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Review of Megan Birdsall's Album "Track 13" >:
Personnel:
Megan Birdsall- Vocals
Greg Richter - Producer, Arranger,
Engineer, Piano,
Drums (# 4 & 12), & Vibraphone (#10)
Bob Bowman-Bass (all tracks)
Todd Strait- Drums (#1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, & 13)
Tim Cambron- Drums (#3 & 11)
Bobby Watson-Alto Sax (soloist)- (# 6 & 13)
Rod Fleeman - guitar
Jack Lightfoot - Trumpet (ensemble & solo on horn section solo breaks
on "Tell Me Somethin' Good")
Jason Goudeau - Trombone (ensemble & solo on horn section solo breaks
on "Tell Me Somethin' Good")
Jill Atherton - Alto Sax (ensemble & solo on horn section solo breaks
on "Tell Me Somethin' Good") -
Ron Eubel - Chief Engineer at "Soundtrek" Studios and intro voice
on "Track 13"
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Jack Lightfoot, Jason
Goudeau, Jill Atherton, & Greg Richter
also
teach together at Kansas City Youth Jazz
Inc.
Jill Atherton &
Greg ^
.jpg)
For Liner Notes and Track Info
Click On The Cover^
Click on these titles to hear Greg & Jill's performances of
:
"If
You Could See Me Now" (Tadd Dameron),
"And I Love Her" (Lennon/McCartney),
"Theme
For The Frenchman" (Greg Richter)
from their New CD: "Pure
Imagination"
On
the above selections Jill plays Alto
Sax, Tenor sax, and Clarinet, respectively.
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Jazz Ambassadors Magazine,
February/March 2006
Review by Wayne Goins
On Megan Birdsall's Track 13 , the silk-laced feminine vocals glide as
gracefully as a warm liqueur over ice. She has a dark, chocolate tone that
tastes somewhere between Cassandra Wilson and vintage Dionne Warwick. Not
surprisingly, it pours quite nicely, and listeners will be drawn toward the
slow and steady heat generated consistently throughout this CD. Megan's
choices for band mates prove to be wise, as the train on the thirteen tracks
clack on by while the players click, perfectly matched for her every musical
whim.
The CD opens with a trio of fresh interpretations on Lennon/McCartney
classics: "Blackbird," "Norwegian Wood," and "Dear
Prudence."
This three-piece suite features the supporting cast of KC mainstays Bob
Bowman on bass and Todd Strait on drums, with Greg Richter serving triple-duty
as pianist, arranger, and producer for the album. On "Blackbird,"
the arrangement cleverly sandwiches the Beatles tune with a rubato version of
the well-worn jazz standard, "Bye Bye Blackbird" for just the right
amount of extra flavor. Richter offers a sprightly solo on "Wood,"
with the usual confident support of Bowman and Strait, while
"Prudence" molasses its way through the senses, with a delightful
Elton John "Lucy in the Sky" piano quote from Richter.
The mid-section of the CD delivers three standards with unique, inventive
arrangements that capture the imagination. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up
the Most" is a feature for Megan's smoldering vocal approach that builds
tentatively, and eventually gives way to a cascade of overpowering crescendos
near the end of the arrangement.
"Love For Sale" has the unexpected Latin tinge, with Birdsall's
percolating vocals peppered by Bobby Watson's bouncing alto sax lines, and
"Lover Man" shows Megan's sassy side of the street, with a funky
rendition of this staple that boasts a backbeat that Billie wouldn't have
maneuvered any better.
Next, Megan slyly shows her hand and reveals one of her main influences
when she devotes two tributes to Joni Mitchell; it is a rare yet welcome
admission among female jazz crooners. In "Help Me," the band
casually tilts things her way with swing eighth-notes to set the groove versus
the traditional straight-eight feel that Joni so soulfully provided on 1974's
"Court and Spark". As a chaser, she then borrows Mitchell's
"That Song About the Midway" from Clouds in'69 and makes it her own.
As if Greg Richter didn't have enough to do, he hops on vibes and lays down
a blistering solo on the scorching up-tempo rendition of Cole Porter's tune,
"Mrs. Otis Regrets." On the opposite end of the scale, "Mean to
Me" receives a sultry, pensive treatment, a torch song that serves as a
real forté for Megan in this setting ‹with healthy dollops of Bob's bass
and rollicking, church-ified piano licks from Richter.
"The End" and "Autumn's Song" are Birdsall's two
original tunes (tracks 4 and 12) which feature a horn section (trumpet,
trombone, and alto sax) that augments the album's aural landscape.
The closer, "Tell Me Something Good," cleverly captures the
spunky Chaka Khan groove, all the way down to guitarist Rod Fleeman's wah-wah
work. This tune features an inspired Bobby Watson solo, a happy coincidence
that overlays the alto saxophonist with his namesake (Khan's bass player) from
the Rufus '74 band from whence the funk tune originated. And when Megan
squeals with delight, "The drums are on fire !" you know she's
kicking her heels in the air with satisfaction that comes with a band that can
cook when they want to. Indeed, a happy landing after a pleasurable journey
with Birdsall and her eclectic palate. She along with her music is, in a word,
refreshing.
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