SARAH PILLOW

WANDERER

Buckyball Records

Sarah Pillow, vocals; Dave Kikoski, piano; Joe Martin, bass; Mike Clark, drums; Marc Wagnon, vibraphone; Joey Curreri, trumpet; Nichola Caminiti, alto Saxophone; Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone.

Starting with an invigorating version of “Blue Skies” Sarah Pillow shows that she can “swing” with the best of them. Her band is no joke! These gentlemen know how to make the music pop and the groove swing.  The horn players open the arrangement with harmonious vigor. Nichola Caminiti offers a power-packed improvised solo on alto saxophone, followed by Joey Curreri on trumpet. Then, bassist Joe Martin takes his eight-bar solo before Sarah re-enters vocally.

“So Many Stars” is a fabulous Latin jazz standard composed by Sergio Mendez with fabulous lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. This time the vocalist reverts back to her classical training to sing this beautiful song.  For me, her classical style takes away from the jazz interpretation. The two styles collide.

The same challenge happens on the singer’s interpretation of “A Night in Tunisia.”  This tune is not to be played with.  At the very start of this popular song, she sings the melody incorrectly. That was annoying enough, but then she attempts a scat solo. Some parts were done very nicely.  Others were either off pitch or out of key.

Her repertoire is challenging and I appreciate the difficult songs she has chosen to “cover.” For example, “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love” composed by Charles Mingus. It features an impressive bass solo by Joe Martin, followed by a beautiful piano solo delivered by Dave Kikoski. Sarah Pillow’s interpretation is quite operatic.

She “covers” How High the Moon (for Ella). The band is super supportive. Donny McCaslin delivers a strong tenor saxophone solo before Pillow returns to finish the song off.  Pillow has a strong vocal range and has studied classical singing at Oberlin Conservatory. However, this does not make her a competent jazz vocalist. There is some work to be done.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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