Kellylee Evans | Nina

Vocalist Kellylee Evans keeps the vocal jazz tradition alive on her
solid third effort, Nina. The album is entitled ‘Nina’ as it is a
tribute album to legendary vocalist and pianist Nina Simone, considered
to be one of the greatest singers of all time. According to the bio on
her website (
http://www.kellyleeevans.com),
Nina was recorded in France in 2009 during a two-day span for French
label Plus Loin Music. While Evans covers classics sung by her ‘idol,’
she also allows herself to stray from ‘tried and true’ arrangements,
which allows the audience to connect with Evans’ own personality as an
artist. Finely constructed all-in-all, there is very little to quibble
about Nina. Vocally throughout, Evan is on ‘autopilot’ and does
nothing but justice to the tunes she covers.

“Do What I Gotta Do,” a laid-back and ‘chill’ cut, opens the album
solidly. The performance is pleasant and while Evans doesn’t ‘ruffle
any feathers’ vocally, her performance is cool, calm, and connected; she
never loses sight of the jazz vocal idiom. The arrangement works well
with Evans being supported by acoustic bass and guitar (no percussion in
the least here). Evans cuts loose on the ever popular “Don’t Let Me Be
Misunderstood” in which percussion is added to the mix. The
interpretation is one in which Evans stays from the original (as
performed by Simone). While the effects should be questionable, the
effect ends up being marvelous and arguably the valedictory moment of
the album. Evans’ vocal ad libs towards the end of the song are
exceptional and contrast the ‘cool, calm, and collected’ feel she
exhibited on opener “Do What I Gotta Do.”

“Ain’t Got No/I Got Life” is a brief cut, clocking in at 2:50 in
duration. Despite this, “Ain’t Got No/I Got Life” packs great punch.
Specifically, Evans achieves some ‘emotional peak,’ which is always nice
to hear from a vocalist. Evans shocks more on a liberal take on “Mood
Indigo,” which finds the vocalist and her supporting combo completely
going an alternate route with the arrangement of this standard jazz
tune. That said, it is moments like “Mood Indigo” on Nina that truly
show off Evans’ own music personality, which is appreciated. While some
may find “Mood Indigo’s” arrangement to be slightly ‘off-putting,’ it
does achieve a ‘mystical’ and ‘moody’ sound and Evans’ vocal
performance is very much in the vein of smokey, jazzy singers.

“Feeling Good” is exceptional by all means with superb production work –
among the best of this effort. A fine electric guitar solo by Marvin
Sewell (according to her site, she had work with him previously) puts the
‘icing on the cake.’ “Tomorrow is My Turn” finds Evans taking a more
traditional take, which is a nice departure from the innovativeness of
“Feeling Good.” The performance proves to be pleasant with notably
nuanced, playful vocals from Evans; the phrasing sculpts and shapes this
performance. Evans slows the album’s tempo with two slower cuts, “I
Loves You Porgy” and “July Tree.” “I Loves You Porgy” is brief, but
shows off solid, nuanced vocals from Evans. Even shorter, “July Tree”
clocks in at 2:15 and finds Evans accompanied by guitar only – a nice
contrast to previous cuts. Why “July Tree” is so effective is that it
fully exploits Evans full bodied vocal tone.

“Love Me or Leave Me” cranks the tempo back up and like “Tomorrow is My
Turn” proves to be a more ‘straight-ahead’ cut with ‘comping’ guitar,
walking bass line, and solid drum groove intact. What is different
however is the first and only bass solo, which is well improvised. And
let’s not forget to recognize the brilliant Sewell on guitar soloing
once again. On the low key “Ne me quitte pas,” Evans’ French sounds
impeccable here – as is her vocal performance. A very beautiful track,
the restrained use of guitar here proves very important to achieving a
more atmospheric, quieting sound.

“Sinnerman” finds guitarist Sewell playing around with different sounds
and Evans again providing another capable performance. The sole quibble
would be the length. Similarly, the epic “Wild Is The Night,” the
closing cut, clocks in at nearly eight minutes. On the positive side,
considering jazz tends to be lengthy anyways, accustomed listeners
shouldn’t mind the length considering that Evans’ performance on “Wild
Is the Night” is extremely polished and beautiful and the arrangement
complements her well.

All-in-all, there is very little to dislike about Nina. Nina does
justice to cover some great classics by the late great vocalist. Perhaps
more important is the fact that Kellylee Evans continues to establish
herself as a distinct jazz vocalist – not a ‘copycat’ in the least. I
believe this effort is a fine addition to any jazz vocal library (or
playlist)!

Brent Faulkner

The Urban Music Scene