NANCY KELLY,

BORN TO SWING,

I’ve Got The World On A String / Like Someone In love / You’d Be

So Nice To Come Home To / More Than You Know / Falling In

Love With Love / Let Me Off Upton / Didn’t We / Come Rain or

Come Shine / I’ll Be Seeing You / Watch What Happens / New

York State of Mind / Let’s Talk Business. 52:55.

Kelly, vcl; Houston Person, ts; Dino Losito, p, kybd;

Mark Taylor, d; Neil Miner, b. May, 2005, Brooklyn, NY.

True to the title of this CD, Kelly is absolutely born to swing!

From the first perfectly pitched

note, she lets the listener know that she’s more

than just another vocalist—she’s an instrument.

“I’ve Got the World On A String” bops along at a

moderate swing pace and showcases Kelly’s

superb control of intonation and time. Shades of

Ella Fitzgerald tinge this Jazz diva’s style, however

she still manages to uncompromisingly establish

her own voice. Houston Person on saxophone rips

into this tune as only a master can. He has the

tasty ability to add tenor licks in all the right

spaces and always complements a singer. Kelly is

powerful on this first number, showing her

diaphragm mastery by holding a note toward the

end of the song as though she is circular breathing.

“Like Someone In Love” is complimented by a

Bossa Nova arrangement. Kelly performs nice and

easy on this familiar standard, showing off her

softer side. Most of the time, Kelly hard bops

through this CD with no holds barred. She is a

vocal wrestler, twisting and turning the notes with

intricate moves and improvisational scats. This

chanteuse puts a hammer lock on the listener. On

“More Than You Know” she’s fluid and free. Her

vocals brush against our ears like a gently pounding surf.

This song exposes Kelly’s sweetness, as

her tones soothe us. Appreciatively, she’s unafraid

to pump every ounce of emotion into her presentation.

When she sings, “…how I cried…” I believe

her. “Falling In Love With Love” is light and lovely.

On the Earl Bostic/Redd Evans tune, “Let Me Off

Up-Town,” she makes listening fun because of her

own exciting departure from the melody, after she

sings the tune down once. She’s a ring of fire

encouraging us to jump through the hoop and join

her as she plays with time and vocal textures on

“Come Rain or Come Shine.” If you expect this to

be a ballad or a blues, forget it! Once again Kelly

shows us her swing ability, precariously strutting

across this song like an acrobat on the high wire.

Houston Person is the security net beneath this

high stepping vocalist and propels Kelly ahead

with his energetic saxophone. Mark Taylor is

dynamic on drums and Neil Miner lays down a

solid, supportive bass line throughout this recorded effort.

Dino Losito glitters like polished ivory on

“New York State of Mind.” Although the piano is

understated in this song, if you listen closely you

will enjoy his complementary harmonics incorporated

to buttress the vocals. I also enjoyed Losito’s

solo on John Clayton Jr.’s, “Let’s Talk Business.”

The piano man knows how to catch a groove and

keep it. I was a little disappointed on Kelly’s vocal

approach on this last cut, but the band definitely

swung hard and distinctive. It sounds as if they

recorded “live” with the quartet pumping so strong

that I imagine the vocalist could have gotten carried

 away on the moment. One thing you can say

about Kelly; she is not afraid to leap into space and

soar like a bird. She’s fashioned her own wings.

Most of the time, they work phenomenally.

Dee Dee McNeil

CADENCE

November 2006 -