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Ana?s Reno: Lovesome Thing: Ana?s Reno sings Ellington & Strayhorn featuring Emmet Cohen

By Richard J Salvucci
April 29, 2021
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Anaïs Reno: Lovesome Thing: Anaïs Reno sings Ellington & Strayhorn featuring Emmet Cohen

The first time someone told me that

Billy Strayhorn

piano
1915 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Strayhorn was a teenager when he wrote "Lush Life," I didn't believe it. Not so much because of the harmonic gymnastics, which were daunting enough, but because of the lyrics. "Romance is mush stifling those who strive, I'll live out a lush life in some small dive." No, someone had to have lived quite a bit to write something like that. No-one at eighteen could know that, so I thought, because I certainly didn't.

So, perhaps it is not surprising that a similar reaction should accompany listening to

Anaïs Reno

vocals
b.2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Ana?s Reno's rendition of "Lush Life." She's how old? No, no-one at sixteen could do Strayhorn convincingly. Some singers at sixty couldn't do it. Hadn't the song defeated

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra? They may have lived long enough, but they hadn't been around enough. Isaac Stern put it that way about technical prodigies on violin; yes, they could certainly play, but they lacked the emotional depth needed to play expressively. They hadn't suffered enough, he said.

Ana?s Reno may break the rules, but listening to her do Strayhorn and Ellington is nothing, if not a blast. It is true, she has her weaknesses. Someone could tutor her in scat, which is not her forte. Her diction and enunciation are so clear and compelling that, at first hearing, they can be mistaken for a certain stiffness. But be advised, please, Ana?s can swing. She may not yet be

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald when she does "Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues," but it would be nice to hear what she does with it in fifteen years time. What a voice Ms Reno possesses. Absolutely arresting, and "Mood Indigo" and "Daydream" are outstanding vehicles with which to display it. The entire recording leaves one in stunned disbelief.

Emmet Cohen

piano
b.1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Emmet Cohen is a most congenial accompanist, as is

Juliet Kurtzman

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">Juliet Kurtzman, Anais' mother, whose violin solos are reminiscent of a certain

Johnny Frigo

violin
b.1916

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Frigo. What an extraordinary debut recording for Ms Reno.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Caravan; Mood Indigo; Still in Love; Chelsea Bridge / A Flower is a Lovesome Thing; I'm Just a Lucky So-and- So; It's Kind of Lonesome Tonight; Day Dream; I Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues; All Roads Lead Back to You; U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group); Lush Life; Take the "A" Train.

Personnel

Ana?s Reno

vocals

Emmet Cohen

piano

Russell Hall

bass

Kyle Poole

drums

Tivon Pennicott

saxophone, tenor

Juliet Kurtzman

violin

Album information

Title: Lovesome Thing: Ana?s Reno sings Ellington & Strayhorn featuring Emmet Cohen | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Harbinger Records

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