HANNAH GILL

I LIKE THE SUNRISE

Turtle Bay Records

Hannah Gill, vocals; Luis Salcedo, guitar, Phil Ambuel, bass; Adam Ray, drums; Ricky Alexander, saxophone.

After years of live performances with East Coast swing dance bands, Postmodern Jukebox, and Lindy Hop maestro Gordon Webster, Hannah Gill steps into a quartet setting with inventive band arrangements. She sounds smooth, comfortable and confident singing these familiar Duke Ellington standards.

The talented vocalist covers a bunch of Ellington gems that we know and love, including “Love You Madly,” that she presents at a satin-smooth, slow-swing pace, letting her vocals shine like the sun. Gill opens this tune featuring Phil Ambuel on walking bass, who supports her vocals. She has often heralded Ellington as the ideal balance of sophistication and melodic beauty with songs perfect for singers to interpret. I agree!

There is warm camaraderie and interaction between Gill’s vocals and stellar guitarist, Luis Salcedo. In fact, the chemistry I hear was formed during a 33-week residency at Brooklyn’s Cocktail Magique where this quartet, plus one, performed weekly.  It gave them time to become comfortable and organically settle in with each other. They polished these arrangements on Ellington standards.

Gill’s vocals are inviting. She has a soothing tone, perfect for interpreting Ellington’s lyrics and melodies.  She burrows into the blues like a mother bird protecting her nest. You can hear this on “I’m Just a Lucky So and So.”  Gill has a wonderful feeling for jazz, for blues, and for emotionally projecting her songs with a tone that is palatable.

Hannah Gill easily connects with the listener. Something about her tone and delivery reminds me of the Chris Conner days of jazz. You can clearly hear the Conner style in her interpretation of “I Didn’t Know About You.”

This vocalist closes her album with Ellington’s “Azure” composition, presented as a duet with just her voice and the guitar of Salcedo. Someone is whistling in the background over the guitar introduction and ending.  Is that Luis?  It’s a nice touch.

Hannah Gill’s clarity and artistic confidence is obvious in every production, but particularly pleasing on favorites like “I Ain’t got Nothing But the Blues,” “I Got it Bad and that Ain’t Good,” “Take Love Easy,” and the velvet way she swings “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me.”

Gill is a serious jazz singer who offers her own individualized phrasing, lyrical and interpretive creativity, while she brings each of Ellington’s songs alive in her own unique, nostalgic and refreshing way.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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