Sylvia Brooks Live with Christian Jacob
If the American Songbook feels like a repository of timeless wisdom it’s because jazz vocalists breathe new life into familiar tales, interpreting the music with visceral emotional immediacy. In the case of chanteuse Sylvia Brooks, the songs serve as a barometer, marking the increasing depth she plumbs. Her evolution is evident throughout her fifth album, which was recorded at Herb Albert’s Vibrato Jazz Grill. Revisiting material from earlier releases, Sylvia Brooks Live with Christian Jacob provides both a snapshot of an artist in full command and a revelatory index of the distance she’s traveled since her impressive 2009 debut Dangerous Liaisons.
Opening with “When The Sun Comes Out” and “Blues In The Night,” two Harold Arlen show stoppers from her first and second albums, respectively, Brooks delivers a statement about the American Songbook’s enduring relevance and the ways in which a singer’s growth can imbue a familiar standard with uncommon immediacy. Revisiting songs she’s been performing since she launched her jazz career, Brooks leans into the evolution of her interpretations, while drawing the audience into her musical realm.
As is the case on her previous albums, she’s keeping superlative company. Pianist Christian Jacob, Brooks’ music director and general co-conspirator on the date, is one of the most respected accompanists and composers on the international scene today. He’s a nine-time Grammy Award nominee who has also composed several scores for Clint Eastwood (Sully and The 15:17 to Paris). The bespoke arrangements fit Brooks with sleek precision, whether she’s belting with the brass on the Arlen numbers or making Nancy Wilson’s devastating discovery “Guess Who I Saw Today” her own by painting in shades of sadness and despair (accentuated by David Witham’s expert keyboard work). Not for nothing did All About Jazz describe Brooks as a “Master Stylist.”
She features the band on Jacob’s “The Red Pig Flew Up The Hill,” a tune from Jacob’s The Originals album that speaks to their deep bebop bond. It’s a connection that encompasses songwriting, and his settings for her lyrics on the passionately romantic ballad “The Flea Markets of Paris” and the ache-filled lament “Holding Back Tears” (both from Signature, her 2022 release focusing on originals) are album highlights. She closes the set with another Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer gem, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” a slow-simmering arrangement fueled by the surging horns of trumpeter Jeff Bunnell and saxophonist Brian Scanlon, whose poised professionalism shines throughout the evening. It was clearly a night to remember, a moment seized by an artist measuring herself against the best of the American Songbook and standing tall.
Andrew Gilbert is a Berkeley arts journalist who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, Berkeleyside, and KQED Arts, among many other publications.
ARTIST: Sylvia Brooks
CD/LP/ALBUM: Sylvia Brooks Live with Christian Jacob
LABEL: Rhombus
DATE OF RELEASE: September 10, 2023
CATEGORY: Jazz/Vocal
MUSICIANS:
- Christian Jacob — Piano
- David Hughes — Bass
- Kevin Kanner — Drums
- David Witham — Keyboards & Accordion
- Jeff Bunnell — Trumpet & Flugelhorn
- Brian Scanlon — Tenor Sax & Flute
Recorded live @ Herb Albert’s Vibrato Jazz Grill
Live Sound by Masaki Saito
Mixed & Mastered by Tom McCauley
SONGS:
- When The Sun Comes Out (2:59)
- Blues In the Night (4:14)
- Guess Who I Saw Today (3:53)
- The Red Pig Flew Up The Hill (Instrumental) (5:52)
- The Flea Markets of Paris (4:29)
- Cold Cold Heart (4:33)
- Night and Day (5:06)
- Tender Trap (4:38)
- Holding Back Tears (4:18)
- Come Rain or Come Shine (3:32)