Mannieb
20 September 2006, 22:24
There is a Chinese curse that states, "May you live in interesting times." That says it all for the last half of 2006. It's a shell-shocked world of uncertainty, with chaos abroad and tension at home (or vice versa depending on where you live). Our media culture is chock full of sensational images and narratives of conflict and violence. From gangsta rap to heavy metal to FOX News, it is an endless litany of explosions, dark fantasies, and common criminals made into primordial demons. In this climate the most radical of responses that an artist can make is to create harmonious, gently real, or uplifting music. Mellani Day and Dazed are such artists.
Their EP Shy to Sure and the follow-up CD Mostly True are heavily based on a mixture of jazz, calypso-reggae, pop and blues. Picking up from where Joni Mitchell collapsed in her derailed-by-death collaboration with Charles Mingus, Ms. Day takes a singer-songwriter's approach to lyrics and a jazz player's rooted but boundary breaking approach to music. From the opening cut, the bar bluesy "If They Only Knew," to the final song, the country/Irish folk influenced "True Love (A Wedding Song)," Ms. Day and her group convey a range of emotions without screaming, melodramatic whispering, or maudlin sentimentality. They also avoid the pu pu platter approach to music (here's jazz, now here's blues, and now a reggae song), and contrived homogenization (great for yogurt, bad for music).
Shy to Sure is more genre-rooted, with "Losin'," a down and dirty rhythm and blues, and the title song, a hard swingin' jazz tune that Anita O' Day would've loved. The third cut, "Jade to Sapphire," hints at Ms. Day's jazz adventurism and early interest in show tunes. Mostly True, which features keyboardist and co-producer Eric Gunnison and Dazed, is a more unified effort. The opening cut, "If They Only Knew," contrasts Ms. Day's smooth jazz vocal style with a blues that takes a while to catch fire and then burns with blazing guitar by Jamie Krutz, and the muscular might of bassist Michael Willis and Keith Whiting on drums.
The recipe of smooth melodies and explosive instrumental music was followed by Motown and other old schools of rock and pop with results that are self-evident, yet missing almost completely from today's music. Like great music of the classic rock and soul era, there is meaning to the singing: "They're angry, and they're fightin' away / Planning pointless battles, don't know what they're fightin' for / Girls next door and presidents shake their fist against the Lord and his anointed one / They say, "Take your rules and regulations, we won't be bound by obligation to your so called Son."
These words are not as intense as those once sung by jazz great Abbey Lincoln, but they resonate today. "Something to Swear By" is the type of jazz ballad that could have been played thirty years ago and could be played thirty years from now. It has the type of structure that old soul and classic jazz has: a memorable melody, harmonies that take you on an emotional journey, and emotionally satisfying sentiments expressed by a great voice. In other words, it's a great song and Ms. Day sells the hell out of it. It starts with ethereal keyboards and percussion, then she sings what it's all about: "You're wondering about me, You've been this close before / You wanna' know, is this the real thing, If not you're out the door / Well rest your mind you have arrived, And I'll make you believe."
Her intro gives way to a rock groove. The chord changes move over unexpected hills to resolve in the valley, carrying the listener on a gently exciting ride. Like all good pop, the music and lyrics are merged perfectly. The musicianship, once again, elevates the song above the mundane. Mr. Gunnison plays a fluid solo, with melodic runs and counter chords that burst from the song's emotive underpinning. Percussionist Sky Canyon solos on the rich and rarely heard vibraphone with the type of soul vibraphonist Roy Ayers is famous for.
Read the complete interview with Mellani Day by Mark Kirby
http://www.mellaniday.com
http://www.myspace.com/dazedband
Their EP Shy to Sure and the follow-up CD Mostly True are heavily based on a mixture of jazz, calypso-reggae, pop and blues. Picking up from where Joni Mitchell collapsed in her derailed-by-death collaboration with Charles Mingus, Ms. Day takes a singer-songwriter's approach to lyrics and a jazz player's rooted but boundary breaking approach to music. From the opening cut, the bar bluesy "If They Only Knew," to the final song, the country/Irish folk influenced "True Love (A Wedding Song)," Ms. Day and her group convey a range of emotions without screaming, melodramatic whispering, or maudlin sentimentality. They also avoid the pu pu platter approach to music (here's jazz, now here's blues, and now a reggae song), and contrived homogenization (great for yogurt, bad for music).
Shy to Sure is more genre-rooted, with "Losin'," a down and dirty rhythm and blues, and the title song, a hard swingin' jazz tune that Anita O' Day would've loved. The third cut, "Jade to Sapphire," hints at Ms. Day's jazz adventurism and early interest in show tunes. Mostly True, which features keyboardist and co-producer Eric Gunnison and Dazed, is a more unified effort. The opening cut, "If They Only Knew," contrasts Ms. Day's smooth jazz vocal style with a blues that takes a while to catch fire and then burns with blazing guitar by Jamie Krutz, and the muscular might of bassist Michael Willis and Keith Whiting on drums.
The recipe of smooth melodies and explosive instrumental music was followed by Motown and other old schools of rock and pop with results that are self-evident, yet missing almost completely from today's music. Like great music of the classic rock and soul era, there is meaning to the singing: "They're angry, and they're fightin' away / Planning pointless battles, don't know what they're fightin' for / Girls next door and presidents shake their fist against the Lord and his anointed one / They say, "Take your rules and regulations, we won't be bound by obligation to your so called Son."
These words are not as intense as those once sung by jazz great Abbey Lincoln, but they resonate today. "Something to Swear By" is the type of jazz ballad that could have been played thirty years ago and could be played thirty years from now. It has the type of structure that old soul and classic jazz has: a memorable melody, harmonies that take you on an emotional journey, and emotionally satisfying sentiments expressed by a great voice. In other words, it's a great song and Ms. Day sells the hell out of it. It starts with ethereal keyboards and percussion, then she sings what it's all about: "You're wondering about me, You've been this close before / You wanna' know, is this the real thing, If not you're out the door / Well rest your mind you have arrived, And I'll make you believe."
Her intro gives way to a rock groove. The chord changes move over unexpected hills to resolve in the valley, carrying the listener on a gently exciting ride. Like all good pop, the music and lyrics are merged perfectly. The musicianship, once again, elevates the song above the mundane. Mr. Gunnison plays a fluid solo, with melodic runs and counter chords that burst from the song's emotive underpinning. Percussionist Sky Canyon solos on the rich and rarely heard vibraphone with the type of soul vibraphonist Roy Ayers is famous for.
Read the complete interview with Mellani Day by Mark Kirby
http://www.mellaniday.com
http://www.myspace.com/dazedband