LISANNE LYONS

MAY I COME IN

OA2 Records

Right off the bat, Lisanne Lyons’ vocals soar, like a homerun.  She has a solid grip on ‘swing,’ using her jazzy sincerity to captivate me on this tune, “The Song Is You” by Hammerstein and Jerome Kern.  Great way to begin her album, “May I Come In.” She makes me want to say, you certainly can.

Mike Lewis has written some excellent big band arrangements for Lisanne’s album.  She reminds me of the 1950s when she sings that former big hit by The Kirby Stone Four in 1958, “Bubbles, Bangles & Beads.”  Lewis adds an unexpected break in his arrangement that features bassist, Chuck Bergeron with Lisanne Lyons’ voice pirouetting above his walking bass line, confident as a prima ballerina.

I don’t remember hearing an Ellington tune called “Tulip or Turnip.” Lisanne Lyons introduces me to the lyrics, slow-swinging with wonderful horn lines, featuring a trumpet solo that trades fours with Lyons scat-singing vocals. This talented vocalist hits an impressive high note at the song’s ending, sounding like a trumpet herself.

The title tune, “May I Come In” (composed by Marvin Fischer & Jack Segal in 1963) was the title track on a 1964 album by Blossom Dearie.  Lisanne Lyons does a fantastic job of interpreting this beautiful ballad, selling each heartbreaking lyric. She follows this with the blues.  On a song called “Waiter, Make Mine Blues” that’s pulled from the Anita O’Day catalogue.

Lisanne Lyons has an interesting background.  After leaving the Air Force (thank you for your service!) Lisanne earned degrees from the Miami Frost School of Music, receiving two DownBeat magazine awards for her singing and one for arranging.  She sang with trumpet great Arturo Sandoval and toured nationally with Cy Coleman’s Tony award-winning City of Angels for one year.  Lyons spent time in New York City, then became an influential educator.  She developed the first jazz vocal program at Virginia Tech and was the director and founder of the jazz vocal program at Florida International State University for eleven years.

Some of the impressive young singers she has helped develop are Veronica Swift, Roxana Amed, Melinda Rodriguez and Arianna Neikrug.

Singing with big bands and orchestras is not new for Lisanne Lyons. In the past, she has been lead singer with the Artie Shaw and Harry James Orchestras, with The Woody Herman Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau, and recorded with the Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet. This album is a reminder of Ms. Lyons’ dynamic talent, as well as her incredible vocal range and authenticity.

BIG BAND PERSONNEL: John Toomey, piano; John Hart, guitar; Chuck Bergeron, bass; Mike Harvey, drums. ALTO SAXES: Billy Ross, Ismael Vergara, John Michalak, Peter Brewer. TENOR SAXES: Dr. Ed Calle, David Fernandez, Tom McCormick, Randy Emerick. BARI SAX: Mike Brignola. TRUMPETS: Ryan Chapman, Cicco Dimas, Rodrigo Gallardo, Bobby Keating, Peter Francis, Michael Hankins. TROMBONES: Seth Weaver, Steve Sigmund, Jason Pyle, Ruben Caban; BASS TROMBONE Chris Lundquist & John Kricker. STRINGS: Jeremy Miller, Mei Mei Luo, violins; Debbie Spring, viola. Lisanne Lyons, vocals. Mike Lewis, arranger/conductor.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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