KAT EDMONDSON

Kat Edmonson may be a young jazz singer, but she is already a confident interpreter of song. Her debut album, “Take to the Sky,” brims with originality. But first her pipes. It is tempting to compare her to other young chanteuses like Madeleine Peyroux, but Edmonson, who lives in Austin, Texas, sounds more like Blossom Dearie to these ears. Though her voice isn’t as high and chirpy as Dearie’s, the intonations and enunciations are remarkably similiar. More striking, though, is how Edmonson approaches her songbook. Employing a series of descending minor chords, her arrangment of “Summertime” is ominous and dark – not at all like a typical summer day. “Just One of Those Things” is done in half-time with a backbeat, which makes the vocals seem all the faster. Edmonson goes beyond the standards, too. She turns the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” into a slow bossa nova, the Cardigans’ “Lovefool” into a rumba, and John Lennon’s “(Just Like) Starting Over” into a breathy ballad. For all the inspired arrangements, the piece de resistance is the hidden track, a gorgeous a capella rendering of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most.” That one really is just like heaven. (Out now)

Comments are closed.