--=[ Lizz Wright ]=--

Salt is a genre-bending album that brings back reminders of classic R&B albums like Roberta Flack’s First Take or Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions. Wright, like Cassandra Wilson, doesn’t draw a line between black popular music genres, and she isn’t afraid of pop material. Another thing she has in common with Wilson is that she writes some of her own material, and that material is beautiful and mature, shot through with the power of her influences, but never sounding too derivative. Salt throws down the gauntlet immediately, as Wright performs a powerful rendition of Chick Corea’s “Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly,” backed by a band that includes Kenny Banks on Fender Rhodes, Sam Yahel on Hammond B-3, John Hart on guitar, Doug Weiss on bass, drummer Brian Blade, and percussionist Jeff Haynes. The group’s laid-back, organic approach to the song allows Wright to soar above the arrangement, showing her gospel influences right away. Compare this version to the sterile, modern “R&B” sound of the version Vanessa Williams recorded a few years ago, and you know instantly that Lizz Wright is on the right path. © Marshall Bowden, Jazzitude

Some are going to carp at the lack of uptempo material on this album, citing a certain level, meditative tone that is maintained throughout the disc without much rising or falling. But having shown that she can belt out blues or gospel-influenced tunes with the best of them, her restraint on the current album is admirable. If I have any complaint at all, it’s that Wright doesn’t present as many of her own songs on this CD as she did on Salt. On that album, many of the most admirable tracks (“Fire,” “Blue Rose,” “Lead the Way,” and the outstanding title track) were written by Wright. On Dreaming there are three Wright songs, two of them (“Hit the Ground” and “Trouble”) co-written with others. Wright is talented as a songwriter, and has a real knack for coming up with tunes that one can imagine others singing as well (a rarity in popular music these days). Wright’s new band is highly complementary to her vocal work right out of the gate. On Salt she worked with such modern jazz studio veterans as Brian Blade, Danilo Perez, and Sam Yehel. Wright relies heavily on her solid backing quartet (check out the groove they work up on “When I Close My Eyes”), but she brings in guests to put the needed touches on some of the performances. Bill Frisell offers his always well-blended guitar work on “A Taste of Honey,” “Get Together,” and the title track. Patrick Warren plays supplemental keyboards on four tracks, guitarist Greg Leisz is heard on four tracks as well, and Marc Anthony Thompson (who is represented as a songwriter on two of the tracks) lends harmonica and backing vocals to Wright’s reworking of Neil Young’s “Old Man. ”
© Marshall Bowden, Jazzitude



Lizz Wright - The Orchard (2008)

Wright’s newest release The Orchard, makes it seem as though this is where she has been heading all along. Actually, that statement is a bit off-base, since it implies that her previous releases were somehow less integrated and accomplished, which is not the case. But The Orchard makes it clear that Wright is steeped the overall history of American music, with particular and appropriate attention to the role of African-American music in the overall development of American popular music. Almost all of the tracks here are original compositions that Wright co-composed with Reagon, Street, John Leventhal, or Dave Tozer. It’s telling that a singer as talented as Wright chooses to produce most of her own material. While jazz singers can get away with covering standards, composing your own work is a must-do in the popular music world, at least for acts that expect to stay around for awhile. The original material here is uniformly excellent, helped by Wright’s vocal work and contributions from a band that includes Chris Bruce, Toshi Reagon, guitarist Oren Bloedow, Olabelle’s Glenn Patscha on keyboards, Larry Campbell (of Dylan’s recent groups), and others.© Marshall Bowden, Jazzitude


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