UMBRELLAS IN MINT
#1 Radio CUH, Top Ten WXCI, WMUA, WERU, WDPS, CHMR, and TCC The Grid- Airplay on 91 stations
“Every song in Lisa Kirchner’s album, Umbrellas in Mint, is worth your attention and time. Ms. Kirchner not only has a beautiful voice, but she is a master poet with a musical gift. I thank her for including in her liner notes all the words to all the songs, and I recommend that you listen and follow along as I did.” — CARL REINER
“Umbrellas in Mint,” Lisa Kirchner’s new CD, is the most exciting album Ms. Kirchner has yet to produce. She is in beautiful voice, the shimmering, delicious lines of her vocals are here in abundance, giving the listener shivers of pure pleasure; and the songs! Her writing continues to flourish, as a garden of lyric beauty. What a singer! and what a CD! I am impressed, as I always have been, byLisa Kirchner’s talent and her continuing success as a singer, writer and performer” — JUDY COLLINS
BLOG CRITICS - JACK GOODSTEIN
Umbrellas In Mint, the sixth album from versatile songstress Lisa Kirchner, has a playlist of one dozen original songs that highlights her art as a songwriter. There are singer-songwriters aplenty, good ones and some not so good. Lisa Kirchner isn't good. Lisa Kirchner is great. The woman is a poet. Her lyrics demand attention, and the fact that she sets them in a variety of elegant melodies puts her in the same class with the best of the singer/poets. And besides that, she can sing. Her voice has the kind of classic purity that does full justice to her remarkable lyrics.
Let's talk about those lyrics. When you get a couple of lines like "It's only a dish of a bird in a stew/A fish of a feather that's salty and blue," you know you're not dealing with an ordinary songwriter. This is a unique voice. Her imagery can be surrealistic. "Summer" is "pleading on her knees." Her verse can be witty: "the city's a circle Columbus could eat." There are "poems that napkins are written on." She hears "rhymes in quarters and dimes" and tells "stories with peach pits and prunes." She plays with ironic paradox. A potential love flees "from the rock leaving keys but no lock." Potential lovers dine "on prizes, toys, and stars." She is not afraid to pepper her songs with literary allusions: Dylan Thomas' Adventures in the Skin Trade, the Sad Café, Byron, Montague and Capulet, Monte Cristo. She is willing to build a whole song on some phrases from T. S. Eliot. Add references to the Pantheon, Vichy, and Eskatral, and it is clear she doesn't find it necessary to write down to her audience.
Kirchner takes time in the liner notes to say something about the genesis of each of the songs. The album opens with "Salty and Blue (I Don't Believe in Romance)," which she calls an "ironic lament spiked with limerick." It couches that irony and a dose of that surreal imagery in some contrasting lilting old-style swing and features some nice solo work from pianist Xavier Davis, guitarist Ron Jackson, and saxophonist Sherman Irby. "A Billion Stars Ago (In the Shadow of Crow)" opens with an intro from drummer Willie Jones III and moves around rhythmically-a bit of Latin, a bit of blues. "What About You?" catalogues the beauties of the city. Bill Schimmels' accordion gives the song a European touch.
She points out that "The Hudson Bay Inn" was inspired by the songs of Brecht and Weill. It has the feel of a lilting story ballad with a melody that is infectious. The title song is an up-tempo jazzy piece with some featured solo work by the rest of the band. The cryptic title refers to the paper umbrellas in cocktails. "Let Us Go Then" plays with the regret for a wasted life in Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The music echoes the regret of the lyric. "Under the Paris Moon (Manhattan Under the Paris Moon)" has a sound reminiscent of the French chanteuse, while "At the Closing of the Fair" could be pop rock hit, featuring some old-time solos from Irby and the rest of the band.
In "Tim," a song about a "brilliant actor and dancer who taught a transcendent dance class," Kirchner says the hour with him was "the measure of heaven." "The measure of heaven" is not a bad description of the hour you spend with Umbrellas in Mint.— Jack Goodstein/BC Music Premium
https://blogcritics.org/music-review-lisa-kirchner-umbrellas-in/
www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritic s/article/Music-Review-Lisa-Kirchner-Umbrellas-In-Mint-4341926.php
ACOUSTIC MUSIC FAME ARCHIVE - MARK TUCKER
When Lisa Kirchner last appeared in these pages (here), I commented that though production credits went missing, it appeared she was the top dawg in the process and that this element appeared to endow the outing with its several defects among many strengths. This time, out, she is indeed the producer, and the difference, in just one year, is highly discernible. Recruiting an intriguing new backing band loaded with notables who were unafraid to mess around with the traditional aspects of the fare, the entirety of Umbrellas in Mint is everything that Charleston for You pointed towards. This is shown very early in A Billion Stars Ago (In the Shadow of a Crow), the second cut and an excellently blended mélange of cabaret, stage, and jazz, upbeat and reflective simultaneously, with even a short injection of delightfully contrasty bump and grind just before the number fades.
Every song here was in fact written by the wild-maned Kirchner and, for me, brings back tangs of the underlauded Robert Kraft,among others, as the Carmichaelish What About You? (LOVE that "A ceiling at midnight, where stars shine on cue" line!) demonstrates. A wide palette of world influences invade the entire cycle here, subordinated beautifully to the dominantly Broadway ambiance. Don't know what happened in the past year, but Kirchner got waaaaay the hell serious, not only maturing miles beyond expectations, but immersive in the literacy of her chosen milieu. Part of the credit goes to the immaculate choice of musicians (I could've done with a bit more of guitarist Ron Jackson, whose offbeat tempo play is intriguing for its colorations, but, hey, the emphasis is rightly on Kirchner's vocals, lyrical narrative, and cinematic textures), but then it also must be noted that they're rightly operating within her parameters, which have cinched up the aesthete factor rather breathtakingly.
Expect generous doses of Rogers & Hart, Brel, Hammerstein, and a bunch of others in the Songbook milieu, but there are also a number of surprisingly Brechtian tinges, as Kirchner's unafraid of the shadows populating boulevards and hearts. She knows those darksome dimensions are just wellsprings, and saxist Sherman Irby leans into 'em more than once, often with a suppressed grin, lighting up the corners. In sum, Umbrellas is an exhilarating escapade, a collection of songs wrought for a stage musical yet to be put beneath the lights, but, now having heard the disc, I'm not so sure that's even necessary, as the CD does quite well on its own, needing no further explication…though it'd be intriguing as hell to see what could be done with them visually. — Mark S. Tucker/Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange /Fame Reviews Index
www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p08593.htm
STRAIGHT NO CHASER - JEFFREY SIEGEL
If it can be said that anyone has music in her D.N.A., that person would be Lisa Kirchner. The daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning classical composer Leon Kirchner and coloratura soprano Gertrude Schoenberg, Lisa was raised in a home that appreciated Bach as much as Jimi Hendrix, Duke Ellington as much as Mozart. Ms. Kirchner made the most of that eclectic musical upbringing, successfully working on the New York stage, performing as a dancer, harmonizing with singers like Judy Collins, and leading her own jazz group.
With the release of Umbrellas in Mint, she also puts her songwriting skills to the forefront. An album of all original material, Umbrellas in Mint is full of story-songs that might be taken from a progressive Broadway show, the melodies strong and the lyrics full of emotion. Ms. Kirchner sings in a way that draws the listener in, making us hang on her phrasing to see where the story – or the musical composition – will go next. While so many jazz singers are content to recycle the Great American Song Book, she is staking out new ground.
Lisa has wisely surrounded herself with a solid jazz band. Pianist Xavier Davis has recorded with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Christian McBride, Stefon Harris and Jimmy Greene, and most recently toured with Jeremy Pelt. His touch is in tune with Ms. Kirchner’s vocal approach, and he leads the band without overplaying or stepping on some of the subtleties provided by sax player Sherman Irby, guitarist Ron Jackson, bassist Vincente Archer, accordianist Bill Schimmel and drummer Willie Jones III. I spoke with Lisa as she finishing off the new CD’s promotional campaign, and we talked about her childhood, how she came to be a singer, and the back-stories on a number of her songs. --Jeffrrey Siegel/Straight No Chaser
Click here to listen to Podcast 342, which features her original songs including:
Lisa Kirchner – Title Track from Charleston for You. Recorded in the living room of keyboard player Marc Berman in the 1990's, Lisa overdubbed and polished the tune for release last year. Not one to let her art be, she has re-recorded it as “Southern Starlight (Charleston for You)” on the new CD.
Lisa Kirchner – “Tim” and Title Track from Umbrellas in Mint. Two strong story-songs that show not only her craft as a composer but as a singer as well. She characterizes the first song as a sort of a “theatrical ‘Mr. Bojangles’, while the latter has the feel of overheard conversations in a Paris café
— Jeffrrey Siegel/Straight No Chaser
Podcast 342: A Conversation with Lisa Kirchner /Jeffrey Siegel:
straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-3-a-conversation-with-lisa-kirchner
JAZZ TIMES - CHRISTOPHER LOUDON
Lisa Kirchner Umbrellas in Mint Jazz Times- Scan the covers of Lisa Kirchner’s six albums to date and the first thing you’ll note is that her flame-colored hair grows increasingly untamed. So, too, has her musicality grown steadily bolder and wilder. Serving up her first platter of all-original material, the dusky-voiced Kirchner reaches a new apex, pairing poetry as densely atmospheric as Mitchell’s or Waits’ with melodies that reflect her longstanding cosmopolitan flair, and melding influences as varied as Brel, Brecht, Weill, Gershwin, Becker and Fagen. Kirchner opens with “Salty and Blue (I Don’t Believe in Romance),” a sassy dismissal of moon-June songwriting tropes that sets the stage for the wide-ranging imaginativeness to follow. The dark, stormy percolation of “A Billion Stars Ago (In the Shadow of a Crow)” makes way for the chanson delicacy of “What About You?,” a misty-eyed paean to Paris which sighs and steps aside for the globetrotting “The Hudson Bay Inn,” a jaunty jumble of images worthy of Lorraine Feather.
