Rachael Davis - Leave the Boys Behind
Douglas McKinnon Jr. | Tijeras, NM | 04/08/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"First, thanks to MC Records for taking a flyer on a group with virtually no commercial potential. The group harks back 10 years to the swing revival and has elements of Squirrel Nut Zippers, Dan Hicks and Hot Club of Cowtown minus those groups' solid original material. To compensate, these young folks are wise students of 30s-40s tunes, some of which are obscure enough to pass for originals. To a large degree, the group succeeds because of the exquisite, yet natural voice of Rachael Davis who doesn't attempt to imitate Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald or any recognizable icon. Her warmth and voice quality are better showcased on ballads, with the jive aspects far less convincing. I urge all jazz stations to play her version of "Moonlight in Vermont", by far the highlight of the CD, with an interesting overdub of chromatic and bass harmonicas by the trumpet player, the most accomplished instrumentalist in the group. As used to happen in the old days, an outstanding lead singer will go out on his/her own to become successful. A jazz label should grab Rachael Davis, put her with some solid players, and let her revive Ella's composer songbooks. Her brilliance is evident here, but in no way fully realized."