In many cases, the terms "acoustic-oriented" and "straightahead
jazz" go hand in hand.
Bop purists, in fact, have often gone out of their way to broadcast the fact that electric keyboards or an electric bass will never be heard on any of their recordings; they equate electric instruments with
fusion and crossover
jazz and acoustic instruments with
bop, cool
jazz,
post-bop,
Dixieland and
swing. But when
Jacqui Naylor calls her work "acoustic smashing," she isn't claiming to be a
jazz purist; she has been blurring the lines between the
vocal jazz/
torch singing world and the
folk-rock/
adult alternative world, and she continues to blur those lines on
The Color Five. This is an acoustic-friendly effort (although she does use some electric instruments when it's appropriate), but it is hardly a disc that adheres to an all-
bop-all-the-time policy. Parts of this 2006 release is very
jazz-oriented, especially
"Here's to Life" (the gem that became
Shirley Horn's theme song),
"Blue Moon" and the warhorse
"You Don't Know What Love Is." But more of a
folk-rock/
adult alternative approach prevails on
"Sit and Rest a While" and
"Easy Ride from Here," both of which
Naylor co-wrote. On
U2's
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," Naylor successfully references
Miles Davis'
"All Blues" -- and her funky interpretation of
Cole Porter's
"Love for Sale" is consistently mindful of
Bill Withers'
"Use Me." Stylistically,
Naylor wasn't easy to pin down on previous albums, and she isn't any easier to pin down stylistically on
The Color Five. This CD won't win over
jazz purists;
The Color Five is an album for
Shirley Horn,
Anita O'Day,
Billie Holiday and
Julie London fans, but only if they also happen to be
Tracy Chapman,
Shawn Colvin and
Sarah McLachlan fans -- and anyone who fits that description will find
The Color Five to be an excellent addition to
Naylor's catalog . ~ Alex Henderson
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