The spirited title track sketches Kirchner’s quest for an equally madcap paramour, while the twirling “Tim” recalls a vividly mottled past relationship. Her border-blurring travels continue through “Under the Paris Moon,” while the closing “Quarters and Dimes” provides a sprightly summation of her narrative panache. All in all, Umbrellas an exhilarating crazy quilt. — Christopher Loudon/Jazz Times
jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/lisa-kirchner-umbrellas-in-mint/
POPCULTURE CLASSICS - PAUL FREEMAN
Drawing from jazz, Broadway, cabaret and Great American Songbook influences, Kirchner presents a dozen outstanding originals. They’re rich in diversity, imagery and emotion. “Under The Paris Moon” and ‘”Southern Starlight” are especially enchanting. “A Billion Stars Ago (In The Shadow of a Crow)” is intricately designed and intriguingly performed. Kirchner’s elegantly expressive voice caresses her well-crafted lyrics and delicately woven melodies. — Paul Freeman / PopCultureClassics.Com
AMAZON - GRADY HARP
Singer, Stylist, Composer, Storyteller: Singer, Stylist, Composer, Storyteller: Lisa Kirchner at her very Best
In this her sixth album, jazz stylist Lisa Kirchner pushes the boundaries of her inestimable talents as a singer and arranger and goes for creating an entire album based on a storyline. She has written both the music and the lyrics for this highly imaginative exploration into poetry and stage plays and invites us on a journey called UMBRLLAS IN MINT - a story like no other and one that likely other singers will add to their repertoire, if not in toto then at least in excerpts - that is hw strong this music is.
According to the PR for the production, this series of songs (or musical journey) is influenced by The American Songbook, swing, Zydeco, French chansons, roots, Americana, European cabaret, classical lieder, and theater music. Kirchner is such a brilliant stylist that she is able to take us on a surreal flight of fancy about love and life in Manhattan. She sings lead (and background) vocals, and is accompanied by (or enhanced by, so fine are these musicians) the following: Xavier Davis, piano, Sherman Irby, saxophone, Ron Jackson, guitar, Bill Schimmel, accordion, Vicente Archer, bass, and Willi Jones III, drums.
The sense of camaraderie that spills out over the sound waves indicate that Lisa and her men are having a great time - and how could they not? This is excellent music, each song different enough to maintain forward momentum, but each is equally fine. A very successful outing.
— Grady Harp/Amazon.com.
www.amazon.com/Umbrellas-Mint-Lisa-Kirchner/dp/B00BAMZS1S
EXAMINER-STEPHEN SMOLIAR
Lisa Kirchner’s latest album of her jazz singing,Umbrellas In Mint, has her performing twelve pieces, all of which bring her own words to her own music. There is something comfortingly off-beat about the way she can conceive a tune and then spin it out with a gentle vocalization that creates a reassuring illusion of normality. I say “illusion” because her way with words shows a decided preference for the surreal, drawing upon metaphors that are just as off-beat as her jazz style, blended with free association and any number of appropriations from left of left field. Like her previous album, Charleston for You, the twelve tracks on Umbrellas In Mint are again structured as a “geographical tour.” This time, however, the words are the main attraction. Instrumental solos from Sherman Irby (saxophone), Ron Jackson (guitar), and Bill Schimmel (accordion) are there for relatively brief commentary on Kirchner’s vocal delivery. The rhythm section, consisting of pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Vicente Archer, and drummer Willie Jones III provides support that seems rooted in continuo practices. If, as was the case in Charleston for You, the geographical references have an autobiographical foundation, in Umbrellas In Mint they are refracted by a subconscious that probably warps meaning the same way that Kirchner’s jazzy style warps conventional melody. If the words tend to dominate the tunes, Umbrellas In Mint still makes for compelling listening for its capacity to bring the “art” in “art song” solidly into the jazz repertoire. — Stephen Smoliar/examiner.com
MIDWEST RECORDS- CHRIS SPECTOR
Kirchner’s latest finds her really comfortable in her own skin and really hitting it out of the park. A jazz vocal set of all originals with some first call cats backing her up, Kirchner’s originals sound familiar providing a great hook to draw you in as you try to figure out where you’ve heard them before—-and you haven’t! Killer stuff. — Chris Spector/Editor Publisher
midwestrecord.com/MWR606.html
ROTOCADZZAJ/IMROVISATION NATION
Lisa has some (very) high-energy jazz vocals going on with this CD release… tunes like the opener, “ Salty And Blue (I Don’t Believe In Romance)” make this one a jazz winner for the listener on the first spin! The players she has with her (look at the album cover to the left) add elements of energy that can’t be surpassed by most in the jazz arena today! My personal favorite of the 12 offered up on this February 2013 release was the bluesy “Old Shoes” – Lisa’s vocal just shines on this track! I give Lisa & her crew a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.98. — RotocodZzaj - RotocadZzaj/Improvijazzation Nation
rotcodzzaj.com/42-2/improvijazzation-nation-issue-132/issue-132-reviews/
JOHN BOOK/This Book's Music
Lisa Kirchner is a jazz vocalist who has released a number of albums in her career, and Umbrellas In Mint (Verdant World) is her latest. On this one, Kirchner composed the lyrics and music to each of the 12 songs featured, and she gives it her all throughout the album, including a song like "A Billion Stars Ago (In The Shadow Of A Crow)" which changes tempo and style a few times throughout its duration. I feel each of these songs has a life that I hope will continue to be vibrant as they are covered by other singers and musicians— John Book/This Book's Music
CHARLESTON FOR YOU
Top Ten on CHMR, WERU, WRBC, WSCA, WDPS, WERU , WHLI Artist of the Week
JAZZTIMES/CHRISTOPHER LOUDON
While the title suggests a nostalgic musical voyage, and vocalist Lisa Kirchner’s smoky, tremulous style seems distinctly retro, these dozen tracks are assembled from seven different sessions from the late ’90s. Together they shape an intriguing potpourri, featuring a dozen musicians Kirchner frequently collaborated with over the years—bassist Lonnie Plaxico, pianist James Weidman, drummer Adam Cruz and guitarist Ron Jackson among them—in various configurations. The playlist meanders all over the map, with four Kirchner originals, a trio of pieces co-written by Kirchner with pianist Galt MacDermot, and covers of tunes from such disparate sources as the Gershwins, Janis Ian, Dr. John and French composer Michel Emer.
Charleston for You also covers a lot of physical miles. Pre-Katrina New Orleans is visited twice, with Dr. John’s spooky tale of voodoo queen “Marie Laveau” and Kirchner and MacDermot’s easy-flowing “Blue By the River (Port of New Orleans).” Kirchner’s lovely, introspective “Riverside” wistfully travels between Manhattan and San Francisco, while the edgy “Lights of L.A.” paints an urgently sinister portrait of Tinseltown. Emer’s “L’accordéoniste,” performed in French, recalls Piaf-era Paris, and the closing blend of Caetano Veloso’s velvety “Coracão Vagabundo” and Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes’ vibrant “Berimbau,” both presented in Portuguese, conjures a quiet Rio evening suddenly enlivened by Carnaval. It’s an awful lot to absorb in one sitting, but well worth the far-flung trip. — Christopher Loudon/Jazz Times
jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/lisa-kirchner-charleston-for-you/
MIDWEST RECORD/CHRIS SPEKTOR
The rising queen of nu cabaret makes yet another bag breaking set that is clearly cutting edge eclectic in it's approach and delivery. A favored singer at political functions on a local New York and national level, Kirchner grabs the urbane ear and doesn't let go. Whether writing new stuff with the guy from "Hair" or breathing new life into the classics, she knows her way around a song with her chops wrapping it in good hands. Vocal fans will know what's going on here right away. .- Chris Spector/Editor and Publisher
midwestrecord.com/MWR499.html
GRADY HARP / AMAZON
A First Lady of Song-Style, elegance, impeccable musicality, chanteuse extraordinaire - they all apply to the amazing Lisa Kirchner. For this listener this is her strongest album to date - more variation, more variety of accompaniment, more pizzazz, more tenderness. Take an hour out the day to be transformed by this musical stylist!
Not only does Lisa Kirchner have a voice of great beauty and a sense of poetry in the way she delivers lyrics, but she also happens to be a rather fine composer - a trait she shares with five of the twelve songs she sings here. Probably a bit of her artistry in performing and composing is in her genetic nature; her father was the late brilliant classical composer Leon Kirchner.
According to the liner notes, `Lisa's penchant for empathetic, and highly skilled musicians is evidenced in these tracks, and Charleston For You, features some of New York's first class players in jazz, pop, classical, and theater music, with whom Lisa has collaborated throughout her years performing in theater, jazz clubs and cabaret. The formations range from quintets, to duos and her own voice- guitar solo. The musicians include, composer Galt MacDermot, pianists Mark Berman,Tommy Mandel, Phillip Namanworth, and James Weidman, bassists, Jonathan Miller and Lonnie Plaxico, drummers Adam Cruz and Sue Evans, guitarist Ron Jackson, accordionist Walter Kuehr, and saxophonist Paul Ostermayer- leaders, composers, musical directors, and arrangers, who have performed folk, jazz, pop, R&B, and classical music with icons in every genre.
