Debut Recording
Melissa Kassel Quintet Live at the Acton Jazz Cafe
Captures the heart and soul of a Boston Diva
In this live outing Melissa Kassel, accompanied by some of Boston's finest jazz players, presents a mixed bag of standards and originals, all branded with her unique blend of pearlescent sensuality and ruminative sensibility. Backing up Ms. Kassel are Tim Ray (Lyle Lovett, Gary Burton) on keyboards, John Lockwood (Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard) on bass, Bob Gullotti (George Garzone, Kenny Werner) on drums, and Phil Grenadier (Freddie Hubbard, Ella Fitzgerald) on trumpet.
This recording catches the quintet on a hot night, as they present a perfect balance of powerful ensemble playing, sensitive backups and great soloing. An interpreter of songs in the best sense of the term, Melissa Kassel has an ability to penetrate into the core of a song and transform it into a fresh and personal statement. The King/Geffin classic "Go Away Little Girl" when turned into "Go Away Little Boy" becomes a startling statement of female longing, while "You Don't Know What Love Is" is full of suppressed anger and bitterness. Her sensitivity to the nuances of words is especially apparent in her rendition of Rogers and Hart's "He Was Too Good to Me" which becomes an elegant musing on regret. The original track, "For Kim" (a eulogy to a lost friend) is an all too brief and lovely tone poem. All is not dark though; there's a playful side to Melissa Kassel too. "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Honeysuckle Rose" have all the caprice and fun of a kitten with a ball of twine.
Melissa Kassel moved to Boston as an avid student of jazz, eager to learn at the feet of the many masters who teach in that city (and she has dedicated the CD to them). Since then she has become a mother, and she has put down firm roots in that city. She performs regularly at the Acton Jazz Cafe, and she was nominated as "Best Jazz Vocalist" in the 1998 Boston Music Awards.
Click here for a review of Melissa Kassel's debut CD by Harvey Pekar.
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Melissa Kassel Quintet Live At The Acton Jazz Cafe—$15.00
Item#: MSK 115
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