In many cases, the terms "acoustic-oriented" and "straightahead
jazz
" go hand in hand.
Bop
purists, in fact, have often gone out of their way to broadcast the fact that electric keyboards or an electric bass will never be heard on any of their recordings; they equate electric instruments with
fusion
and crossover
and acoustic instruments with
bop
, cool
,
post-bop
Dixieland
and
swing
. But when
Jacqui Naylor
calls her work "acoustic smashing," she isn't claiming to be a
purist; she has been blurring the lines between the
vocal jazz
/
torch
singing world and the
folk-rock
adult alternative
world, and she continues to blur those lines on
The Color Five
. This is an acoustic-friendly effort (although she does use some electric instruments when it's appropriate), but it is hardly a disc that adheres to an all-
-all-the-time policy. Parts of this 2006 release is very
-oriented, especially
"Here's to Life"
(the gem that became
Shirley Horn
's theme song),
"Blue Moon"
and the warhorse
"You Don't Know What Love Is."
But more of a
approach prevails on
"Sit and Rest a While"
"Easy Ride from Here,"
both of which
Naylor
co-wrote. On
U2
's
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,"
successfully references
Miles Davis
'
"All Blues"
-- and her funky interpretation of
Cole Porter
"Love for Sale"
is consistently mindful of
Bill Withers
"Use Me."
Stylistically,
wasn't easy to pin down on previous albums, and she isn't any easier to pin down stylistically on
. This CD won't win over
purists;
is an album for
Anita O'Day
Billie Holiday
Julie London
fans, but only if they also happen to be
Tracy Chapman
Shawn Colvin
Sarah McLachlan
fans -- and anyone who fits that description will find
to be an excellent addition to
's catalog . ~ Alex Henderson