Review: Vote For Pedro - Cocktail Napkin

Vote For Pedro - Cocktail Napkin
2007, Vote For Pedro

Vote For Pedro is a novel Boston quartet traversing the bounds of Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz and Comedy to rave reviews. Led by vocalist Diva Taunia (who recently lost 170 pounds and shared her experiences with the world via YouTube), Vote For Pedro creates mellifluous musical magic that is much easier to enjoy than it is to classify. Diva Taunia is an ASCAP songwriter, vocal coach, clinician, session singer and front woman all wrapped into one. Diva Taunia has shared the stage with such performers as The Bobs, Wayne Brady, Patty Larkin, Zoe Lewis, Sean Altman and The Persuasions, and has been won a shelf full of awards for her vocals both regionally and nationally. Vote For Pedro's Cocktail Napkin was released in 2006 but is worth revisiting; the mix of quality music and comedy is rare and is just too good to classify as a novelty.

Cocktail Napkin opens with Do You Trust Me, mixing A Cappella style vocal harmony arrangements in a highly danceable Pop tune. Diva Taunia has a voice people will line up to listen to and practically melts a speaker wire or too while imploring you to dance along. Even the rap serves to enhance the listening experience here. Taunia leads Vote For Pedro into one of the more unusual covers of George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime that I've heard, starting as a dark, free-form interpretation that morphs slowly into a near-frantic tripped out techno/jazz hybrid. Traditionalist may not be entirely thrilled with this one, but it's a brave, novel and successful choice. Cool Kidz answers the old question, "If all your friends jumped off the bridge would you jump too?" with a resounding splash and gurgle. Featuring Manhattan Transfer style vocal harmonies, simple bass and drum loop instrumentation and a rap/sing combo, Cool Kidz is good enough to get mentioned in the Pop category and whacked enough to earn a spot on a show like Dr. Demento. Cocktail Napkin sounds more like a college A Cappella group using minimalist instrumentation than anything else. Vocalist Shah Salmi provides and easy, sure and pleasant performance while the rest of the band kicks in some delicious vocal harmonies. Vote For Pedro wraps up with Tall Dark And Handsome, which won a CARA Award in 2007 for Best Humor Song. The ladies out there will nod in sympathy with this song, knowing that often the best looking men "play for the other team".

Vote For Pedro is a trip. Salmi is a strong performer and deserves more attention than he'll ever get here because Diva Taunia is such a dynamic figure it's easy to lose focus on the rest of the group. Taunia's voice is powerful and supple, able to belt one moment and coo a lyric whisper the next. The sense of humor here is actually funny, something that is all too rare in artists who try to be funny in song. Like the Smothers Brother before them, Vote For Pedro's greatest sleight of hand is their ability to create musically serious and significant music. Just when you think they're serious they'll throw you a curve; and just when you start to think maybe they're a novelty group after all they'll create a phrase with such harmonic purity and beauty you'll be moved. Make sure to get your Cocktail Napkin.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Vote For Pedro and Diva Taunia at http://www.divataunia.com/ or www.myspace.com/divatauniamusic. You can purchase Cocktail Napkin via Vote For Pedro’s web store.

Review: Irene And Her Latin Jazz Band - A Song Of You

Irene And Her Latin Jazz Band - A Song Of You
2009, Irene And Her Latin Jazz Band

Irene Nachreiner is a multiple-threat artist; vocalist, pianist, songwriter, dancer, screenwriter, actor, and Improv comedy all find homes on her curriculum vitae. She started singing jazz several years ago after meeting acoustic guitarist Marco Tulio (Pat Metheny, Thalia) and drummer/percussionist Cristano Novelli (Milton Nascimento, Diego Torres). Irene And Her Latin Jazz Band's sophomore CD, A Song Of You, features a mix of originals and covers and the exquisite play of her backing band. Aside from Tulio and Novelli, sitting in for this album is pianist and Berklee grad Rique Pantoja (Chet Baker, Milton Nascimento, Steps Ahead, Ricardo Silveira, Carlos Santana).

