Search - Kelly Eisenhour :: Seek and Find

Criminally Underrated, But Moving Up

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 02/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the universe of jazz singers, we have four categories, in order of # of people fitting same: 1) Those who have made it. I.e., those who have the popularity, say, of Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson or Kurt Elling. 2) Those who haven't made it and, absent a miracle, aren't going to. 3) Those who are underrated. 4) Those who are criminally underrated.



In spite of very favorable reviews of this c.d. in "Down Beat" and "Jazz Times," Kelly Eisenhour probably falls in category #4. She should be in #3, however, and maybe this c.d. and its reviews well help her get there.



Ms. Eisenhower may have a disadvantage, in that her current hometown of Salt Lake City isn't exactly a hotbed of jazz. But she's thought of well enough to where she has attracted the Yellowjackets' Bob Mintzer to play with her on this date. And it is a very impressive date, indeed.



Ms. Eisenhower has a perfect voice for vocal jazz - warm, straight tone with no vibrato. Consequently, she sounds terrific on vocalese numbers - especially "Confession of Love" (a transcription of an old Lester Young solo on the old tin pan alley tune, "I'm Confessin'"), "Rising As the Sun" (an original transcription of a J.J. Johnson solo on Benny Golson's "Reunion"), a terrific bass/voice cover of Horace Silver's "Lonely Woman," and Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes."



My personal favorite, though, is her duet with guitarist Kenji Aihara on Gershwin's "My Man's Gone Now." In fact, this is my all-time favorite version of this song; Ms. Eisenhour delivers the subtlty of the heartbreak of this great old song to perfection.



I also enjoyed her version of Frishberg's "Wheelers & Dealers" more than the others I've heard. And her bossa original, "Better Days Ahead," is one of the better bossa tunes I've heard in recent years.



Altogether, a very impressive c.d., and if this is a debut c.d., one of the best debut c.d.'s ever. Here's hoping Kelly Eisenhour gets the recognition she deserves! RC"