In her fluid liner notes Lisa writes, "This is a compilation album made up of tracks I recorded in the late 90's.The Man I Love, was recorded live at Birdland. The album features some of New York's finest musicians, inspired and seasoned pros in jazz, pop, classical, rock and theater music, with whom I have been so pleased to collaborate, and whose paths crossed mine early on in music. The song narratives follow the heart on its journey through a jungle of romance and psychology in several languages, traversing the Amazon, haunting the streets of Pigalle, and illuminating the Berkeley sky from the San Francisco Bay to Riverside Drive in cinematic overlay. Phat Hat, was impelled, one hot summer night on Broadway, by a girl leaning against a lamppost in a large brimmed hat. I thought, "she's grooving in a phat hat." Weeks later for the first time, I heard the expression "phat." Thanks to Mac Rebennack, "Dr. John", for kindly providing the lyrics, years ago, and inspiring the performance of Marie Laveau, the tale of a hair dresser rumored to practice spells, buried at night, and dubbed the Voodoo Queen. I am grateful to Galt MacDermot for generously collaborating on, performing, and recording six songs with me, after our run of his show, The Human Comedy, at the Public Theater and on Broadway. Three songs are featured on this album, and three on the forthcoming sequel. The bayou fueled Blue By the River (Port of New Orleans.) Jesse, written by Janis Ian, and permeating the air waves in the days of Be-Ins on the Cambridge Common, and my own song, Charleston For You, animated by a window view of the Hudson River and the Pallasades at dusk, are songs my parents loved. I sang them for their memorial services - Jesse for my mother, Gertrude Kirchner, and Charleston For You, for my father, Leon Kirchner."
This combination of musical styles and sung in English, French and Portuguese is as exciting as any new recording by a female vocalist to be release this year. Lisa Kirchner is on top of her form and this Album simply has it all. Grady Harp/amazon
www.amazon.com/Charleston-For-You-Lisa-Kirchner/dp/B008GRHZ48
ARTSIT OF THE WEEK/WHLI
We LOVE 3 tracks. “L’accordeoniste” is downright irresistible & “Lights of L.A.” and “Phat Hat” are pretty darn good as well.
STEPHEN SMOLIAR / EXAMINER
I have to confess that, when I found out about Lisa Kirchner’s Charleston for You from my RSS feed for ClassicsOnline (the recording is also available from Amazon.com), I decided to check it out through personal curiosity. As her “official” biographical statement makes clear, she used to dance with the James Waring Dance Company, an ensemble that I used to follow with great enthusiasm in much of the little spare time I had while I was working on my doctoral thesis. Waring knew how to deliver a shock to the system, even when that system called itself avant-garde; and Lisa was part of Waring’s vanguard. Besides, I knew a thing or two about other aspects of her background, which she described in her own words as follows:
My father, a contemporary classical composer, conductor and pianist, took me to see Ray Charles, played and analyzed Duke Ellington songs with me, and pointed out the brilliance of a young guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, as we discussed Mozart, Bach and Schoenberg.
Hopefully, that will be informative enough for many of my readers to deduce that her father was Leon Kirchner.
I was not sure how I would react to most of the tracks on Charleston for You; but Iknew I wanted to hear her treatment of “The Man I Love.” I was not disappointed. Her only accompaniment came from pianist James Weidman; and, since this was the only track that included applause, I would be willing to place a small bet that it was the only recording made in performance, rather than in studio. One of the virtues of her recording is that she does not ignore the introductory section and does a reasonably good job of getting beyond the four-square phrasing on the printed page. Once beyond the intro, she finds her own phrasing to shape the words, occasionally enhanced by slight portamento pulls on the pitch. The same can be said of her take on Caetano Veloso’s “Coração Vagabundo.” She performs with that same low-key Brazilian style that many associate with Astrud Gilberto; but she then segues into the more upbeat “Berimbau” by Baden Powell (the Brazilian guitarist, not to be confused with the founder of the Boy Scouts). There is a precision in her sense of rhythm that plays nicely against the solo riffs of drummer Adam Cruz, with guitarist Ron Jackson and bassist Lonnie Plaxico providing a solid rhythmic foundation.
Those who scan the track listings might ask whether or not these two samples are representative. Kirchner appears as lyricist and/or composer on most of the tracks; and I have to confess that my taste in songs remains pretty much “old school.” Nevertheless, I was impressed by the extent to which her own pieces constitute a “geographical tour,” which I would take to be basically autobiographical. That being the case, then the part of the tour that most appealed to me was “Blue By The River,” which is Kirchner’s words set to the music of Galt Macdermot (as in Hair). This has a mildly funky quality that never compromises her sure sense of pitch but gives the song an edge that, to my ear at least, did not quite come across in “Marie Laveau,” the other selection from this part of the tour.
One thing is certain: all those names in that biographical sentence quoted above involve far more than superficial name-dropping.
— Examiner/Stephen Smoliar
CRITICAL JAZZ/BRENT BLACK
I have to admit as I have stated before, the female jazz vocal pack is a tightly knit group of talent with about the artistic differences between each as thin as a sheet of paper. Till now…
Take old school vocal jazz, a touch of caberet and a dash of Broadway and you have a nice receipe for a very entertaining release from Lisa Kirchner entitled Charleston For You. I was immediately taken by some of the talent listed on the release as well including straight ahead drumming phenom Adam Cruz and guitar virutuoso Ron Jackson so for the purist that wants to argue “credibility” then game over. Kirchner’s style may be part of the reason she has quietly slipped past a few critics and undeservingly so. A nice voice i.e. great chops, spot on phrasing and a nice somewhat eclectic set list here make Charleston For You an incredibly entertaining tour de force of how much room a vocal jazz artist has to work and still remain true to their own integrity. There are several Kirchner originals here that are as solid as they come including “Red Wine and White Lies” along with “Lights of L.A.” Some of the more eclectic tunes that help bind this wonderful release together include a nice riff on a Janis Ian tune “Jesse” and of course a standard from George Gershwin “The Man I Love.”
Kirchner really does not have a prime vocal wheelhouse from which she holds court. Instead, Kirchner has the talent and ability to work folk, jazz, and even French and Brazilian songs. An elegant vocal talent that could as a former co-worker from American Idol would say about certain talent - “She could sing the phone book.” The bottom line for Kirchner is simply this…she entertains! There is a certain old school charm about a talent that cares about making that connectivity while striving to push their talent to a variety of different levels. An absolutely delightful release and arguably her finest release to date. - Brent Black/Critical Jazz
JOHN SHELTON IVANY/jsitop21.com
"Charleston For You" is a winning album by Lisa Kirchner. with glowing strings, supple horns, and understated guitar licks, working at a low register, Lisa pushes her voice, here getting hot, there teasing love, dream and scream into microdramas. it's the beginning, and end, of a great partnership. As Bruce once sang: "she's all that heaven will allow." John Shelton Ivany/jsitop21.com
Top Ten on CHMR, WERU, WRBC, WSCA, WDPS, WERU , WHLI Artist of the Week
JAZZTIMES/CHRISTOPHER LOUDON
While the title suggests a nostalgic musical voyage, and vocalist Lisa Kirchner’s smoky, tremulous style seems distinctly retro, these dozen tracks are assembled from seven different sessions from the late ’90s. Together they shape an intriguing potpourri, featuring a dozen musicians Kirchner frequently collaborated with over the years—bassist Lonnie Plaxico, pianist James Weidman, drummer Adam Cruz and guitarist Ron Jackson among them—in various configurations. The playlist meanders all over the map, with four Kirchner originals, a trio of pieces co-written by Kirchner with pianist Galt MacDermot, and covers of tunes from such disparate sources as the Gershwins, Janis Ian, Dr. John and French composer Michel Emer.
Charleston for You also covers a lot of physical miles. Pre-Katrina New Orleans is visited twice, with Dr. John’s spooky tale of voodoo queen “Marie Laveau” and Kirchner and MacDermot’s easy-flowing “Blue By the River (Port of New Orleans).” Kirchner’s lovely, introspective “Riverside” wistfully travels between Manhattan and San Francisco, while the edgy “Lights of L.A.” paints an urgently sinister portrait of Tinseltown. Emer’s “L’accordéoniste,” performed in French, recalls Piaf-era Paris, and the closing blend of Caetano Veloso’s velvety “Coracão Vagabundo” and Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes’ vibrant “Berimbau,” both presented in Portuguese, conjures a quiet Rio evening suddenly enlivened by Carnaval. It’s an awful lot to absorb in one sitting, but well worth the far-flung trip. — Christopher Loudon/Jazz Times
jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/lisa-kirchner-charleston-for-you/
MIDWEST RECORD/CHRIS SPEKTOR
The rising queen of nu cabaret makes yet another bag breaking set that is clearly cutting edge eclectic in it's approach and delivery. A favored singer at political functions on a local New York and national level, Kirchner grabs the urbane ear and doesn't let go. Whether writing new stuff with the guy from "Hair" or breathing new life into the classics, she knows her way around a song with her chops wrapping it in good hands. Vocal fans will know what's going on here right away. .- Chris Spector/Editor and Publisher
midwestrecord.com/MWR499.html
GRADY HARP / AMAZON
A First Lady of Song-Style, elegance, impeccable musicality, chanteuse extraordinaire - they all apply to the amazing Lisa Kirchner. For this listener this is her strongest album to date - more variation, more variety of accompaniment, more pizzazz, more tenderness. Take an hour out the day to be transformed by this musical stylist!
Not only does Lisa Kirchner have a voice of great beauty and a sense of poetry in the way she delivers lyrics, but she also happens to be a rather fine composer - a trait she shares with five of the twelve songs she sings here. Probably a bit of her artistry in performing and composing is in her genetic nature; her father was the late brilliant classical composer Leon Kirchner.
According to the liner notes, `Lisa's penchant for empathetic, and highly skilled musicians is evidenced in these tracks, and Charleston For You, features some of New York's first class players in jazz, pop, classical, and theater music, with whom Lisa has collaborated throughout her years performing in theater, jazz clubs and cabaret. The formations range from quintets, to duos and her own voice- guitar solo. The musicians include, composer Galt MacDermot, pianists Mark Berman,Tommy Mandel, Phillip Namanworth, and James Weidman, bassists, Jonathan Miller and Lonnie Plaxico, drummers Adam Cruz and Sue Evans, guitarist Ron Jackson, accordionist Walter Kuehr, and saxophonist Paul Ostermayer- leaders, composers, musical directors, and arrangers, who have performed folk, jazz, pop, R&B, and classical music with icons in every genre.
