ALFIE JACKSON SEXTET

THE PEACOCKS

JackOJazz Records

Alfie Jackson, voice/guitar; Sam Roberson, guitar; Daniel Ellis Perez, acoustic & electric bass; Wanye Williams, vibraphone; Chase Wilkins, drums; Leo Milano, tenor saxophone. SPECIAL GUEST: Michael Jackson, tenor saxophone.

I used to love hearing Flora Purim sing “500 Miles High.”  I was wondering, when I perused the album cover of Alfie Jackson, how this vocalist (barely out of her teens) was going to interpret a chick Corea song. She did not disappoint. Her soprano vocals and modern band approach to this song add youthful energy and intent.

The next familiar tune she sings is “Nature Boy.”  After her lyrical presentation, she scats through the tune with freedom and zest.  A true scat singer completely changes the song melody, like a horn player would. Also, the young vocalist must learn to let the song breathe.  She doesn’t have to fill up every space to be a jazz vocalist. Still, the potential and talent is there, shimmering on the horizon.

Jackson is based in New York now, although her birth city is Chicago, Illinois.  Her song choices for this debut album are challenging, like John Coltrane’s “After the Rain” and “Inner Urge” by Joe Henderson.  Henderson’s tune is a lesson in letting the song breathe.  As she sings along with the melody, this should be a roadmap for learning to leave quiet space. It allows the music to exhale and to ‘swing.’

On “Insensitive” she once again fills every space, nook and cranny of the music with her scatting and legato voicings over every note and every chord. Questionably, it’s a little insensitive.

Her original song, “I Deserve This” shows another side of the vocalist, quite ‘Pop-pish.’  Her voice is featured with guitar accompaniment. It’s a tune she penned while still in high school. This is followed by the beautiful ballad, “My One and Only Love.”  Now I see that her style, even in the pop genre, is to sing legato over every chord.

The drummer, Chase Wilkins, opens Cedar Walton’s tune “Ugetsu.”  When Alfie Jackson enters, she sings unison with the saxophone. They blend well together. The group is tight and the young musicians sound seasoned and serious. I love the fact that they throw in a serious blues tune, with the guitar solo down and dirty in the best kind of way. The band is made up of several students from Chicago High School for the Arts and most friends of Alfie.

A student at the New School in NYC, Alfie Jackson is currently studying at Conservatorium Van Amsterdam, while residing on a houseboat in the Netherlands.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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