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| A further subtitling of this CD by this cousin of blues legend Albert Collins is described as �not just the blues�, but it would have been more appropriate to call it �not just smooth jazz�. That�s because most of the material here fits more closely into the latter category. The description could nevertheless be applied to her joyful admission of having a strong personal support system, by way of family and friends, who have stood by her in the realization of her dreams for peace in the world through music.
The opener is a snazzy rendition of �Sugar�, composed by the late Stanley �Sugar Man� Turrentine. Among the many jazz players contributing on the CD are saxmen Charles MacNeal and Tom Borton, but the individual credits are not listed for each song. As well, unless you are very familiar with players from soul, r&b and even disco circles, their names won�t mean much to you, although I had fun checking out their various musical backgrounds. Several of them, such as Biambu Garret, Munyungo Jackson, Yancy Taylor and the Griffin brothers (Rayford and Reggie) are multi-instrumentalists, which further muddied these musical waters. Suffice it to say that Frankye snatched up some heavy-hitters to accompany her wide-ranging and versatile vocals. �When Midnight Falls� is a mellow bluesy original by Kelly with appealing saxophone and piano, but her vocals sound a bit thin here, compared to the other tracks. It�s followed by the equally laid-back �Candy� (Blackmon/Jenkins) on which she does a much better job, but I�m not much into �lounge lizard� xylophone accompaniment, no matter how well it�s played (ostensibly by Yancy Taylor). A welcome, but only slight, change of pace is the funky original composition by Frankye, called �The Blues Will Make You Alright�. The guitar and organ-filler theme song is presented in three variations here, an abbreviated and extended instrumental and a �finished� version with edgier, playfully improvised vocalization. The showcase production (at almost eight minutes in duration) is the jazz-blues fusion of �Angel of Mercy� (Banks/Jackson) featuring dynamic saxophone, relaxed piano noodling and solid but non-intrusive bass and drums. This is a beautiful song of desperation that Kelly sings with credibility, conveying the lyrics with an attitude of disgust rather than melancholy. I�m presuming Reggie (rather than Rayford) Griffin is Kelly�s collaborator on the billowy Caribbean-flavoured �Magic in the Air�, as he�s more well-known for his compositions, which have been covered by Patti Labelle and Chaka Khan, but, again, I�m left guessing. Similarly, I�m guessing that David Due�as is bending the nylon strings of a classical guitar on the Spanish ballad, �In Search of My Heart� (M. Tyner), where Frankye truly demonstrates the multi-octave range of her vocals, although the lower notes seem to come less naturally to her. Christine Gordon contributes higher, feathery background vocals on this one. It�s a very pretty song. �Take Me Away� was too mushy for me, both lyrically and stylistically, and the hopped-up version of D.M. Parker�s �And I Love Him� (recorded by the Beatles as �And I Love Her�) didn�t appeal to me personally, despite the obvious percussive talent on display. D. Spencer�s �Who�s In, Who�s Out� was one of the more interesting tracks, featuring some fairly heavy-duty blues-rockin� electric guitar, backed up with some Steve Winwood-like piano. Frankye gets loose and funky on vocal gymnastics and appears to be genuinely enjoying herself on this particular track before leaving us with the extended instrumental (guitar, organ, bass, drums, and possibly a vibraphone) version of �The Blues Will Make You Alright�. My Life � More Than It Is was released in 2002 and it won Frankye Kelly three jazz music awards. It was the follow-up to her d�but, The Night is Young, and has now been eclipsed by a live recording, Live at Yoshi�s. If you�re looking for a real musical female role model for your daughter or you just want some breezy, feel-good kind of musical satisfaction for yourself, get yourself a copy of My Life � More Than It Is. It�s not just another recording; it�s got class. |
| MY LIFE - MORE THAN IT IS� FRANKYE KELLY |
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