Search - Lavay Smith :: Everybody's Talkin Bout Miss Thing

And just like that, the "swing thing" disappeared. Of course, San Francisco's Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers were at it years before the revival took hold and were always a cut above the rest of the pack anyway. That's because Smith and her pianist and musical director Chris Siebert have such a deep wealth of musical knowledge to draw on, the courage and good taste to recruit world-class veteran players from across the jazz world, and a passion and respect for the style of music they play. Boasting a buoyant mix of boogie-woogie, jump blues, sophisticated swing, and even bebop, 2000's Everybody's Talkin' follows up their enormously successful indie debut, One Hour Mama, which sold nearly 40,000 copies in the 3 years after its release on their own Fat Note label. The crafty arrangements, courtesy of Siebert and big-time Ellington expert David Berger, never get in the way of momentum or mood. It all revolves around Smith's versatile voice, which can convey strength and vulnerability, innocence and smut, sweetness and wickedness--often all at once. --Marc Greilsamer