Happen to You,” tossing in a modulation for good measure (pardon pun). The beat-one emphasis in Dorian “Nature Boy” gives it a gypsy-like essence — romantic...transportive.

Tightly clustered horns usher in the somber, reflective “Angel Eyes,” and ever-so-gentle “A Child is Born” is so soft and delicate you’ll not want to move...breathe.... do anything to interrupt the ambiance. No apologies for the hyperbole – this is a GREAT CD.

— Carol Comer

AnnaLee and the Lucky So and Sos
Goin’ To Chicago

Personnel: AnnaLee, vocals; Bill Irvine, guitar(s), vocals; Steve Smith, sax, violin, vocals; Bob Jolley, drums; Steven Drummond, piano; David Firman, bass Tracks: I May Be Wrong, Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie, The Cat and the Kitty, Moonlight in Vermont, I’m Beginning to See the Light, Goin’ to Chicago, Real Gone Cat, 5 Guys Named Moe, At Last, Oo Papa Do, Caldonia, We the Cats (Shall Hep You) Recorded at Cricket Lounge Studio, 2007.
Arrangements: Bill Irvine and Steve Smith. Engineer, Mixing and Mastering, Bill Irvine.

It only takes a single track to figure out what Goin’ to Chicago, the 2007 recording from AnnaLee and the Lucky So and Sos is all about – 1930’s style jump swing a la Cab Calloway. It’s a musical style that never really goes away. It’s fun, it invites toe tapping and dancing and a beer or two.

This recording is exciting in ways similar to other reincarnations of this style. Louis Prima and his entourage had a lot of success with it in the 1950s, the Widespread Depression Orchestra (later the Widespread Jazz Orchestra) also had a fan base with their version in the 1970s and 1980s.

You may also hear some similarities to some western swing and the early rhythm and blues that led to rock and roll.

The songs they choose are either from “the era”, and even the two Bill Irvine originals sound like they could have been. There are a couple of famous Basie/Rushing tunes (“I Many Be Wrong” and “Goin’ to Chicago”), Duke’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light”, Cab’s “We the Cats (Shall Hep You)” and Louis Jordan’s “5 Guys Names Moe”. There is “Caldonia” and “Oo Papa Do” and “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie”.

We’ll get to AnnaLee’s vocals in a sec, but I need to mention a couple of the guys in the band. Guitarist Irvine (and vocalist on a couple of tracks) is fine both in lead (try the opening to “Chicago” and his chorus on his own “Real Gone Cat”) and rhythm (“See the Light” for example) roles. Steve Smith plays both sax and violin. The sax may remind you of Jordan or even Hank Crawford, and his violin does the same work: nice riffs behind AnnaLee and an occasional solo. Steven Dillman also has some solo work, and is excellent behind AnnaLee on the ballad “Moonlight in Vermont”.

Yes, ballad. Ballads, actually, because there is also “At Last”. On these tracks AnnaLee reminds of a couple of good and versatile female soul singers from the 1960s, Barbara Mason immediately comes to mind. And she is good on the ballads. But the jump blues are where she really shines. She shouts and growls, she has the rhythm needed to make these tunes sound great.

Bill O’Connor’s liner notes call this a musical time machine, an update to a sound that continues to be infectious. It’s a great sound, and it’s in fine hands with AnnaLee and the Lucky So and Sos. I’m hepped.

—Roger Atkinson