Search - Morgana King :: Everything Must Change

"Mysteries do unfold...Everything must change."

Mary Whipple | New England | 06/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Morgana King herself unfolds countless mysteries in this virtuoso jazz performance, as she bends and twists melodies and soars into new realms of improvisation, creating totally new sounds for familiar songs. Restraining her power in favor of intimate and mellow moods, she is accompanied by musicians who honor her free-wheeling style, keeping things simple and enhancing her sounds without overwhelming her voice. Ranging from a deep alto to a high squeal, King moves flawlessly through swing, scat, intimate whispers, and haunting refrains.



"This Masquerade," one of her most imaginative treatments, begins in a minor key and moves briefly into swing before her passion and emotion take over as she asks her lover "why we carry on this way...looking for words to say...lost in this masquerade." With a hitch in her high range that suggests tears on the way, she gives this song a sense of drama rarely heard.



"Ain't Misbehaving'/Honeysuckle Rose," her most traditional track, is full of swing and upbeat tempo, while "My Funny Valentine/You Are So Beautiful," with a very subdued, almost non-existent accompaniment, is whispery and sexy. Her scat on "Out of Nowhere" plays with consonant sounds as she and her electric piano (Ben Aronov), bass (Art Koenig), percussion (Sammy Figueroa), and drums (Eddie Caccavale) range into new melodic lines before returning to the traditional melody.



The high point of the CD, however, is the title song, "Everything Must Change." Moody, slow, and utterly haunting, King tells of mysteries unfolding, wounded hearts healing, the young becoming old, and the rain tumbling down, creating a mood that is so dramatic and so overwhelming that it becomes a "chicken skin" moment of enormous power. King's sounds are so fresh and creative that it's almost impossible to believe that more than twenty-five years have elapsed since she recorded this album. Her musical sense, honed at the Manhattan College of Music, and her sense of theater, developed through numerous films, enable her to give new sounds and dramatic meaning to old songs. Mary Whipple

"

Forget Vaughan, King is the Real Thing!

Pete Whittred | Brisbane, Australia | 07/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Morgana King gave up a career as an opera singer to focus on Jazz and for the last thirty years has been quietly producing albums of incredible integrity and intensity. From Billy Joel to Fats Waller, Morgana King gives the listener some of the most versatile, erudite and individual jazz performances that have ever been captured on vinyl on this one album. If you haven't heard this lady before, then make the change today and track down this disc (or any others by her)."