Search - Kate McGarry :: Mercy Streets

Splendid singing, wonderfully fun and eclectic arrangements

Swamp Dog | Our Nation's Capital, USA | 04/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mercy Streets is a very solid 2nd CD for Kate McGarry, following her brilliant debut, `Show Me'. On this CD, she's supported by carefully chosen players who will be familiar to followers of the New York jazz scene.



The two guitarists on the CD have quite different styles. Keith Ganz is a nylon string player, whose playing is bright and witty, while Steve Cardenas is a versatile electric player with a very atmospheric and warm tone. They do not compete for sonic space; instead they offer very engaging interplay.



I first heard Kate's music while listening to Jonathan Schwartz's radio program on WNYC in New York. I was deeply affected by the selection I heard, `Show Me', the title song from Kate's debut CD. I patiently waited for the end of the set that day, a set that included songs from many artists. I didn't quite get the name... I had to spend a while googling until I turned up Kate's website. And I've been a follower since that day close to three years ago.



Kate brings something special and new to the female jazz vocal space. Her music is honest, and her voice is pure and uncolored. It's not marred by the sloppy vibrato that so many jazz vocalists rely on to convey emotion. Kate's pitch and articulation are dead on, and she offers really interesting phrasing and melodic variation that make even familiar standards sound new. She gets some of her vocal DNA from `folk', and reviewers have compared her to artists in the folk realm. And she has performed some traditional Celtic music in her live shows. But the groove and the feel are definitely jazz, and the song structure, the strong instrumental interplay and soloing are jazz all the way. As with other jazz vocalists, Brazilian music is a big influence. She delivers some well chosen Brazilian tunes, and does so very naturally, as though her native tongue were Portuguese.



Kate offers one new composition, `Going In', on this CD . . . it's achingly beautiful and hopefully there will be more songwriting in this promising artist's future.

"