An Evening with Nicole Henry
Nicole Henry is a force of nature in five inch stilettos. To say she’s expansive is minimizing high stakes approach. Muscular vocals emerge as jazz fusion. Rhythmic dexterity offers textured arrangements that shouldn’t work with lyricism – but do. Sexual innuendo and longing can sound like gospel. Control is remarkable.
“Almost Like Being in Love”(Frederick Loewe/Alan Jay Lerner) kicks off exuberant. Piano whirls and leaps as if sprung, yet the center holds. “Your Smiling Face” (James Taylor) starts breathy; climbs, stretches. There’s nothing folksy about it. Henry bounces slightly. “La, da, dah, yes, oh yeah…” Hands slide down the mic stand and open in hopeful anticipation.
Shedrick Mitchell, Nicole Henry, Eric Wheeler, Keith Loftis (Behind Loftis, Charles Haynes)
“How Glad I Am” (Jimmy Wilson/Larry Harrison) unfurls like a bolt of rich satin. Brushes circle. “My love has no beginning/My love has no end…” Henry almost coos. Watch carefully. Sometimes there’s a little ping of the head with octave change. “Midnight at the Oasis” (David Nichtern) is just fun. The performer dances. There go the hips! She’s infectiously tickled pink. If this were a Hirschfeld, expressive arms would rule. The tune swings. A last “ooo, ooo, ooo” could be adhan (urge to prayer) as easily as a mating call.
Billy Miles’ “My Love Is” begins with cool bass, plucking, sliding, pausing, tapping, then eases into a groove. “My love” (hand strokes her collar bone) “is a mountainside” Henry dips. She and the bass vibrate in tandem. “In my heart,” her left foot kicks back, “you’ll always be mine.” Superb arrangement.
Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do?” is prefaced by an overlong story about the writer’s love life. Piano hands strike with purpose and precision. The song is delivered, not in its usual wistful rendition, but as mid-tempo torch, wrenching questions that fade unanswered. “Is It a Crime?” (Sade Adu/Stuart Matthewman/Andrew Hale) slides in on repeating bass riffs. The band joins with tuneful moan. Mellow sax supports Henry’s massaging of lyrics. Vocal is pliant, kneading lyrics. Bass tip-toes, sax circles, brushes tap.
Nicole Henry; Eric Wheeler
“Wild is the Wind” (Dimitri Tiomkin/Ned Washington) is languid, sultry. The vocalist evokes a stretching cat. “Let the wind blow…” Arms extend towards us. Sax hums. J. Leslie McFarland’s “Won’t Be Long” is funky. “It’s a Monday night/I just want to see you all shake a little bit-quiver!” she exhorts. Vocal and music do a 50s call/response. Sax lets it rip. Piano boogies, every note decisive. Percussion ratchets up with wowza skill. Singing is evangelistic.
Unfortunately, the performer seems to find inspiration – elsewhere. Though she gracefully pivots, Henry rarely looks at us and mostly performs with eyes closed. Technical virtuosity rides roughshod over lyric meaning.
The band is terrific.
Opening: Nicole Henry; Eric Wheeler
Nicole Henry at Birdland
Shedrick Mitchell-Piano, Eric Wheeler-Bass, Charles Haynes-Drums, Keith Loftis-Sax
Monday, July 10, 2023
Birdland
315 West 44th Street
