Some
Cats Know
Jazziz Magazine - July, 2001
Harvey Pekar, July, 201
A mainstream stylist, she has fine time and pitch, a good range,
accurate intonation, and excellent taste. Here she performs
a number of often-heard standards but invests her personality
into them so everything sounds fresh.
Give her credit, too, for singing "Some Cats Know," a
lovely but little-known Leiber/Stoller ballad. On "Anthropology" she
contributes some vocalese, using lyrics she's put to Sheila
Jordan's scatting on the tune during a 1990 recording. She
states the theme along with the bassist, a Jordan trademark.
At all tempos, Evingson's performances are relaxed, and she
swings effortlessly. On ballads, her singing bears a sultry
quality and a warm timbre. She's a good improviser, too, altering
themes creatively. The small groups support Evingson with tender,
loving care, as if each member wants to do his bit to make
her recording a success. Especially notable is Thielemans'
melodic playing on his piece, "Bluesette," and nice
tenor work by Freeman, Dave Karr, and the Twin Cities' Irv
Williams, who worked with Billy Eckstine and Fletcher Henderson
in the 1940s. |