In her fluid liner notes Lisa writes, "This is a compilation album made up of tracks I recorded in the late 90's.The Man I Love, was recorded live at Birdland. The album features some of New York's finest musicians, inspired and seasoned pros in jazz, pop, classical, rock and theater music, with whom I have been so pleased to collaborate, and whose paths crossed mine early on in music. The song narratives follow the heart on its journey through a jungle of romance and psychology in several languages, traversing the Amazon, haunting the streets of Pigalle, and illuminating the Berkeley sky from the San Francisco Bay to Riverside Drive in cinematic overlay. Phat Hat, was impelled, one hot summer night on Broadway, by a girl leaning against a lamppost in a large brimmed hat. I thought, "she's grooving in a phat hat." Weeks later for the first time, I heard the expression "phat." Thanks to Mac Rebennack, "Dr. John", for kindly providing the lyrics, years ago, and inspiring the performance of Marie Laveau, the tale of a hair dresser rumored to practice spells, buried at night, and dubbed the Voodoo Queen. I am grateful to Galt MacDermot for generously collaborating on, performing, and recording six songs with me, after our run of his show, The Human Comedy, at the Public Theater and on Broadway. Three songs are featured on this album, and three on the forthcoming sequel. The bayou fueled Blue By the River (Port of New Orleans.) Jesse, written by Janis Ian, and permeating the air waves in the days of Be-Ins on the Cambridge Common, and my own song, Charleston For You, animated by a window view of the Hudson River and the Pallasades at dusk, are songs my parents loved. I sang them for their memorial services - Jesse for my mother, Gertrude Kirchner, and Charleston For You, for my father, Leon Kirchner."
This combination of musical styles and sung in English, French and Portuguese is as exciting as any new recording by a female vocalist to be release this year. Lisa Kirchner is on top of her form and this Album simply has it all. Grady Harp/amazon
www.amazon.com/Charleston-For-You-Lisa-Kirchner/dp/B008GRHZ48
ARTSIT OF THE WEEK/WHLI
We LOVE 3 tracks. “L’accordeoniste” is downright irresistible & “Lights of L.A.” and “Phat Hat” are pretty darn good as well.
STEPHEN SMOLIAR / EXAMINER
I have to confess that, when I found out about Lisa Kirchner’s Charleston for You from my RSS feed for ClassicsOnline (the recording is also available from Amazon.com), I decided to check it out through personal curiosity. As her “official” biographical statement makes clear, she used to dance with the James Waring Dance Company, an ensemble that I used to follow with great enthusiasm in much of the little spare time I had while I was working on my doctoral thesis. Waring knew how to deliver a shock to the system, even when that system called itself avant-garde; and Lisa was part of Waring’s vanguard. Besides, I knew a thing or two about other aspects of her background, which she described in her own words as follows:
My father, a contemporary classical composer, conductor and pianist, took me to see Ray Charles, played and analyzed Duke Ellington songs with me, and pointed out the brilliance of a young guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, as we discussed Mozart, Bach and Schoenberg.
Hopefully, that will be informative enough for many of my readers to deduce that her father was Leon Kirchner.
I was not sure how I would react to most of the tracks on Charleston for You; but Iknew I wanted to hear her treatment of “The Man I Love.” I was not disappointed. Her only accompaniment came from pianist James Weidman; and, since this was the only track that included applause, I would be willing to place a small bet that it was the only recording made in performance, rather than in studio. One of the virtues of her recording is that she does not ignore the introductory section and does a reasonably good job of getting beyond the four-square phrasing on the printed page. Once beyond the intro, she finds her own phrasing to shape the words, occasionally enhanced by slight portamento pulls on the pitch. The same can be said of her take on Caetano Veloso’s “Coração Vagabundo.” She performs with that same low-key Brazilian style that many associate with Astrud Gilberto; but she then segues into the more upbeat “Berimbau” by Baden Powell (the Brazilian guitarist, not to be confused with the founder of the Boy Scouts). There is a precision in her sense of rhythm that plays nicely against the solo riffs of drummer Adam Cruz, with guitarist Ron Jackson and bassist Lonnie Plaxico providing a solid rhythmic foundation.
Those who scan the track listings might ask whether or not these two samples are representative. Kirchner appears as lyricist and/or composer on most of the tracks; and I have to confess that my taste in songs remains pretty much “old school.” Nevertheless, I was impressed by the extent to which her own pieces constitute a “geographical tour,” which I would take to be basically autobiographical. That being the case, then the part of the tour that most appealed to me was “Blue By The River,” which is Kirchner’s words set to the music of Galt Macdermot (as in Hair). This has a mildly funky quality that never compromises her sure sense of pitch but gives the song an edge that, to my ear at least, did not quite come across in “Marie Laveau,” the other selection from this part of the tour.
One thing is certain: all those names in that biographical sentence quoted above involve far more than superficial name-dropping.
— Examiner/Stephen Smoliar
CRITICAL JAZZ/BRENT BLACK
I have to admit as I have stated before, the female jazz vocal pack is a tightly knit group of talent with about the artistic differences between each as thin as a sheet of paper. Till now…
Take old school vocal jazz, a touch of caberet and a dash of Broadway and you have a nice receipe for a very entertaining release from Lisa Kirchner entitled Charleston For You. I was immediately taken by some of the talent listed on the release as well including straight ahead drumming phenom Adam Cruz and guitar virutuoso Ron Jackson so for the purist that wants to argue “credibility” then game over. Kirchner’s style may be part of the reason she has quietly slipped past a few critics and undeservingly so. A nice voice i.e. great chops, spot on phrasing and a nice somewhat eclectic set list here make Charleston For You an incredibly entertaining tour de force of how much room a vocal jazz artist has to work and still remain true to their own integrity. There are several Kirchner originals here that are as solid as they come including “Red Wine and White Lies” along with “Lights of L.A.” Some of the more eclectic tunes that help bind this wonderful release together include a nice riff on a Janis Ian tune “Jesse” and of course a standard from George Gershwin “The Man I Love.”
Kirchner really does not have a prime vocal wheelhouse from which she holds court. Instead, Kirchner has the talent and ability to work folk, jazz, and even French and Brazilian songs. An elegant vocal talent that could as a former co-worker from American Idol would say about certain talent - “She could sing the phone book.” The bottom line for Kirchner is simply this…she entertains! There is a certain old school charm about a talent that cares about making that connectivity while striving to push their talent to a variety of different levels. An absolutely delightful release and arguably her finest release to date. - Brent Black/Critical Jazz
JOHN SHELTON IVANY/jsitop21.com
"Charleston For You" is a winning album by Lisa Kirchner. with glowing strings, supple horns, and understated guitar licks, working at a low register, Lisa pushes her voice, here getting hot, there teasing love, dream and scream into microdramas. it's the beginning, and end, of a great partnership. As Bruce once sang: "she's all that heaven will allow." John Shelton Ivany/jsitop21.com
SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT
DOUG LAUSTEN/WRSU
“Dropping music into different stylistic environments may be done often, but that doesn’t mean it’s often done well. In fact, the frequent use of re-contextualization makes many efforts seem clichéd. Lisa Kirchner’s Something to Sing About avoids this fate by doing the unlikely: taking vocal material by many 20th Century composers and placing them in the realm of jazz. Kirchner, the daughter of Leon Kirchner, selected material by many musicians who had a connection to her father, and this personal relationship is evident in the tracks. Her musicianship is spot on throughout as she navigates some very tricky melodic lines and sells them convincingly as natural jazz tunes……On the album are offerings from composers such as Aaron Copland, David del Tredici, Charles Ives, and both Lisa and Leon Kirchner. It’s interesting to hear these musicians presented as ‘jazz’ composers because it really brings into focus that jazz being a central part of the DNA of American music. The album’s brightest tracks (Acrostic Song from del Tredici’s Final Alice and Leon Kirchner’s Lily) have a feel of being filtered versions of the songs that have washed away the chaff and gotten to the cleaned core of the music. This is the best that cross-over projects can offer: finding a new vehicle for an old idea that seems almost more natural than the original.“ Doug Laustsen/WRSU
JACK SULLIVAN/AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
Adams, Ives, Barber, Marsalis, Del Tredici, Corigliano, Kirchner, Harbison, Bolcom
Lisa Kirchner, Albany 1268-68 minutes
Lisa Kirchner, daughter of the distinguished American composer and a singer-songwriter, presents 18 songs by Ives, Barber, Adams, Copland, herself, and many others, but this is not a traditional lied album. Pianist Joel Fan is a classical artist, but the others (Ron Jackson, Sherman Irby, Dwayne Burno, Willie Jones III, Xavier Davis, William Schimmel, Vincente Archer) are from the world of jazz. All are superb, and Kircher sings with a cheery openness. This is crossover in the best sense, the kind of thing Kurt Weill championed when he came to America (Kirchner has performed Weill, and it shows). These arrangements swing, but they are chosen so cannily that they come off winningly. If Ives knew his ‘In Autumn’ would “cross over” into jazz, I believe he would be delighted; and many of the others (John Corigliano, Ned Rorem) actively participated in this project. Some, like Bolcom and Marsalis, are crossover composers themselves. Bolcom’s sassy ‘Night Make My Day’ clearly belongs in a collection like this, especially with the squealy alto sax of Sherman Irby. This is a refreshing and enjoyable release. - Jack Sullivan / American Record Guide
JOE ZUPAN/WICN
n a world where mediocracy seems to be commonplace, Lisa offers a breath of fresh air in her latest CD "Something To Sing About." Showcasing composers that my be short in name recognition but definitely long in talent, her recording delves into moods and styles that take the listener on a musical journey rarely found in a vocal project. No 'high mileage' standards here, just beautifully uncommon melodies sung with just the right experience and emotion. Add to this some of today's most accomplished musicians and "Something to Sing About" is just that! Congratulations Lisa! - Joe Zupan/WICN
CRY ME A TORCH SONG/PIERS FORD
Tragedy, broken hearts, mortality and violence lie beneath the surface of Lisa Kirchner’s scintillating album, Something to Sing About, like bloodstained rocks. As her vocals spin and gyrate through a cycle of songs that draws on the work of the finest American composers, she covers the range of human experience from girlish hopefulness to world-weary heaviness, exposing these underlying dangers in startling moments of dissonance, shifts in meter and rhythm, and unsettling musical intervals. And all with a lightness of touch that belies the essential darkness of much of the material. These are lullabies with cruel truths at their heart.
