[Michael Verity – Jazz.About.Com]
Take a look at just about any jazz festival roster and you’ll see any number of artists whose work strays from what’s normally considered jazz. (We saw an advertisement recently for one small town jazz fest that featured Dan Brubeck, Lee Ritenour and Toshiko Akiyoshi…and closed with Don McLean. Yes, the “American Pie” guy closed a jazz festival.) So we’re not taking great liberties here by giving a little love to Jeannette Markey (aka Markey Blue), whose new record recently landed on our doorstep.
Flanked by well-known guitarist and producer Ric Latina and funded by a list of Kickstarter fans (thank you, Dal W. Ellington!), Markey casts a dozen original tunes upon the waters of traditional Memphis-based R&B. The best ones are in the spirit of Al Green (the slow burning “I Can’t Let Go”) and the Staples Singers (“Feeling Blue”). In fact, it’d be no surprise if Markey listed Mavis among her biggest influences, so strong are the similarities in her voice and songwriting.
There are a ton of “new soul” singers out there, many of whom are non-descript save for their drug habits and dress choices. Markey Blue is the opposite, we submit, worthy of attention for her voice and her soul more than anything. A good record, albeit not what purists would call jazz.