A Song Of You starts off with the seeds for success, decent original material, some classic covers and a group of A-List backing musicians. Irene Nachreiner gives each song here a technically perfect reading, yet never seems to capture the vim and vigor of her band. Nachreiner’s voice is decent but doesn’t project the sort of charisma needed to pull off songs like S’Wonderful (George & Ira Gershwin); Triste (Jobim); It’s Too Darn Hot (Cole Porter) or Bin Bom (Joao Gilberto). There are a few nice moments here; the title track is a pleasant listen and South Seas Samba has a certain charm to it. Even La Foule is interesting, although perhaps more for the courage it takes to cover such a song.

Nachreiner misses the boat on Fragillidad, the Spanish version of Sting’s Fragile. The original version is an urgent and reverent plea; here it is presented as a hip Latin/Vegas hybrid that’s almost campy. It comes across as technically perfect without the heart or sense of purpose that’s embedded in every note of the song. Likewise Change The World, the song made famous by Eric Clapton comes across like a version you might hear on one of those CDs they sell at Party Warehouse where unnamed performers sing pop hits.

Through it all the backing band is nothing short of inspired. Nachreiner is a solid vocalist with a decent voice, but just doesn’t project the performance style on CD that sells listeners on a song. A Song Of You is a pleasant listen, more appropriate for the dinner hour than serious listening. If you’re more into the instrumental side of things then there is a lot hear to dig into. Irene & Her Latin Jazz Band have created a CD that’s pleasant to listen to but just doesn’t hold the listener.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Irene And Her Latin Jazz Band at http://www.irenesings.com/. You can purchase a copy of A Song Of You at www.cdbaby.com/cd/irenesings3.

Review: Halie Loren - They Oughta Write A Song

Halie Loren - They Oughta Write A Song
2008, White Moon Productions

Halie Loren made quite an impression with her debut album, 2006's Full Circle. Loren proved she could write and perform songs that walk the line of emotional breakdown with a power and grace that are nearly unheard of in popular music. Loren, who is seemingly something of a musical restless heart, follows up with an album of classic jazz songs entitled They Oughta Write A Song. As good as Loren was on Full Circle, she sounds as if she were born to sing jazz. They Oughta Write A Song hits all the right notes from start to finish.

Starting off with the pensive title track, Loren's silky alto slides through the songs here like a hot knife through butter. Loren is smooth and full of a sensual grace that recalls Eartha Kitt at the top of her game. A Whiter Shade Of Pale is a gorgeous reading by Loren; she owns it like she wrote it, and it is one of the highlights of the CD. Blue Skies is performed in a mischievous, funky jazz arrangement that you won't soon forget. For all that's been said thus far, Halie Loren raises her game another notch on Autumn Leaves. The muted piano arrangement allows for maximum appreciation of Loren's virtuosic vocal, steeped in melancholy remembrance and regret.

Halie Loren really shakes things up on Fever. Get out your ice water, AC and oscillating fans. They won't be enough. Loren proceeds to find the heart of The Blues on God Bless The Child. I keep wanting to point out particular songs as highlights, but the difficulty is that everything here is just so good that the word highlight becomes meaningless. That being said, Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps is amazing. There is a mischievous quality to this performance that allows Loren to reach even higher and touch perfection for two minutes and twenty-one seconds. How Should I Know, The Dock Of The Bay and I Don't Miss It Much are up to the level that Loren has established throughout the album, and Summertime is absolutely glorious. Summertime is one of those songs that EVERYBODY who sings Jazz or Broadway tunes tries on at least once. As such it’s easy to listen to each new rendition with a jaded ear, but occasionally a particular performance will still pique interest. Halie Loren's version is full of soul; adopting the warm and easy feel of the prototypical summer's day that the song uses as its scenery. Loren waxes and wanes in intensity as she builds toward the song's peak. Her performance is a master class that avoids the attempt some singers make to overpower the song on the final chorus, letting the power of the song speak for itself.

I'm torn. After hearing Full Circle I very much anticipated Loren's next project. After hearing They Oughta Write A Song, it seems as if Loren was born with Jazz in her veins. Loren is one of those artists that can sing pop, rock, jazz and even Broadway without missing a beat. She could be equally successful in each realm. Hopefully over time she'll make time for both the pop/rock material and the jazz/show tunes. They Oughta Write A Song deserves to take a place among the great vocal jazz albums. Halie Loren becomes the first artist in the history of Wildy's World to have two Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Discs! They don't make them like this anymore.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Halie Loren and even purchase a copy of They Oughta Write A Song at http://www.halieloren.com/.