Kirchner, the daughter of composer Leon and a doyenne of New York’s cabaret scene, has some pedigree. She has personal associations with many of the composers and songwriters represented in this rich collection, who include her father (“Lily” is one of the most poignant tracks), William Schimmel (who plays accordion on many of the numbers), Charles Ives, Wynton Marsalis, David Del Tredici and, of course, Aaron Copeland. As she explains in her excellent notes, Kirchner met Copeland when she was just eight. His music features large, culminating in a beautiful, gentle, jazz-infused take on his arrangement of “Long Time Ago”, which hangs shimmering in the air at the end of the album. The result of this inspiring network of connections is a tapestry of musical genres brought together under the umbrella of the art song, revealing the scope of influences on quintessentially American composers whose work often reflects a European heritage in such innovative ways.
It’s impossible, for example, to escape the Brechtian cabaret nuances of Schimmel’s pastiche, “Suicide in C Minor” (the bleak tale of a gangster’s moll); or the chanson flavour of a Ned Rorem melody that provides the setting for Robert Hillyer’s poetic take on the romantic possibilities of Paris, “Early One Morning”. The chanson also informs Kirchner’s own composition, “Crazy Love, Crazy Heart”. Even Lewis Carroll gets a look-in. His ode to Alice Pleasance Liddell finds new life underpinned by Del Tredici’s dreamlike music in “Acrostic Song”. Kirchner herself has written many of the lyrics for the album, most notably for a new version of Paul Chihara’s theme to the Sidney Lumet film, Prince of the City– a gritty paean to betrayal.
Something to Sing About is an impressionistic experience, a sequence of constantly shifting musical tableaux that blur the edges and trace intriguing connections between urban 20th century America, smoky jazz bars, Medieval Europe, Shakespearian England (courtesy of two of Stanley Silverman’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival songs), and even burlesque and casinos. It’s an endlessly inventive proposition, delivered with a streak of humour that leavens the ever-present threats and terrors with quirky songs such as Samuel Barber’s “Under the Willow Tree” and William Bolcom’s “Night Make My Day” or a masterpiece of eccentricity, Silverman’s “Photograph Song”.
At the album’s heart lies Kirchner’s intense knowledge of her material, combined with an ability to render it accessible. While the listener needs to be on their mettle, they never feel part of an academic exercise. Her musicians include pianists Joel Fan and Xavier Davis, saxophonist Sherman Irby, guitarists Ron Jackson and Vicente Archer, bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Willie Jones III. Between them, they create a warm, richly textured sound that cradles Kirchner’s voice as it veers from velvety reassurance to acerbic rasp. Rewarding and fascinating stuff. - Piers Ford/The Art of the Torch Singer
cry-me-a-torch-song.com/2011/12/14/album-review-lisa-kirchner-something-to-sing-about/
The first thing that distinguishes Lisa Kirchner's Something to Sing About is her repertoire: not a jazz standard pass her vocalof 20th Century American "Art Songs" composed my the likes of Charles Ives, John Corigliano, Ned Rorem, Aaron Copland, and William Bolcom. An eclectic band supports Kirchner, conspicuously present is accordionist William Schimmel, who also provides the sly "Suicide in C Minor."
C. MICHAEL BAILY/ ALL ABOUT JAZZ
"Suicide in C Minor" is a cabaret song gone dark, like Kurt Weill meeting Tennessee Williams, having too many highballs and scoring a Wiemar Berlin Operetta. The arrangement recalls pianist Uri Caine's fantasies, where he mashes up genre and instrumentation in interesting and provocative ways. Kirchner sings this lyrical train wreck straight, her voice mature and cultured, and well-rounded for such show tunes. Sherman Irby also plays a brightly abstract alto saxophone on the piece, adding to its otherworldliness.
- C. Michael Bailey/All About Jazz
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/something-to-sing-about-lisa-kirchner-albany-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php
JAZZ HOT/YVES SPORTIF
Lisa Kirchner whom we know on two sides of the Atlantic is an incarnation of the American musical tradition in her universal approach. Born in a musical family (her father, Leon Kirchner, is an eminent classical composer, her mother, Gertrude, a singer, cf. Jazz Hot n° 644), she indeed has a formal musical background, but she is well versed in the tradition of popular music, so rich in the United States, including jazz, and it is in this genre that an essential part of her musical career unfolds. This explains no doubt that categorized in jazz, the nature of her voice and her expression are “crossover”, as one finds qualities of a classical singer (pitch,), popular music (timbre, repertoire), of a jazz singer (pulse, rhythm, phrasing, training). She adds to this variety of attributes her own process which saw her becoming a part time Parisian, and explains her attraction to a certain ambience and theme in popular French music, none of this being in any way contradictory for its simply her history, and her personality. Her clear sincerity brings a real sensibility to her recordings which she releases with regularity and professionalism, as she is most often producer and leader. Moreover, with great care, she chooses a musical group of the highest level coming mostly from jazz but also from popular and classical music depending on genre.
The first recording of 2012, released shortly after the death of her father (September 2009), a tribute without a doubt, unites jazz musicians (Xavier Davis, Sherman Irby, Vicente Archer, Dwayne Burno, Willie Jones III), and classical (Joel Fan, William Schimmel). It’s a beautiful realization and clearly the one that corresponds most closely to a personality so richly musical, but also so accomplished in terms of style. Classical, popular, jazz and traditional compositions, from Charles Ives, Aaron Copland and Leon Kirchner to Wynton Marsalis, side by side without a catch. For Lisa Kirchner adapts herself to the entire repertoire, and because she gives a lot of room to the musicians, each brings his own voice creating coherence, heard in the beautiful « Crazy Love, Crazy Heart », the only Lisa Kirchner original.
It is an exceptional accomplishment in musical arrangement to arrive at such a unity of tone, with marvelous success (magnificent « Lily » by Leon Kirchner, « Suicide in C minor » by Schimmel, but there are other beautiful compositions). It is really an essential album in defining the musical origins and personality of Lisa Kirchner, and in addition, one which evokes a century of American music with ease.
Two years later, we find practically the same musicians in the same New York studio for a recording focused on popular music entirely
composed by Lisa Kirchner. The tone is certainly more casual, but one finds the same qualities for the most part expressive of the grand American tradition with its lyrical and Parisian components, its popular subjects, with the beautiful accordion of William Schimmel who brings so much to an ensemble where jazz is of course the principle color and the musicians always attentive (remarkable Willie Jones III, as always, Sherman Irby). Its fine tuned, authentic and the group creates an atmosphere in which the voice of Lisa Kirchner presents her words with delicacy. - Yves Sportis/Jazz Hot © Jazz Hot n°663, Spring 2013
(English Tr.) www.jazzhot.net/PBEvents.asp?ItmID=24161
(French Orig.) http://www.jazzhot.net/PBEvents.asp?ActionID=67240448&PBMItemID=24033
ROTCODZZAJ
If it’s “smooth vocal” work you’re yearning for, Lisa’s CD will give you 18 totally satisfying instances. Everything you would expect (& more) from her renditions of classics in The Great American Songbook. The strangely titled “Suicide in C Minor” will haunt you for hours after you listen to Lisa wrap her emotion-laden voice around the tune. For those who want a tad more jazz in their tunes, “Crazy Love, Crazy Heart” will thrill you again & again. It was the 3:21 “Night Make My Day” that got my pick for FAVORITE… Lisa’s presence on this quite bluesy track lends so much to it! I give Lisa & crew a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.95. - Rotcodzzaj
http://rotcodzzaj.com/wordpress/?page_id=1435
THE REHEARSAL STUDIO/STEPHEN SMOLIAR
"I first started writing about Lisa Kirchner during my Examiner.com days in the summer of 2012. I had known about her as a member of the James Waring Dance Company, about which I wrote with great enthusiasm as a way of taking a break from working on my doctoral thesis. Until I encountered her album Charleston for You through my connection to Naxos of America, I had not known that she had become a jazz singer. This led to my getting back in touch with her, which led to writing more about not only her own work but also that of her father, the composer Leon Kirchner. Recently I had an opportunity to listen to one of Lisa’s earlier albums, Something to Sing About. This turned out to explore a fascinating synthesis of “art song,” as it had developed over the course of the twentieth century, with contemporary jazz practices that tend to be informed by classical training in both composition and performance. Thus, all of the eighteen songs on this recording, whether composed by Charles Ives or adapted from a film score by Paul Chihara, are performed by Kirchner in a combo setting with a rhythm section of piano, bass, guitar, and drums. (There is also an accordion played by one of the song composers, William Schimmel, that shows up on ten of the tracks.) On the treble side Sherman Irby, who is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, plays alto saxophone on nine tracks and flute on two. What is striking is how Lisa’s stylizations establish such a “comfortable” setting that well suits her selections of both Ives and Aaron Copland. Her father’s music is also included, as well as that of three of his colleagues, Ned Rorem, David Del Tredici, and John Harbison, and one of his students, John Adams. I would even be so bold as to suggest that one of the settings may even be an improvement over the original. That would be “Under the Willow Tree,” which is inserted as a “folk song” in the second act of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. (Full disclaimer: My only opportunity to see this opera performed was provided by PBS, and I have never heard any of the music from Vanessa in a concert setting.) “Under the Willow Tree” struck me as a bit of a distraction from the opera’s plot development; but it stands very well on its own. Kirchner and her piano accompanist for this selection, Joel Fan, clearly appreciated how Barber inserted striking rhythmic eccentricities into an otherwise familiar waltz rhythm. (Fan is a significant advocate for Leon Kirchner’s piano music.)
Taken as a whole, this album reinforces a belief I have long nurtured that those who make jazz tend to know more about classical practices than the other way around. This is music that deserves to be taken on a tour with special attention to conservatories, particularly those that have not yet really figured out how to deal with jazz in the curriculum. However, since Something to Sing About was released in 2011, it is unlikely that such a tour will take place; and conservatories will probably continue to puzzle over “the jazz question! ”
— Stephen Smoliar/THE REHEARSAL STUDIO
therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2017/12/giving-art-song-combo-treatment.html
CHRIS SPECTOR/MIDWEST RECORD
Simply put, here’s an art chick you just might not know what to do with unless you can appreciate borderless, sitting down jazz and let her be your tour guide on an audio trip to somewhere else. A daughter of the great American songbook, she’s got a solid enough resume that she doesn’t have to fall back on genetics to get her point across. A great voice for the art side of things, she knows how to sell a song, and knows several of these songs on levels one can only imagine. A perfect example of a record the needed to be made.
- Chris Spector, Editor and Publisher
www.midwestrecord.com
DARIUS RIPS/OLIVERDIPLACE
Lisa Kirchner sings songs from the American songbook. For other artists, that might mean Cole Porter, Lerner and Lowe, maybe even Stephen Sondheim for a stretch. I am quite sure Kirchner could do justice to any of those, and maybe she will in the future. But here, Kirchner’s American Songbook includes Charles Ives, Ned Rorem, and Samuel Barber, to name a few. Maybe these names are not even familiar to some of my readers. They were 20th century classical composers. So was Kirchner’s father, and some of these composers were visitors to her home in Kirchner’s childhood. So Something To Sing About is certainly a jazz album, but many of the songs were born as art songs. The album’s 18 songs also include two Lisa Kirchner originals that sound right at home in this company. Kirchner has a richly textured voice, and she purrs her way through Leila’s song. She moves around the beat, elongating or shortening notes to enhance the emotion of the piece, and she does this very well. Her use of dynamic shifts is very gradual and subtle, and all the more effective for it. The odd-sounding instrument you hear is an accordion, played in a way I have never heard before. Modern classical music can be intimidating to listen to, but don’t let yourself be scared off of this one. Something to Sing About is a treat from start to finish.
– Darius Rips/Oliverdi Place/Blog-Jazz From Many Angles
oliverdiplace.blogspot.com/2011/05/jazz-from-many-angles.html
O's PLACE/D. OSCAR GROOMES
Lisa takes us on a journey through the American songbooks selecting eighteen songs written by composers that she has had associations with including her father Leon Kirchner. While she touches many genres, the prevailing mood is one of popular music. Lisa composed lyrics for several songs transforming the pieces while retaining the spirit of the originals. Among the best are "Crazy Love, Crazy Heart" and "Prince of the City"-- D. Oscar Groomes/O's Place Jazz Magazine
IN THE SHADOW OF A CROW
“Absolutely unique. ..a vocal style that spans the Atlantic Ocean to embrace two continents”
- CARL REINER / Producer/Director/Writer/Actor/Comedien
“Lisa is a natural born composer with a sensual voice and a stirring, tactile delivery”
– FRANK LACY / Trombonist/Composer/Singer
“Lisa is a wonderful artist and vocalist with a great passion for composing, and performing. She is a talent that touches her audience with her love and dedication to music.” - RON JACKSON/Guitarist/Composer. Arranger
RON DELLA CHIESA / WGBH Radio Boston
“In the Shadow of a Crow” featuring vocalist Lisa Kirchner and her marvelous musicians is a collection of standards and original songs that I can highly recommend. It’s a musical revelation to hear what Lisa does with her voice. A sound imbued with sophistication, beauty, and style so rare to hear from any singer these days. I look forward to the next effort from this multitalented lady who has brought her wonderful artistry to theatre, Broadway, radio, and television.” - Ron Della Chiesa WGBH Radio Boston
MICHEL BEDIN / JAZZ HOT
« Three songs in French, and excellently interpreted by Lisa Kirchner (« Les Parapluies de Cherbourg », «La Javanaise », and « Que reste-t-il de nos amours?»). Thirteen more, let’s say, »standards » «You¹d Be So Nice To Come Home To, ”The Very Thought of You »), although the tunes are not that well known, like «Baby Take a Chance With Me » by Charlie Mingus or the folk song «Monday Morning ». Some compositions by Lisa Kirchner, which fit well into the musical landscape (« Manhattan Under the Paris Moon» the title track, « In the Shadow of a Crow»). The accompaniment is French -the careful attention of a conneseuses who has chosen the « creme de la creme » of musicians: Pierre Christophe, Patrice Galas, Jean-Claude Laudat, Fabien Marcoz, Mourad Benhammou and Vincent Frade. Flawless taste, this singer has a great deal of talent. ” — Michel Bedin/Jazz Hot
“We’ve really enjoyed sharing cuts from IN THE SHADOW OF A CROW with our listeners. All in all…I give the album two thumbs up”
– ERIC COHEN WAER Radio
“Loved your CD- especially-You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To and The Very Thought Of You. Still playing so keep ‘em coming.
– DON WOLFF / I Love Jazz
“You have a very unique, recognizable voice, and your backup musicians sound wonderful. I look forward your new cd next year.” '
- DAVID MAY / WHFC-FM
“LISA KIRCHNER offers a beautiful interpretation of “Please Be Kind”, written by Cahn and Chaplin.”
- BRUNO POLACCI / Anima Jazz
“Your music is still in the playlist of course. When we put music in the playlist, it stays in, because we only play the best.”
- KOEN De BRUYN / CROOZE.FM – 104.2FM-Belgium
MEADOW RADIO STATION/JAZZ MOODS PLUS (Live 365.Com)
Let me put it this way – if you want to hear a singer of considerable note, then lend an ear to Lisa Kirchner.Her latest cd on the Albany label is a delightful enterprise – a thoughtful choice of material explored with a quiet fire. Ms. Kirchner knows her business and takes care of it with confidence and sensitivity.. She has surrounded herself with empathetic musicians who all know where she wants to go. Too many singers today mangle lyrics…how refreshing to hear one to whom clarity is essential. Add a warmth of delivery and the end product is just under an hour of quality. Lisa Kirchner deserves attention – no more time should be spent in the shadow of a crow….she flies on her own- Elliot
Meadow.Radio Station/Jazz Moods Plus. (Live 365.Com)
“Absolutely unique. ..a vocal style that spans the Atlantic Ocean to embrace two continents” — CARL REINER / Producer/Actor/Comedian
“Lisa is a natural born composer with a sensual voice and a stirring, tactile delivery” — FRANK LACY / Trombonist/Composer/Singer
“Lisa is a wonderful artist and vocalist with a great passion for composing, and performing. She is a talent that touches her audience with her love and dedication to music.” - RON JACKSON / Guitarist/Composer/Arranger
“Backed up by a deft and swingingly inventive trio (adding a featured accordion) Lisa Kirchner sings with an affecting blend of elegance and vulnerability. In a fine album that casts a nostalgic, intoxicating spell over the listener, like a wine saved for a special occasion, she offers a lesson in the understated craft of cosmopolitan cabaret and jazz singing. Singing both French and American songs, Kirchner presents the notes and words in astutely judged readings that are both dignified and infinitely wistful. The program is expertly planned and varied. Those of her own songs included here are original, sometimes almost surreal in construction, and reflect her long love affair with European and American popular song. This is a wonderful album.” ALLEN SHAWN / Composer/Author/Pianist
“Lisa Kirchner is a singer/songwriter of refinement and beauty. Her original songs derive from a life of music and experience; one senses the depth of her work while being struck by its lightness. Lisa’s treatment of the classic songs of yesterday gives these songs new life while her performing style transports her fellow musicians and the listener to a keener understanding of their lyrics and harmonic subtleties”.
- FRED SHERRY / Cellist/Producer
“Absolutely unique. ..a vocal style that spans the Atlantic Ocean to embrace two continents”
- CARL REINER / Producer/Director/Writer/Actor/Comedien
“Lisa is a natural born composer with a sensual voice and a stirring, tactile delivery”
– FRANK LACY / Trombonist/Composer/Singer
“Lisa is a wonderful artist and vocalist with a great passion for composing, and performing. She is a talent that touches her audience with her love and dedication to music.” - RON JACKSON/Guitarist/Composer. Arranger
RON DELLA CHIESA / WGBH Radio Boston
“In the Shadow of a Crow” featuring vocalist Lisa Kirchner and her marvelous musicians is a collection of standards and original songs that I can highly recommend. It’s a musical revelation to hear what Lisa does with her voice. A sound imbued with sophistication, beauty, and style so rare to hear from any singer these days. I look forward to the next effort from this multitalented lady who has brought her wonderful artistry to theatre, Broadway, radio, and television.” - Ron Della Chiesa WGBH Radio Boston
MICHEL BEDIN / JAZZ HOT
« Three songs in French, and excellently interpreted by Lisa Kirchner (« Les Parapluies de Cherbourg », «La Javanaise », and « Que reste-t-il de nos amours?»). Thirteen more, let’s say, »standards » «You¹d Be So Nice To Come Home To, ”The Very Thought of You »), although the tunes are not that well known, like «Baby Take a Chance With Me » by Charlie Mingus or the folk song «Monday Morning ». Some compositions by Lisa Kirchner, which fit well into the musical landscape (« Manhattan Under the Paris Moon» the title track, « In the Shadow of a Crow»). The accompaniment is French -the careful attention of a conneseuses who has chosen the « creme de la creme » of musicians: Pierre Christophe, Patrice Galas, Jean-Claude Laudat, Fabien Marcoz, Mourad Benhammou and Vincent Frade. Flawless taste, this singer has a great deal of talent. ” — Michel Bedin/Jazz Hot
“We’ve really enjoyed sharing cuts from IN THE SHADOW OF A CROW with our listeners. All in all…I give the album two thumbs up”
– ERIC COHEN WAER Radio
“Loved your CD- especially-You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To and The Very Thought Of You. Still playing so keep ‘em coming.
