"Annie Sellick is the Real Deal" - Jeff Cebulski wksu radio
Posted about 6 months ago.
"Delivering old messages in new ways"...
Jazz singer Annie Sellick’s CDs (courtesy of my colleague Prof. Don Fay) were intriguing enough to entice me and Don into making the trek down to Atlanta’s Churchill Grounds Saturday night to see this southern chanteuse in action. We were not disappointed.
Armed with a winsome, dreadlocked personality, a versatile voice, and a solid backup trio, this demure but sassy lady effectively entertained a moderately-packed house with a collection of songs from her recent release Street of Dreams (cover shown at left) and various other bits, some off-the-plan as she inveigled her bandmates into disrupting the playlist for some improvisational fun.
Real jazz artists can take old material and refresh it in ways that resurrect music from stodgy framework. Sellick does this in spades. “Get Happy” has been performed a billion times but somehow seemed fresh this night, alighted by Sellick’s effervescence and off-beat phrasing. This reviewer’s favorite moment was her second set rendition of “I Love Paris,” which began with an exotic thrust, then morphing into a narrative of young Annie’s youthful wanderlust and eventual settled marriage before she stopped the proceedings to entice her sterling pianist Kevin Bales (of Marietta) to create a more “romantic” tone, leading to a dreamily poetic musing…and a return to the zestful prelude. This was Betty Carter-like–the deconstructing of tradition to offer another version of an old, old story.
One other significant characteristic of Sellick’s approach is her fervent demand for her bassist’s prominence in sound and arrangement. This night, the wonderfully earnest Elisa Pruitt shared center stage on several performances, including the youthfully risque “Do It Again.” Pruitt and rhythm partner Justin Barnes on drums never allowed the proceedings to become staid. It says a lot for Sellick’s approach when her musical supporters feel as free as Pruitt and Barnes did to guide the pace and keep things interesting. The singer called this trio “her favorite” to work with, and the group’s musical camaraderie throughout supported her contention.
Live jazz, done well, refreshes and stimulates both the mind and the spirit. In this case, Annie Sellick and her tune weavings fit the cozy confines of a place like Churchill Grounds very comfortably, providing entertainment to those who, leaving their troubles outside the door, came to hear old messages in new ways.