Lisa Young Quartet @ Bennetts Lane Jazz Lab 30 June, 2007
“Remarkable Grace in Amazing Voice… In many ways, Grace reflects the sum of Young’s journey in life thus far”
JESSICA NICHOLAS: What is the definition of “grace”? One answer, perhaps, is the serenity that comes with self-acceptance. It’s a strongly appealing quality, and one that Lisa Young clearly embodies when she sings. It’s also the title of her most recent CD, which won this year’s Bell Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
In many ways, Grace reflects the sum of Young’s journey in life thus far – both musically and personally. Several songs reflect the satisfaction of finally knowing and accepting oneself, as in Love After Love (which opens with the lyric: The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door).
On Saturday night, Young greeted a large crowd at Bennetts Lane and welcomed them warmly, offering two memorable sets with her quartet. Regular guitarist Steve Magnusson had injured his hand, so Geoff Hughes was called in at short notice to fill the guitar role. He did an admirable job in a difficult situation, negotiating Young’s all-original repertoire and intricate arrangements with dexterity and poise.
Only about half Young’s songs come with lyrics attached. Of these, Saturday’s highlights included the aforementioned Love After Love and the exquisite Unity (performed as a heartfelt duet with acoustic bassist Ben Robertson).
But many of the compositions we heard on Saturday contained no words at all. Here, Young’s voice leapt, darted and soared wordlessly, interacting with her fellow musicians as an agile and extremely flexible instrument.
There were frequent passages inspired by Young’s fascination with Indian vocal percussion (or konnakol), where the voice imitates the rhythms of the double-headed mridangam drum. On The Moon Has Made Other Plans, she and drummer Dave Beck locked into a sequence of razor-sharp percussive syllables with incredible precision.
And on Deep in Madras, the night’s closing tune, the singer accompanied herself on aslatuas, swinging the small seed-filled balls around her wrists to mirror the joyful syncopation in her own, truly remarkable voice.
