PATRICE WILLIAMSON
Free to Dream (River Lily)
"I'll
admit, I generally prefer my jazz vocal-free. I'm an instrumental purist, but I
know a good vocal performance when I hear one—namely because it doesn't make
me wish it wasn't there so I could concentrate on the music. Patrice Williamson
steps into the spotlight and makes it her own with a performance that ranges
from soulful to enlightened, assured to elated, never trying to overshadow her
band but instead working with them to create a seamless and varied album.
Williamson's taste in material, especially that written by others, is
impeccable, from the no-frills declaration of Bill Myles's "My Love Is" to the
sultry, seductive read on Stevie Wonder's "Celia". She takes the medley of
songs from The Sound of Music, music most of us know by heart from
endless years of television exposure, and gives it a very personal spin,
walking familiar melodies down new avenues while staying true to the spirit of
the originals. "Alone Together" is an exuberant samba, more evocative of
sunrises than sunsets, while the Caribbean-flavored arrangement of Irving
Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz"—which owes at least as much to arranger and
pianist Mark Shilansky as it does to Williamson herself—is enough to make
one almost forget the synth-pop version from the '80s.
I should mention the band at this point, as they do such a fabulous job of
creating a loose yet accomplished sound for Williamson to nest in—especially
Shilansky and Jason Hunter on sax—but there's no disputing who the show
belongs to. The best thing I can say about Williamson's voice, and there are
many, is that it conveys both maturity and youthful intensity at once. For a
woman who never seriously considered singing as a career until she was in
college, Williamson has made ample use of the last decade. She is poised,
whether scatting on "In the Loop" or showing her wistful side on "With a Song
in My Heart". Confidently playful ("U Don't Know What You're Missin'!"),
self-assured ("Love Me or Leave Me") or joyfully renewed ("Free to Dream"),
Williamson covers a number of subtle bases with skill and a fresh honesty. If
this is the future of vocal jazz, I might just stick around for the encore."
–Justin Kownacki
SPLENDID Ezine review
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