Search - Carmen Lundy :: Come Home

Carmen Lundy Delivers Music Worth Coming Home To

Author-Poet Aberjhani | Georgia, United States | 07/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a special event when a singer of Carmen Lundy's vocal prowess and dramatic gifts releases a CD boldly entitled "Jazz and the New Songbook," then successfully substantiates that title with a solid two-disc set recorded live. It's even more wonderful when that same singer follows such a grand performance with COME HOME, a winning collection of twelve songs that further demonstrate Lundy's artistic finesse and very impressive musical range.

Jazz and the New Songbook: Live at the Madrid



In Lundy's "Come Home," we experience a singer about as firmly rooted in classic jazz as a singer can get and yet we are thrilled to travel with her through one song after another into musical territories that exemplify superior jazz just as often as they transcend, or redefine it, in modern global terms. The journey begins with the finely-measured Latin tempo of "Lost In San Rafael." Like an actual traveler dazed by the splendor of San Rafael, Lundy's soaring vocals evoke both the intoxicating cultural and topographical landscapes of the celebrated city.



The cosmopolitan polish of the opening track eases with satisfying grace and foreboding into "Nature Boy," Eden Ahbez's classic ballad of a wandering heart in search of answers to love's elusive mysteries. "Nature Boy" is the only song on "Come Home" to which Lundy did not lend her considerable skills as a composer. It therefore makes sense that she follows it with her title track. A rich blend of reminiscence, folk wisdom, and family love, "Come Home" is a song that throbs with the elegant tones of the blues at the same time that it quietly thunders with the spiritual authority of gospel.



That same sweet fire of emotional need and spiritual tension add light and warmth to the songs "My Wedding Vow" and "Happy New Year." The latter is likely destined to become a standard not only for its softly haunting appeal but for its heart-engaging simplicity, two qualities that go together well when clocks strike midnight on New Year's Eve. Listening to Lundy's velvet enunciation of the Portuguese lyrics for "Seductive Reasoning," the sixth song in the set, it's easy to imagine the late great Sarah Vaughn swaying and humming along.



After establishing in the first half of this album an irrefutable sense of its scope, beauty, and purpose, Lundy opens the doors of our musical perception even wider with each track that follows. The outrage of protest against the politics of sexual identity expressed in "Gossip" stands strong as social commentary and skilled musical performance. One suspects Betty Carter would have found it hard to resist adding her straight-ahead-no-chaser voice to the bebop mix. The singer combines strong story-telling and cool-jazz aloofness to profound effect in "Walking Code Blue," as she guides listeners through the desperate world of a fan (maybe?) who "hangs out with the stars at the trendy bars," while ignoring the fact that "it's just a matter of time/ before her beautiful mind/ goes out on a limb."



Come HomeThe almost eight-minute long "Afrasia" is exceptional as composition and performance, beginning with the innocent harmonies of a children's choir singing the universal syllables of "la la la." The song blossoms luxuriously into "the language of love," calls of ancient Asian winds answered by noble African percussions, all fused neatly together by the new-world rhythms and intentions of jazz as we live and breathe it now.



The last track on the album, "Something Happened Today," begins with an atmosphere that at first seems very somber and you expect to hear about something dreadful. Soon, however, it becomes clear that what you're hearing is not brooding somberness at all but the melody of a sacred "awakening." As with the songs that preceded it, "Something Happened Today" reinforces some of the better reasons for human existence: "It's good to be alive/ so I can say/ I love you/ I love you/ I love you."



Lundy's triumph on "Come Home" may be attributed in part to the superb company she keeps on it: veteran pianist Geri Allen; gifted keyboardist Anthony Wonsey; brother Curtis Lundy working out on the bass as if he invented it; Lage Lund on guitar; Mayra Casales on percussion and support vocals; Lori Andrews on harp; Machan providing support vocals; and Steve Turre on trombone and conch shells.



It would constitute a small crime for any reviewer of "Come Home" to omit the fact that even before encountering Carmen Lundy the vocal artist on this set, listeners first meet Carmen Lundy the visual artist through her paintings on the cover. The point is an important one because the shimmering brush strokes of color, joy, and daring that give form and power to these moving portraits of family life are what endow her music with those same fantastically glorious qualities.





by Author-Poet Aberjhani

author of ELEMENTAL The Power of Illuminated Love

and

Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)"

Sublimely Satisfying

Beverly Praiswater | 02/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This rich tapestry of insightful songs is Carmen Lundy's most finest cd to-date. With her soulful voice full of passion, Carmen's introspectively written songs represent a new maturity and inner peace.



The infectious magic of "Lost In San Rafael" is captivating. Carmen's vocal in "Nature Boy" (the only song in the cd not written by Carmen) is hauntingly beautiful and certainly now is the definitive version. For a satisfying experience, listen to the richness of "Seductive Reasoning" (aka Portuguese title "Reflexo da Seducao") and the wisdom in the lyrics of "Gossip". (A live version of "Gossip" is available on You Tube.) Savor the complex work entitled "Lil' Lu". Reflect on the songs of depth: "Heart Of Gold", "Walking Code Blue", and "Something Happened Today".



You will be dazzled by Anthony Wonsey's hot ivory keys on "Heart Of Gold", "Gossip", and "Walking Code Blue". Don't miss the riveting guitar of Lage Lund on "Lost In San Rafael", "Heart Of Gold", "Gossip" and "Afrasia". Check out Curtis Lundy's dynamic bass notes on "Walking Code Blue" and "My Wedding Vow".



Having seen Carmen perform both "Afrasia" and "Come Home" live in concert, these songs have always been personal favorites of mine. You will find the entire collection of vocals deeply stirring yet sublimely satisfying. Sample these songs, if you please, but generously allow yourself the indulgence of the entire cd."