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 ...