Billie Holiday: Reaching for the Moon– A Concert Celebration
Catherine Russell, vocals • Veronica Swift, vocals • The Emmet Cohen Trio (Emmet Cohen, piano, Yasushi Nakamura, bass, Kyle Pool, drums), Tivon Pennicott, Grammy Award Winning tenor sax .
Under the aegis of the 92Y. The concert can be viewed online until December 9: 92Y.org/billieholiday
Billie Holiday (1915-1959) left a legacy of vocal style inspired by jazz instrumentalists, unique manipulation of phrasing and tempo, and improvisational skills.
Emmet Cohen (no relation) opens tonight introducing the inimitable Catherine Russell. “I Wished on The Moon” (Ralph Rainger/Dorothy Parker) arrives smooth and cool with perfect, no-fuss phrasing. Bouncing slightly, Russell opens and closes her hand as if playing an air horn. Cohen’s piano takes a tap-paced stroll, each note clear and sassy.
With “Fine and Mellow,” written by Holiday herself, the vocalist conveys attitude without overacting. It’s clear the character in the song is accustomed: My man don’t love me/He treats me oh so mean…He’s the meanest man I’ve ever seen (but) When he starts to love me, he’s so fine and mellow… Pennicott’s sax circles melody, never too far away but unto itself. “It’s so nice to make music with humans,” Russell comments smiling.
“Love Me or Leave Me” (Walter Donaldson/Gus Kahn) tiptoes in replete with too often omitted verse, then speeds up to a patter pace, every word enunciated, every slip/slide note on target. Russell’s delivery is like gently popped corn. Cohen asks when the singer, who comes from a storied musical family, first became aware of Holiday. “I had an LP when I was a teenager and fell in love with ‘I Cover the Waterfront.’ There’s a sensuality that comes through, partly due to phrasing…I think she really fell in love with ballad singing later on. She brings her personal touch.”
Next generation jazz vocalist Veronica Swift (also from a musical family) joins Russell on stage. The ladies duet “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” (Porter Granger) Swift, with whom I’m less familiar, evidences superb control, massaging of notes, and appealing, selective emphasis. Sax does loop-de-loops, spirals, dives. The number swings.
Swift performs “You Go To My Head” (J. Fred Coots/Haven Guillespe) with silken, beguiling restraint. Sax is creamy. It’s a beautiful rendition. “If You Were Mine” (Rex K. Rideout/Will Downing) and “Did I Remember?” (Walter Donaldson/ Harold Adamson ) follow. The lady is earning another fan. “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” (Harry M. Woods), at first only with drum/brush accompaniment, then changes tempo. The vocalist presents some of the fastest most precise scat I’ve heard.
An instrumental of “Lover Man” (Jimmy Davies/Roger Ramirez/James Sherman) showcases Pennicott’s tenor sax – as if every time the musician picks up his horn didn’t manifest innate spotlight. The sound is warm, soulful, iconoclastic, adroit. Russell and Swift offer an iconic, heart-clogging “God Bless the Child” (Billy Holiday/Roger Herzog Jr.) imbuing the universal lyric with dignity and an ardent “Easy Living” (Leo Robin/Ralph Rainger). The company closes with Irving Berlin’s swinging “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” There are smiles all around.
Cohen then closes parentheses with a recording of Lady Day performing her own, shudder-inducing “Strange Fruit.” It might be noted that these artists never worked together before, yet the concert was symbiotic, seamless. Terrific.
Photo courtesy of the 92Y
For other performances and events: https://www.92y.org/
