In a perfect world, avant-garde jazz vocalists like Ann Dyer and Hillary Maroon would be headlining Madison Square Garden. But the reality is that many listeners -- American listeners especially -- are too impatient to bother with artists who offer a lot of complexity. They want their instant gratification and they want it now, which is regrettable because a jazz vocal album as challenging as Lazy Old Sun offers considerable rewards to those who don't demand the quick fix. Drawing on influences (perhaps direct, perhaps indirect) ranging from Betty Carter, Jeanne Lee and Sheila Jordan to Cassandra Wilson and Nina Simone, Fay Victor is clearly a singer who holds abstraction and soulfulness in equally high regard. Parts of this CD (which was recorded live in the Netherlands in 2003) are quite abstract and cerebral, but there is also Victor's soulful, funky, bluesy, R&B-influenced side -- and that side of her is especially evident on daring interpretations of Randy Newman's "Last Night I Had a Dream" and Curtis Mayfield's "Check Out Your Mind." For Victor, being influenced by Carter's intellectual complexity doesn't mean that she can't learn a thing or two from Aretha Franklin. And much to her credit, Victor is hardly one of those knee-jerk jazz singers who favors an "all Tin Pan Alley all the time" policy. The only Tin Pan Alley gem that Lee embraces on this CD is David Raksin's gorgeous "Laura"; otherwise, Victor finds the jazz vocal possibilities in everything from the Doors' "People Are Strange" to Jackie McLean's "Keep It Busy, Keep It Moving." Anyone who appreciates the risk-taking excursions of Hillary Maroon, Ann Dyer or Kitty Brazelton will find a lot to admire about Lazy Old Sun.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo