Offering (Mótema)
Charenee Wade
Released June 23, 2015
JAZZ FM Album of The Year Nominee 2016
YouTube:
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About:
Knowing where we have been before is extremely important, because it gives context about what is happening now. Gil Scott-Heron makes me think about the responsibility and power of the artist to raise social consciousness. Imagine if more artists used their platforms to positively shift consciousness like he and artists of his day did. He inspires me to do my own thing, to not be afraid to say what I want to say.
Charenee Wade is not one to hold back or let fear stand in her way. The first artist ever to enter two Thelonious Monk Vocal competitions, she walked away from the second one in 2010 with instant buzz and second place to her new friend Cecilé McLorin Salvant. Now is the time for Wade’s star to rise. Known for expert vocal improvisational ability and her seriously swinging groove, Wade evokes a classic jazz sound akin to Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan, two of her musical touchstones. With her Motéma debut, Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson (June 23), she pays tribute to another inspiration, the socially conscious poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron, and confirms that she too plans to use her artist platform thoughtfully.
The first full-length album tribute to Scott-Heron and his musical collaborator Brian Jackson by a woman artist, Offering is arresting in just how timely Scott-Heron’s messages are today and how perfectly Wade delivers them through her savvy arrangements and intimate jazz interpretations. While she has earned many accolades – first runner-up in New York’s Jazzmobile Vocal competition; a participant in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program; a feature on NPR’s Song Travels; a starring role in the off-Broadway show Café Society and in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Salute to Betty Carter – she may surprise people with this authentic tour de force.
Wade embodies Scott-Heron’s poems deeply and with a pathos that belies her age. Her singing is effortless and inventive on the opening title track, and with her lithe voice floating around the poet’s timeless words, we are invited into her invocation. Indeed “Song of the Wind” feels like a sacred exchange between the past and present and a testament to the peace we’re still seeking today. “A Toast to The People” showcases her excellent storytelling ability and subtle vocal prowess. On “Home Is Where the Hatred Is,” she and the band throw down the gauntlet both in terms of the powerful message and jazz chops on display.
Like Scott-Heron, Wade believes that we are the ones right now who must commit to social consciousness and to just action, as she makes plain in “Ain’t No Such Thing As A Superman,” which she mines for its jazz, blues and soul elements. The call to action continues in the next selection, “Essex/Martin, Grant, Byrd and Till,” as the story and names recited by actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner could be exchanged today with those of Martin, Brown, Garner and sadly, many more. Wade goes into a slow burn on “Western Sunrise” and the poignant track, “The Vulture (Your Soul and Mine).” Her finesse with language, intervals, dynamics and emotive ability is on brilliant display in “Peace Go With You Brother.” The closing song “I Think I’ll Call It Morning” signals that hope is always what drives positive change.
Produced by Grammy-nominated music industry veteran and Sirius XM personality Mark Ruffin, the recording features notable guest stars and a stellar band comprised of Brandon McCune on piano; Dave Stryker on guitar; Lonnie Plaxico on bass; and Alvester Garnett on drums. Wade’s labelmate, saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, sits in on “Essex/Martin,” as does Marcus Miller on bass clarinet and actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner on spoken word. Another spoken word guest is bassist Christian McBride, who opens “Peace Go With You Brother.” The great vibes player Stefon Harris is featured on six selections. Wade’s first international release follows on the recent publication of a biography on Scott-Heron by Marcus Baram called “Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of A Man.”
Wade gives ample evidence on this remarkable debut as to why she is one of the most exciting, distinctive and bold young musical talents on the rise today. A native of Brooklyn, she began singing at age 12 and fell under the spell of Sarah Vaughan. Wade attended LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and earned her music degree from Manhattan School of Music. One of four artists selected for the Dianne Reeves Young Artist workshop at Carnegie Hall, she was first runner-up at the 2006 New York City Jazzmobile Vocal Competition, which also featured Gregory Porter, whom Motéma launched into global stardom. The entire jazz industry has passionately embraced Wade including Wynton Marsalis, who features her regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC); Christian McBride, who mentored her at his Jazz Aspen Academy; and labelmate Rufus Reid, who selected her for his Grammy-nominated album, Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project. Wade has performed with Bobby Sanabria, Aaron Diehl, Oran Etkin, Robert Glasper and MacArthur Fellow and choreographer Kyle Abraham among others and at venues and festivals worldwide including Montreux and Spoleto. This year she is touring in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s national presentation, Ladies Sing the Blues.
A singer, composer, arranger and educator, Wade is a professor at the Aaron Copland School at Queens College and teaches for Jazzmobile. Following the Monk competition in 2010, she self-released Love Walked In, which earned her the NPR Song Travels feature. With Offering, Wade continues walking in love and using her art to raise our consciousness. She adds, I obsessed over Gil Scott-Heron’s music, wanting to pick songs that need to be heard now. Music can bring awareness to issues in a powerful way.
