Album Review: Lovesome Thing, Anaïs Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn from Anaïs Reno

Album:  Lovesome Thing, Anaïs Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn
Artist:  Anaïs Reno
Label:  Harbinger Records
Website: www.anaisreno.com

Lovesome Thing, Anaïs Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn is a modern tribute to the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn from vocalist Anaïs Reno.  Produced by Gianni Valenti and Juliet Kurtzman and arranged by Emmet Cohen and Reno, the music was recorded in 2020 when Reno was 16 years old.  The song selection makes a statement about the artists who influenced her and the range of her vocalese.

The smooth, sleek stride of her vocals blanket tunes like Ellington's masterpieces "Caravan" and "Mood Indigo" with sheets of warmth reminiscent of vintage Lainie Kazan and Dinah Shore.  Both singers were prominent vocalists through the 1960's but like these two women, Reno's singing is ageless, inherently classically versed.  Her classical versing enlivens Ellington's "Chelsea Bridge/A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" and "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" with passion in her delivery.  Her repertoire of swing, blues, cabaret, and torchlight jazz are amicable with her vocal range and stylizing.

It's the passion in her vocal performance that will remind audiences of Broadway musicals like her treatment of the lamenting ballad "It's Kind of Lonesome Out Tonight," penned by Ellington.  Her introspective musings are reflective of the soulful and penetrative renditions presented by 1960's Broadway actress Colleen Dewhurst.  The classic allure of Reno's vocals carries each track from the bopping rhythm of "I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues" featuring Tivon Pennicott's fomenting toots on the saxophone to the breezy sweeps of "All Roads Lead Back To You" accented by the twinkling keys of Emmet Cohen's piano.

Reno's maturity to interpret song lyrics is beyond her youth.  Her sophistication and work ethic sets her apart from most people her age.   Reno has already racked up a remarkable list of honors.  She won the 2016 Forte International Competition’s Platinum Award at Carnegie Hall and Second Place at Michael Feinstein’s Great American Song Book Academy competition in 2018.  She also came in First Place at the Mabel Mercer Foundation competition in New York City in 2019, and won the Julie Wilson Award in 2020.  Anaïs Reno is truly a classic vocalist.
 
Musicians:
Anaïs Reno - vocals
Emmet Cohen - piano
Russell Hall - bass
Kyle Poole - drums
Tivon Pennicott - saxophone
Juliet Kurtzman - violin