[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Singer Nancy King . . . Who?

[Steve barbone]

Saw this virtually unknown jazz singer in NYC two years ago. Very impressive
with American Songbook repertoire. Great voice, great stage presence. And
her accompanist  Fred Hersch is marvelous also.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Nancy King Meets Fred Hersch at the Jazz Standard

NY TIMES - By NATE CHINEN - May 11, 2006

Nancy King is gifted in all the right ways for a jazz singer. She has an
expressive voice, rich in timbre from its raspy low extremities to its reedy
upper strata. Improvisation naturally suits her, whether she's interpreting
a lyric or scatting a solo chorus. Her rhythmic footing is unwavering; so is
her instinct for harmonic resolution. She may not come across as polished,
but she usually seems remarkably poised.

Ms. King has been singing professionally for more than 40 years, and her
reputation among musicians and critics is strong. What she has never had,
outside her native Pacific Northwest, is a significant measure of popular
renown. So when the pianist Fred Hersch brought her to New York for their
first collaboration at the Jazz Standard two years ago, the engagement held
an implicit appeal for connoisseurs.

The results of that one-night encounter, as heard on the new album "Live at
Jazz Standard" (MaxJazz), were intimate and often fine-featured. But Ms.
King and Mr. Hersch have since developed an even deeper rapport, judging by
their performance at the club on Tuesday night, the start of a brief reunion
run. 

On the surface it was a casual affair. Ms. King and Mr. Hersch joked with
the audience, which included at least a few singers (Andy Bey and Karrin
Allyson, to cite two prominent examples). The set list was decided on the
spot, a practice that resulted in one amusing miscue: Mr. Hersch's
impressionistic introduction to the Duke Ellington standard "I Got It Bad
(and That Ain't Good)" left Ms. King wondering (aloud) what song it was.

But then she sang that ballad's opening phrase ‹ "Never treats me sweet and
gentle" ‹ with poetic precision, holding the last syllable with a melancholy
sustain. She applied similar care to Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's "I Fall in
Love Too Easily," even as she radically reshaped the melody. Her world-weary
interpretation, coupled with a superb solo by Mr. Hersch, made it one of the
highlights of the set.

Scat singing, the Achilles' heel of many jazz singers, is one of Ms. King's
strengths. So every song was a showcase for her inventions, which were
logically contoured and expertly paced. Mr. Hersch was the ideal
accompanist, adjusting his harmonic support as needed; he played one chorus
of Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are" strictly as a bass line, with his
left hand. 

Ms. King replaced Oscar Hammerstein II's original lyrics for that song with
alternate ones by the bassist Red Mitchell, which transformed it from a
florid valentine to a spiritual affirmation. Tellingly, she took special
delight in one passage in particular: "You can't create yourself/ That job's
been done/But you can compose yourself/It's kind of fun."

Nancy King and Fred Hersch continue tonight at the Jazz Standard, 116 East
27th Street, (212) 576-2232.