Cynthia Holiday is not related to
Billie Holiday; rather, she is the stepdaughter of jazz musician Calvin Hughes and daughter of Betty Hughes. A native of the legendary Newark, NJ, jazz scene,
Holiday sings in a compacted tone, with an occasional penchant for tall tales and talking points on this, her debut recording. Up-front, the buyer needs to know that the CD cover highlights the involvement of the Cedar Walton Trio, but that group only appears on two selections. Pianist/organist
Radam Schwartz leads the band on all other selections, helped by saxophonist
Julius Tolentino and especially the excellent bass player
Andy McCloud. The repertoire is limited to mostly pop-jazz and blues, some swinging tunes, and two originals penned by
Holiday and
Schwartz. Clearly an
Ernestine Anderson knockoff, the vocalist kicks off the date with the incorrectly titled "Never Make a Move Too Soon" (it should be accurately titled "Never Make Your Move Too Soon"). She does the blues-funk warhorse according to its original mood, but adds little of her own.
Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" is taken in a different light than the original R&B hit, as a swinging shuffle beat and some shoo-be-doo-be scat is tacked on. The title cut shows
Holiday in her shining moments with just
Schwartz on piano -- she sings this ballad well. Tracks with the veteran pianist
Walton include her tune "I Like What I See," talking about a man she is lusting after, and the obscure "My Little Rainbow," another ballad. "You've Got a Job to Do" is the other tune penned by
Holiday and
Schwartz, a soul nugget that sounds forced. The main problem with this effort is the lack of audio balance, as
Tolentino and
Schwartz -- when he plays organ -- are far too hot in the mix. There are also intonation problems that are too evident to ignore. The upbeat "I Thought About You" displays this off-key and unpolished double fault. It's an imperfect project that hopefully will be remedied the second time around from this singer who has the background, talent, and taste, with a better repertoire, to do much better. ~ Michael G. Nastos