Gretchen Parlato keeps her jazz options open
The singer's eclectic influences on her 2011 album, 'The Lost and Found,' had critics scrambling for superlatives, and she's just hitting her stride as a writer.
Singer Gretchen Parlato. (David Bartolomi, David Bartolomi / January 19, 2012)
By Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times
January 20, 2012
Though this year's Grammy nominations in jazz are without any Earth-rippling surprises à la last year's new-artist breakthrough by Esperanza Spalding, L.A.-born singer-songwriter Gretchen Parlato could've been considered a solid bet to follow in her footsteps if ours was the sort of world where lightning could strike twice.
Though Parlato's 2011 album, "The Lost and Found," was overlooked by the Recording Academy, it was a fixture on many best-of lists at the end of the year, including Rhapsody's inaugural Jazz Critics' Poll (formerly hosted at the Village Voice). Touching on a similarly eclectic lineup of influences that includes elements of pop, funk and Brazilian music, the record could sit comfortably next to Spalding's "Chamber Music Society," led by Parlato's lilting voice and a sharp band given ample room to shine. And like the record that helped break Spalding to a national audience, hers isn't a typical jazz recording.
"It is her sound, her phrasing, her interpretation that makes her interesting," KCRW host Tom Schnabel wrote in an email. Schnabel also chose "The Lost and Found" as his album of the year on the station's website. "She's not just another jazz singer tackling old jazz tunes that have been covered way too much already"....
For the full article, please click on the following link: LA Times Jan 20, 2012