Track Listing:
1. Offering 4:34
2. Song of the Wind 7:42
3. A Toast to the People 6:37
4. Home Is Where the Hatred Is 4:31
5. Ain’t No Such Thing As Superman 5:50
6. Essex/Martin, Grant, Byrd & Till 8:46
7. Western Sunrise 5:16
8. The Vulture (Your Soul and Mine) 6:30
9. Peace Go With You Brother (intro) 0:42
10. Peace Go With You Brother 7:06
11. I Think I’ll Call It Morning 4:38
Personnel:
Charenee Wade: vocals, arrangements
Brandon McCune: piano
Dave Stryker: guitar
Lonnie Plaxico: bass
Alvester Garnett: drums
Stefon Harris: vibes (1, 2, 4, 8 to 10)
Guests
Lakecia Benjamin: alto sax (6)
Marcus Miller: bass clarinet (6)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner: spoken word (6)
Christian McBride: spoken word (9)
Recorded July 16-18, 2013, at Varis Leichman Studio, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYCProducer: Mark Ruffin
Executive-Producer: Jana Herzen
Associate Producer: Lynn Orman
Recorded and Mixed by Rob Macomber
Mastered by Bobo Belinski
Package, Art Direction & Design: Rebecca Meek
Engineer [Assistant] – Isaac Cater, Jelly (18)
Photography: Willie Bruno for Visual Champagne
Project Manager: Emily Cadman
Review:
As it often happens with many artists so in tune with the times that they are actually ahead of their time, the immense contribution of musical/cultural revolutionary Gil Scott-Heron continues to be revealed and acknowledged. Albeit, there has been a perpetual cult surrounding this enigmatic figure which defied any sort of categorization both in music and personality, but judging by the posthumous releases of his catalog and continuing tributes, his legacy has taken on the iconic qualities it deserves. His musical partner throughout his most productive phase, pianist Brian Jackson, provided the catalyst for much of Gil Scott-Heron’s best work, and is recognized as an innovator in jazz and modern urban music.
Charenee Wade is a singer, composer, arranger and educator, noted for her self-produced “Love Walked In,” in 2011. Previous to this release, she honed her vocalizing skills as featured guest on releases by Tia Fuller, Eric Reed, and the Eyal Vilner Big Band, among others. Armed with unfathomable passion and assurance, Wade introduces Offering—The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson. Utilizing the lyrics and music of the gifted duo as a launching pad, she takes her innovative arrangements into another dimension, conveying the intended message with her singular and assertive vocal textures, evolving, while honoring the spirit of the original source.
Gleaning from the songwriters’ peak prolific period of the 1970’s, Wade chose an interesting set list with the title track setting the conceptual tone of the record. “Song Of The Wind,” shows the dynamic emotional range that Wade can cover, accompanied by vibraphonist Stefon Harris, the song becomes the transporter of the skies. The pace is slightly quickened with “A Toast to the People,” with its timeless salutation to those who were lost in the struggle. There is the straight ahead version of “Home Is Where The Hatred Is,” this being one of Scott-Heron’s masterpieces, Wade cleverly takes it into a tailspin, building into almost frenetic phrasing with her horn like voice that portrays the song with all its dark poignancy and despair. “Ain’t No Such Thing As Superman,” is set up superbly by bassist Lonnie Plaxico, who authenticates the tempo with that inner city feel, allowing Wade to stretch and scat her way through the other side. “Western Sunrise,” featuring Plaxico and guitarist Dave Stryker, is an enthusiastic number, greeting the coming of a new day.
Gil Scott-Heron was also highly regarded as a New Black Poet, a title he both relished and rejected, he liked to call himself a messenger of his people, a modern throwback to the African griots. To fully capture his poetic essence, Malcolm-Jamal Warner on “Essex/Martin, Grant, Byrd & Till,” and Christian McBride on “Peace Go With You Brother,” take on the lead roles representing the spoken word. These are critical participants in these songs, for the poetry, with its bare knuckle frankness, lies at the root of this music. Wade picks up on the peace missive, softening the tone, bringing it down to almost a plea, for there has to be a way out of the madness.
If there was ever a perfect song for this record’s closure “I Think I’ll Call It Morning,” is it. The Music of Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson, though identified with political, cultural and racial references of revolution and change, also depicted an immense sense of optimism. This final song portrays just that, that no matter what happens, the sun will rise tomorrow, and with it another opportunity to make the changes and choices necessary for our collective peace of mind.
With this production, Charenee Wade has proven that she possesses courageous talent, and is a singer whose time has come. Choosing to interpret this material was not an easy route, but in the true spirit of a jazz improviser, she absolutely made these songs her own. She recorded much more than a tribute to two exemplary musician/songwriters, it is a resolution that the work continues, it is an Offering.
James Nadal (All About Jazz)