– DON WOLFF / I Love Jazz
“You have a very unique, recognizable voice, and your backup musicians sound wonderful. I look forward your new cd next year.” '
- DAVID MAY / WHFC-FM
“LISA KIRCHNER offers a beautiful interpretation of “Please Be Kind”, written by Cahn and Chaplin.”
- BRUNO POLACCI / Anima Jazz
“Your music is still in the playlist of course. When we put music in the playlist, it stays in, because we only play the best.”
- KOEN De BRUYN / CROOZE.FM – 104.2FM-Belgium
MEADOW RADIO STATION/JAZZ MOODS PLUS (Live 365.Com)
Let me put it this way – if you want to hear a singer of considerable note, then lend an ear to Lisa Kirchner.Her latest cd on the Albany label is a delightful enterprise – a thoughtful choice of material explored with a quiet fire. Ms. Kirchner knows her business and takes care of it with confidence and sensitivity.. She has surrounded herself with empathetic musicians who all know where she wants to go. Too many singers today mangle lyrics…how refreshing to hear one to whom clarity is essential. Add a warmth of delivery and the end product is just under an hour of quality. Lisa Kirchner deserves attention – no more time should be spent in the shadow of a crow….she flies on her own- Elliot
Meadow.Radio Station/Jazz Moods Plus. (Live 365.Com)
“Absolutely unique. ..a vocal style that spans the Atlantic Ocean to embrace two continents” — CARL REINER / Producer/Actor/Comedian
“Lisa is a natural born composer with a sensual voice and a stirring, tactile delivery” — FRANK LACY / Trombonist/Composer/Singer
“Lisa is a wonderful artist and vocalist with a great passion for composing, and performing. She is a talent that touches her audience with her love and dedication to music.” - RON JACKSON / Guitarist/Composer/Arranger
“Backed up by a deft and swingingly inventive trio (adding a featured accordion) Lisa Kirchner sings with an affecting blend of elegance and vulnerability. In a fine album that casts a nostalgic, intoxicating spell over the listener, like a wine saved for a special occasion, she offers a lesson in the understated craft of cosmopolitan cabaret and jazz singing. Singing both French and American songs, Kirchner presents the notes and words in astutely judged readings that are both dignified and infinitely wistful. The program is expertly planned and varied. Those of her own songs included here are original, sometimes almost surreal in construction, and reflect her long love affair with European and American popular song. This is a wonderful album.” ALLEN SHAWN / Composer/Author/Pianist
“Lisa Kirchner is a singer/songwriter of refinement and beauty. Her original songs derive from a life of music and experience; one senses the depth of her work while being struck by its lightness. Lisa’s treatment of the classic songs of yesterday gives these songs new life while her performing style transports her fellow musicians and the listener to a keener understanding of their lyrics and harmonic subtleties”.
- FRED SHERRY / Cellist/Producer
- “WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW”
- GORDON PARKS
“Lisa Kirchner’s latest collection fits all seasons of the heart. During the very first listening one moves easily to the soul-light flowing in. And you keep going back again and again- finding yourself pleasantly pinned inside a wall of exquisite and beguiling sounds. For sometime now her imagination has been looking for secrets. Now, with a soul that has been working overtime, she has found them. And another star is born.” - Gordon Parks - CHRISTOPHER LOUDON / JAZZ TIMES
“Looking at the cover of When Lights Are Low (Albany) and admiring Lisa Kirchner’s all-American elegance, you expect to hear lady-like delicacies done up with vanilla frosting. Instead, out pours this astonishing mix of ash and gravel that combines the talk-sing sophistication of Mabel Mercer with the gutsy appeal of Dee Dee Bridgewater. Kirchner’s rusty world-weariness borrows liberally from Billie Holiday, especially on her dusky “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and gently bruised “Angel Eyes.” Her “Manha de Carnival,” at once mistily reflective and coolly satiated, is sumptuously good. So, too, is a skillfully tempered, “I Concentrate on You” that simmers with unfulfilled desire. The biggest surprise though, is a vibrant reading of Livingston and Evans’ somewhat obscure “The Ruby and the Pearl”, imbued with that unique sort of cabaret theatricality that defined Mercer’s incomparability.- Christopher Loudon- JazzTimes
JACQUES TALB / JAZZ HOT
“Endowed with all talents, if one can believe the booklet, LISA Kirchner, actress, dancer, lyricist, singer, titles with Beny Carter’s famous “When Lights Are Low” her second album “en quartet” for Albany Records. Contrary to many of her female colleagues who have been pushed by avid promoters, LISA Kirchner having played some noted United States venues, sings in tune, something not so frequent as one might believe. Subscribing to the tradition of the great vocalists or… luminaries, LISA Kirchner is markedly influenced by the last of these, Billie Holiday, as well by the timbre of her voice as by the repertoire. But she does not stop there- grand mystery- bringing a touch of the exotic which is completely surprising, never invasive, and expressive of a nostalgia most definitively expressed in the treatment she gives to “All The Pretty Little Horses” one of the many folk tunes added to every sauce. Add finally that she is accompanied soberly but effectively, as well it should be, by a good quartet whose solos remain perfectly within the tone of the album. … this album, composed exclusively of standards, is listened to with much pleasure.” - Jacques Talb- Jazz Hot/Paris
MICHEL BEDIN / JAZZ HOT
“When Lights Are Low is second CD of the singer LISA Kirchner, which follows One More Rhythm of which we had celebrated the praises in these same columns. Accompanied by her quartet piano-bass-drums- guitar, LISA Kirchner gives us other everlasting standards on which she can improvise at leisure, just like her musicians. Ron Jackson is romantic in intention, just as she is with something fragile and plaintiff in her voice (“Angel Eyes”, “Love for Sale”, “You Don’ T Know What Love Is”). In particular one is bound to remember “You’ ve Changed” where she captures the refrain entirely in the spirit of the great Billie, but with variations added. The guitarist comments movingly along with the pianist Xavier Davis. With this CD, LISA Kirchner gives us a beautiful example of her talent and her sensitivity.” -Michel Bedin- JazzHot/ Paris
JOE ZUPAN / WCIN
“There isn’t a more articulate interpreter of standards singing today. Lisa Kirchner again delivers another quality project, chock full of timeless, enduring classics and uncovered gems….and in the process, assuring her place as the millennium’s first true renaissance woman. If you appreciate the human voice and what it can do to The Great American Songbook, pick up a copy of “When Lights Are Low.” -Joe Zupan WICN FM 90.5 Massachusetts
RON DELLA CHIESA / WGBH
“When Lights Are Low is a marvelous journey through the Great American Songbook by one of today’s most talented and gifted singers. I know my many listeners will be delighted to hear these classic standards performed with such taste and refinement. Lisa’s interpretations are further enhanced by a marvelous quartet” - Ron Della Chiesa, WGBH
“Lisa Kirchner’s new album is gorgeous, rhythmic, classy and just right for when the lights are low, or for that matter almost any other time you want to listen to some great music.” -BARRY GAStoN / KMUW Radio Kansas.
“While the art of singing is built on the greatness of the past, it is refreshing and exciting to hear a new artist like Lisa Kirchner. She joins a select group with this CD.” – Bernard Brightman/Stash Records “This wonderful effort reflects Lisa Kirchner’s talent, taste and heartfelt love for the music. Its truly a pleasurable listening experience!” –MASANI / Georgia Public Radio, GA
TOM PHILLIPS / THE SOUNDS OF JAZZ & JAZZ NEWS MAGAZINE
“Lisa Kirchner: How can one individual have SO MUCH talent. Sings, dances, acts – and all well. From the strength of Ethel Merman to the quiet passion of Sarah Vaughan, Lisa does it all. In several languages to boot. Latin rhythms, swingers, broken hearted passion – all come so naturally to this multi-talented young lady who puts her heart in everything she does.”
