KATE McGARRY
Mercy Street

Palmetto Records

Vocalist Kate McGarry is a jazz vocalist who can also sing convincingly in a variety of popular musical styles. That makes her a very diverse and interesting performer who should be able to command a crossover audience without dumbing down her skills as a vocalist. As the first vocalist signed to Palmetto Records, a label whose roster includes such innovative instrumental talents as Ben Allison, Larry Goldings, Fred Hersch, and Dr. Lonnie Smith, McGarry rewards their faith in her by delivering an album that can appeal to a sophisticated younger audience as well as to fans of jazz vocals with more traditional tastes.

Everything is here—jazz standards, modern popular songwriting, touches of Latin rhythms, original compositions, American roots musical styles. McGarry handles it all with great technical aplomb, but more important is the fact that her performances ring with honesty, and therefore they resonate in the listener’s mind long after the last note has stopped ringing. McGarry does what the best, most musicianly singers have always done: she subsumes her ego and, instead of perceiving herself as the ‘front person’ she allows her voice to become part of the ensemble. On “Aquelas Coisas Todas” McGarry’s entire performance consists of worldless vocalese, yet she is at the very center of the track, demanding attention without seeming to demand attention.

On the pop music covers, McGarry and her band have great arrangements on their side. The opener, “Chelsea Morning” manages to convey both the sprightly poetic wordplay of the original as well as offering a deeper, more rhythmically complex musical reading. The understated support of drummer Kenny Wollesen and bassist Sean Smith allow McGarry to play with the song’s phrasing in ways that few pop singers could imagine. Peter Gabriel’s “Mercy Street” is delivered in a stark arragement that relies on the latticework of guitarists Steve Cardenas and Keith Ganz to anchor it. McGarry delivers a haunting vocal performance that conveys the song’s meaning even without attending the words. On Bjork’s “Joga (State of Emergency)” McGarry not only highlights the organic beauty of Bjork’s melody but also demonstrates her own technical prowess in a way that is highly impressive and still completely musical. By the track’s ending, listeners will be wondering how much higher, emotionally, McGarry could take the performance.

On the standards, McGarry fares well with arrangements that convey them as pop songs with more contemporary trappings. “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” has bit of a Flamenco feel, but it resists the whiplash tango rhythms of other versions for a more seductive touch. The dreamy ballad feel of Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean” wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but it offers a fairly individual take on the song. “But Not For Me,” one of the most traditional jazz performances on the CD is a triumph, as McGarry manages to scat without breaking the line of the song, swinging superbly throughout and never sounding forced.

The rest of the CD is a mixed bag of styles with incredibly consistent performances from McGarry and her group. “Snow Picnic” features McGarry singing wordless vocalese in unison with composer Keith Ganz’s acoustic guitar. Fred Herch contributes piano work to his composition, “Stars,” another ballad that provides the second half of the CD’s counterweight to the first half’s “Mercy Street.” “Trouble of the World” emphasizes the gospel song’s blues underpinnings in a manner reminiscent of some of Cassandra Wilson’s work. McGarry is no less convincing here, singing blues lines that never seem contrived. McGarry’s composition “Going In” is a folk ballad on which McGarry, accompanied by acoustic guitar, evokes female singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega, and Sarah McLachlan. It’s a boundary-busting performance that could propel McGarry to popular success. McGarry closes out her sophomore CD with a wistful performance of “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans” that’s as sweet as a praline.

Mercy Street is the latest in a line of recordings by singers with jazz chops and phrasing who are also influenced by the popular music with which they grew up and which they continue to have an affinity for. McGarry should be taken seriously as a singer, whether jazz or popular, and naysayers would do well to remember when there was no difference between the two.