Lauren Kinhan, an 18-year veteran of that most musical of vocal quartets, the New York Voices, has just released a new solo CD, “Avalon” (E1 Records 2062). While Kinhan has shown her knowledge and love of classic song standards in countless recordings, the title “Avalon” does not refer to the old standard made famous by Benny Goodman. Rather, it is the partial title of one of 11 original songs on the CD. Taken together, the songs tell the story of a long-term relationship, with multiple story arcs representing the stops and starts of love, marriage and parenthood. The songs work together in a cycle with common themes overlapping from one song to the next. Kinhan wrote nearly all the lyrics on the CD (a sampling of her more poetic phrases are included in a word collage on the inside back liner), composed the music for four songs on her own, and collaborated on the music for all the rest.
Musically, the CD is impeccable. The personnel includes some of New York’s finest musicians, and in addition to their fine solo work, they play together as they’ve been band mates for the last 20 years. As in recent recordings by NYV, Kinhan’s CD embraces a multitude of genres without making any individual tunes fit into a particular mode. For example, “Move Over Sunshine” has elements of jazz, country, soul and spirituals, and it all works together because the music is composed, arranged, performed and produced at such a high level. Kinhan sings magnificently throughout, consistently showing superb taste and extraordinary vocal technique as she moves effortlessly from song to song. This is a CD that can be appreciated by a wide range of listeners, no matter what genres of music they say they prefer. Duke Ellington used to say that there were only two types of music: good and bad. File this CD under “very good”.
Lauren Kinhan will appear at the Soiled Dove in Denver, 7801 E. 1st St, on Friday, July 23 for a single set at 7:00pm. Tickets are available for $22.00 at http://www.tavernhg.com/soiled_dove/show/12736
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