GRETCHEN PARLATO — In A Dream (review)

GRETCHEN PARLATO — In A Dream album cover Album · 2009 · Vocal Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Matti P
In my previous review I mentioned the groundbreaking 1963 album Getz/Gilberto [as the starting point of Astrud Gilberto's career]. The American jazz vocalist GRETCHEN PARLATO (b. 1976) has said hearing that album at the age of 13 was a turning point for her. She drew influence from bossa nova in general and João Gilberto's vocal style in particular. She earned a bachelor's degree in ethnomusicology/jazz studies at University of California, L.A., and in 2001 she was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance as the first vocalist ever admitted into the program. Parlato has also earned several awards. Especially after her second album In a Dream she was hailed as a rising star.

Against all that, I feel almost sorry for not being particularily charmed by this album, or Parlato's voice -- which I think is quite similar to Emma Salokoski from Finland, whom I also seem to like less than the critics. Admittedly Parlato has a sensual and disarmingly light way to sing, but to me it also sounds very thin and lacking of depth, especially on higher notes. I guess it's a matter of taste.

Featured musicians are equally young bright hopes such as keyboardist Aaron Parks, bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Kendrick Scott. The album's soundscape is modern, playful, often even quirky, and yet pretty intimate, elegant and gentle. Parlato's butterfly-light vocal stylings are always in front, and the musical backing, even at its quirkiest, mainly stays as her humble servant. The dreamy title track and 'Turning into Blue' are among my favourites (they are also the ones co-written by the vocalist herself), but I'm not fond of some sonic details on several tracks.

The opening track 'Can't Help It' (orig. by Stevie Wonder) features scatting and mouth pops by guitarist Lionel Loueke, and also 'Doralice' is backed by percussive human voices. A couple of pieces, such as basically instrumental 'E.S.P.' (Wayne Shorter), contain sound effects of a little child playing, which I find rather irritating.

Speaking of the album in general, I'd welcome more of a certain jazz groove in the playing, the kind you hear on 'Weak', in which electric piano and drums are deliciously strong. So, even if this album didn't really hit my own taste, I give it 3½ stars for personality and fresh musical approach, and for not being a usual bunch of well-known standards.

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