Sarah Pillow Shows her Chops With A Gorgeous Album of Classics
An album release from Sarah Pillow showcases her amazing and adaptive vocal approach as she covers a range of standards and classics that we all know and love, backed by some outstanding musicians that bring the songs to life. Throughout it all, Sarah gives a performance that feels alive and breathing, giving you loads of smooth but excitable energy, and her natural knack for dynamic balance and heart.
Wanderer is the record that covers a lot of ground, to say the least. You have tunes from Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Victor Young, and loads more packed into this release. I feel like a lot of these are simply love letters to the pieces themselves, coming straight from Sarah, and you can hear this infectious and energetic approach throughout all the songs.
The whole thing opens up with "Blue Skies," and her rendition is gorgeous as she has this really beautiful vibrato to her vocal that sort of draws you in. It adds an elegance to that performance, and she keeps that true throughout the record.
Her voice is also a bit boisterous at times. She doesn't belt super loud unless she really wants to, but even when she's giving you more of a smooth or silky performance, she's got a big tonality to her voice that just reaches out and grabs you.
"Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" hits perfectly. She's got this natural flow almost all the time, and although, once more, her voice can be sort of soothing in a sense, it is something that gets your attention from across the room. It's the kind of voice that pulls you away from a conversation you're having with someone at a party and starts drawing you into the music further and further, but it all happens so quickly.
Her voice blends a more current approach and feel with that classic, almost vintage aesthetic, and I feel like this is just how she naturally sings. She's not aiming for something particular; it's just how she does it.
This makes her suited for so many jazz classics, which this record absolutely covers.
Having said that, of course, she's got an amazing set of musicians backing her up throughout this record, including Donny McCaslin and Nicola Caminiti on saxophone, along with Joey Curreri on trumpet, Mark Wagnon on vibraphone, Dave Kikoski performing on the piano, Joe Morton on the bass, and Mike Clark drumming.
Not only have these musicians had their hands in the pot more than a few times, but this is a big part of why the record has this sort of flow that it does. The energy that they put out there and the performance complement Sarah, and vice versa.
I think that's an important aspect of a record like this. Being able to have the fluctuation of synergy between the players come through in an environment that feels alive and happening right in the moment is incredibly important in jazz music.
There are a lot of moments throughout this record when you feel like you are in a dimly lit club somewhere in the jazz underground, in the heart of the city, just soaking in the vibes.
A lot of the record just gives that aesthetic in such a strong manner that you can almost picture it vividly as the songs unfold.
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of these feel like love letters to the originals.
Obviously, she's got her heart in this, and that shows in her performance as well, which is amazing because I feel like it's not an easy thing to put all of that out there on record. I feel like, in jazz music, having an audience and doing a live performance with people there is part of the trade-off.
When I think about jazz of this nature, I think about that club and how the performers always feed off the energy of the crowd.
Of course, there's always the element of freedom. They're going to do their thing, and nothing's going to stop them, but there is the bounce back between the listeners in the room and the band performing.
What I mean is that element, the live performance in front of a crowd, is part of what gets performers excited, especially in jazz music. I think it's amazing how Sarah and the rest of the band here are able to pull all of this off on record this well.
Sarah has a lot of experience performing different genres and styles, but had studied jazz, achieved winning Best Vocal Awards, and eventually relocated from California to New York City.
So, just from those elements alone, you can tell that jazz has kind of overtaken her life and she went to her calling. Jazz music beckoned Sarah Pillow.
The result is records like this one.
She takes a lot of control but also lets the band do the same. She's got a memorable and enticing voice, but always lets the band shine at all the right times in all the right ways.
She's got the knowledge and experience of a true performer, especially in the genre, and it shows a lot throughout this album.
I feel like this is a record not just for people who love the standard stuff, but anyone who's into different types of jazz flows in general.
There's a lot to soak in, and I suggest listening to the full album from start to finish because, again, she hits a lot of classic tracks ranging from different time periods and does an amazing job throughout it all.
So, have a sit down, pour a drink, kick back, and check these tunes out now.
Remember where you heard it all first.
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