Album Review: Something Good from Kelley Johnson
Album: Something Good
Artist: Kelley Johnson
Label: Oa2
Website: https://kelleyjohnson.com
Image a breezy day in the fall, walking through the streets for no particular reason merely on a whim while reflecting inwardly, filling one's mind with pleasing thoughts is the kind of mood Kelley Johnson's latest release Something Good will do for listeners. From the opening number of "Anyone Can Whistle," Johnson whispers softly into the listener's ears, setting her audience off into a ruminative state of mind.
Johnson indulges in a wayfaring pondering through "Goodbye To Love," even when recognizing that love has ended, she projects an optimistic mood that the future promises goodness to enter into life. There is a dominating theme in the recording, soliciting the listener's thoughts to roam, reflect, ramble, and journey into terrain that is often concealed, those intimate feelings that reveal one's vulnerable side. In "You Do Something To Me," she unveils, "You do something to me / something that mystifies me / tell me / how can it be / you got the power to hypnotize me...do that voodoo that you do so well / you do something to me / that nobody else can do."
There is an alluring tone in Johnson's vocals that tells audiences she understands how to kindle the bluesy embers of familiar jazz standards like George Shearing and George David Weiss's momentus "Lullaby of Birdland," written as a tribute to the New York City jazz club Birdland. Her downy phrasing and plush timbres provide a comfy pillow for the listener. Her personalized interpretation of the bluesy melody shows her affection for straight-ahead jazz arrangements. Her delivery is magnetic as her voice gracefully slinks across the track, becoming quite bare and shining a sensual lustre, another recurring theme throughout her recording.
Produced by Johnson and Floyd Reitsma and arranged by Johnson and John Hansen, the recording showcases Kelley Johnson's vocal chops as a charismatic crooner, an evocative balladeer, and an alluring skylark. Like a friend who holds someone's deepest secrets and knows one's hidden vulnerabilities that is what Kelley Johnson shows herself to be in her music. She is that safe place that audiences can turn to when wandering through one's thoughts and reflecting about life. She uncovers a profound understanding of human emotion.
Musicians:
Kelley Johnson - vocals and whistle
John Hansen - piano
Michael Glynn - bass
Kendrick Scott - drums
Jay Thomas - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, and trumpet
Artist: Kelley Johnson
Label: Oa2
Website: https://kelleyjohnson.com
Image a breezy day in the fall, walking through the streets for no particular reason merely on a whim while reflecting inwardly, filling one's mind with pleasing thoughts is the kind of mood Kelley Johnson's latest release Something Good will do for listeners. From the opening number of "Anyone Can Whistle," Johnson whispers softly into the listener's ears, setting her audience off into a ruminative state of mind.
There is an alluring tone in Johnson's vocals that tells audiences she understands how to kindle the bluesy embers of familiar jazz standards like George Shearing and George David Weiss's momentus "Lullaby of Birdland," written as a tribute to the New York City jazz club Birdland. Her downy phrasing and plush timbres provide a comfy pillow for the listener. Her personalized interpretation of the bluesy melody shows her affection for straight-ahead jazz arrangements. Her delivery is magnetic as her voice gracefully slinks across the track, becoming quite bare and shining a sensual lustre, another recurring theme throughout her recording.
Produced by Johnson and Floyd Reitsma and arranged by Johnson and John Hansen, the recording showcases Kelley Johnson's vocal chops as a charismatic crooner, an evocative balladeer, and an alluring skylark. Like a friend who holds someone's deepest secrets and knows one's hidden vulnerabilities that is what Kelley Johnson shows herself to be in her music. She is that safe place that audiences can turn to when wandering through one's thoughts and reflecting about life. She uncovers a profound understanding of human emotion.
Musicians:
Kelley Johnson - vocals and whistle
John Hansen - piano
Michael Glynn - bass
Kendrick Scott - drums
Jay Thomas - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, and trumpet
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