-Tom Phillips/THE SOUNDS OF JAZZ & JAZZ NEWS MAGAZINE
“It has a bright, upbeat and beautiful sound.” - LINDA YOHN / WEMU
RICHARD BOUCIER / JAZZREVIEW.COM
“It's been two long years since Lisa Kirchner's first CD arrived on this desk. Now there's another release from the Manhattan chanteuse
and it's a keeper. Not unlike her debut album, One More Rhyme this CD has a strong emphasis on love songs. Lisa's distinctive voice is perfectly suited to the art of the ballad . Her voice is unique in the manner that Eartha Kitt and Dinah Washington are instantly identifiable. In the company of a fine jazz quartet, the singer is confident and relaxed. Guitarist, Ron Jackson and bassist, Marcus McLaurine appeared on One More Rhyme and it's great to hear them again. Street Of Dreams has been a well-loved favorite of mine since I bought Lee Wiley's recording in the early fifties. Lisa Kirchner's version of the Victor Young classic is a wonderful throbbing treatment that's very easy to take. The mellow mood is unbroken when Lisa and pianist, Xavier Davis offer a fabulous rendition of You Don't Know What Love Is . Latin fans are not forgotten. Luiz Bonfa's Manha de Carnival gets royal treatment when the vocalist exhibits her skills in Portuguese. You've Changed receives the most discerning treatment I've heard in recent years. When Lights Are Low highlights a sensitive artist in an intimate performance. Lisa Kirchner is an eloquent voice in the night . Evening deejays are advised to give this a listen too! - Richard Boucier-Jazzreview.com
ONE MORE RHYME
“Lisa finds that subterranean tone in her voice and in the song that raises pop singing to an art.” – GALT MACDERMOT
“Lilting, lyrical and lush, the voice of Lisa Kirchner thrills, soothes and delights. Her new album, One More Rhyme, of unusual and beautiful songs, is a definite winner.” - JUDY COLLINS
“Like all true singers of song, Lisa takes her vocal expertise for granted and concentrates entirely upon the text. Every nuance of the words- each twist and turn and lilt and sob and smile- contains, and expresses, the experience of She Who Was There. She performs from the inside out. Prima la parola… Whatever the language- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French (or, rather, Parisian), Provencal- the shading seems inevitable, and the diction flawless. Lisa has manners but no mannerisms: she sings less about having been in love than because she was in love. Her repertory is unhackneyed and tasteful and mostly very poignant. I am a fan because there is nobody like her in our loud crass vulgar milieu of music, and because she knows what she’s doing and how to do it.” – NED ROREM
“Lisa Kirchner’s sultry way with a song is very winning. I found her French and Brazilian tunes especially colorful and original ... a wonderful album..”
– RUTH LAREDO
“It is beautiful to hear Lisa Kirchner’s singing which is so very musical, genuine and touching… a lovely album.” – PETER SERKIN
“Lisa Kirchner is that rare phenomenon of the consummate performer whose artistry is world-class. Unforgettable is her unique sound and the manner of her musical presentation. Like a magnet, she draws the listener into the complete compass of what it means to be a human being from our most earthy elements to the sublime. Her voice says it all as she uses her extraordinary gifts in the service of the music she is singing. Listening to Lisa Kirchner is an experience not to be missed.” – LUISE VOSGERCHIAN / Harvard University
MICHEL BEDIN / JAZZ HOT (English Trans)
Lisa Kirchner doesn't have a particularly strong voice, but she uses it creatively as she applies it to the lyrics of songs she selects to sing. There are subtle renditions of such tunes as "Autumn Leaves" where she plays with the melody and the phrasing, causing a novel interpretation of this and the other classic standards on this CD. The CD also lists two originals and other material that Kirchner addresses in her unique offbeat manner. The medley of two Brazilian tunes -- and neither one of them written by Jobim! -- "Coraçao Vagabundo/Berimbau" have catchy rhythms on which the singer performs vocal magic. Further evidence of the different approach Kirchner takes with the music comes through on "But Beautiful" where she takes the words at one pace while guitarist Ron Jackson plays at a slight faster tempo making for an interesting setting. As do many of her contemporaries, Kirchner uses different sets of musicians for this session. Accordionist Walter Kuehr shows up to give a French bistro flavor to "Joana Francesa." This relaxed mood continues on the Kirchner-composed "One More Rhyme," a story filled with melancholia and musically well-put together. James Weidman is given a good deal of individual time at the piano on this track. The singer's view of "All or Nothing at All," includes a slight Latin beat and matches performances of this song by such geniuses of the vocal arts as Sarah Vaughan, Chris Connor, and June Christy. Kirchner's voice and expression comes closest to a combination of Christyand Sheila Jordan with a touch of Edith Piaf. But it's the sensitivity to music and lyrics and the way she works with her sidemen that brings her version to the level of these other singers. Kirchner manages to successfully combine ingredients of country and blues on "Red Sails." Kirchner's father is Leon Kirchner, an important American classical composer having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for one of his works. This album is awesome evidence that his daughter has taken full advantage of the formidable musical genes he passed on. One More Rhyme is highly recommended.
"Coracao Vagabondo/Berimbao" (le “Ce n’est que de l’eau” de Claude Nougaro ") The voice is beautiful, a little tart and the bossa, in Portuguese, that she offers us is entirely different than that we already know, it is very good. Let’s take "But Beautiful", she sings it in rumba, accompanied along with the rest, by a guitar that’s very Carlos Jobim, that of Ron Jackson, it’s impeccable. Let’s take "Dez Anos", backed up by the superb accordion playing of Walter Kuehr, it is touching. She can have an acerbic voice ("Blue by the River"), but can plunge in the low register, for example on "Joana Francesa", a beautiful text in franco-portuguese, or take off into the very intense (Danced da Solidao") It’s superb. She can sing nostalgic ballades ("One More Rhyme") as she can transform a straight out standard ("All Or Nothing At All".) She can emphasize a song and give it content and an undeniable jazz form as in "Red Sails" particularly successful, and a splendid end to close the CD. "- Michel Bedin- Jazz/Hot (English Trans)
RICHARD BOURCIER /JAZZ REVIEW.COM
“The Manhattan chanteuse, Lisa Kirchner comes by her musical talents naturally. Her mother was a coloratura soprano who entertained in New York supper clubs and her father is the prize-winning classical composer, Leon Kirchner. Lisa is no stranger to the stage having performed in the role of Lucy Brown opposite Raul Julia in the Broadway production of Three Penny Opera. In addition to appearances at prime night clubs including the Metronome, Wilson's, Copacabana and Cleopatra's Needle, Lisa appeared at Carnegie Hall with Judy Collins. This CD presents the singer within two jazz groups, one led by pianist James Weidman and the other by guitarist Ron Jackson. Both combos are a credit to the wealth and health of the New York jazz scene. The leaders are excellent soloists and lend sympathetic accompaniment to the vocalist's eclectic style.
Lisa Kirchner, in my opinion, is a voice of the night. Her beautiful and sultry phrasings are difficult to imagine outside the intimate atmosphere of a cozy and classy night spot. Singing in English, Portuguese and near flawless French, Ms. Kirchner takes the listener on a journey through the songs of the Americas and Europe in a delightful way. From Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's "But Beautiful" to Henri Contet's "Padam, Padam", the singer commands the listener's attention. I especially appreciated her sensitive rendition of Jacques Brel's unforgettable "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (Don't Leave Me). The title tune, "One More Rhyme" is a collaboration between Lisa and James Weidman in the form of a tender jazz ballad. Lisa composed "Blue By The River" with the Canadian born pianist/ composer Galt MacDermot who is fondly remembered as the writer of the classic musical production "Hair" in the days of bell bottoms and flower power. "Blue By The River" tells of the serene Mississippi and New Orleans. The set winds up with a bluesy version of "Red Sails In The Sunset" and some great piano by James Weidman. I really enjoyed this CD and recommend it to those who share my taste for jazz with an international flavor.
- RICHARD BOURCIER Bourcier/jazzreview.com
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/jazz-vocals-cd-reviews/one-more-rhyme-by-lisa-kirchner.html
JOE ZUPPAN- WICN Public Radio-90.5 FM-Massachusetts
“You must take the time to hear One More Rhyme. The selections are as varied as Lisa’s background and musical influences. And she’s assembled a group of well-seasoned veterans to accompany her. I have to restrain from playing it everyday.”
- Joe Zuppan- WICN Public Radio-90.5 FM-Massachusetts
“…magnetic vocal style… captivating…” ALAN BARGABUHR / CADENCE MAGAZINE
RON DELLA CHIESA- WGHB 89.7 FM – Massachusetts
“A wonderful CD, the selections and the beautiful way you interpret this music… your sound is very beautiful to listen to… I was very impressed with it… very nice choice of material and beautifully performed”
– Ron Della Chiesa- WGHB 89.7 FM – Massachusetts
AL MONROE- WNTI-91.9 FM- New Jersey
"Lisa's voice is clear, soft, serene, and at the same time powerful. Seamless segues from English to French to Portuguese vividly display her artistry in telling a musical story in a variety of languages. Exudes a bundle of charm. A delicious album"
-
"A marvelous talent from super genes"- ART HELLYER- WJOL- Illinois
"One of the nicer vocal presentations I've heard this year. I like this album better than some of the 'big names' that have had releases recently. Sultry voice and engaging inflections- definitely has her own 'voice' which I like to hear"- DR. BRAD STONE- KKUP-FM- California
"An example of real class- the voice, the approach and the accompaniment. American Culture- Here it is!"
- JACK SIMPSON- Jazz on the Beach- Florida
"Lisa wrote two of the songs on her new CD and she does a nice job mixing in some standards... Mercer's 'Autumn Leaves' and 'All or Nothing At All' ...Nicely arranged and produced. Wait until you hear 'Red Sails'"
- JIM STONE- Big Band Swing WLNZ 89.7 FM- Michigan
“Lisa finds that subterranean tone in her voice and in the song that raises pop singing to an art.” – GALT MACDERMOT
“Lilting, lyrical and lush, the voice of Lisa Kirchner thrills, soothes and delights. Her new album, One More Rhyme, of unusual and beautiful songs, is a definite winner.” - JUDY COLLINS
“Like all true singers of song, Lisa takes her vocal expertise for granted and concentrates entirely upon the text. Every nuance of the words- each twist and turn and lilt and sob and smile- contains, and expresses, the experience of She Who Was There. She performs from the inside out. Prima la parola… Whatever the language- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French (or, rather, Parisian), Provencal- the shading seems inevitable, and the diction flawless. Lisa has manners but no mannerisms: she sings less about having been in love than because she was in love. Her repertory is unhackneyed and tasteful and mostly very poignant. I am a fan because there is nobody like her in our loud crass vulgar milieu of music, and because she knows what she’s doing and how to do it.” – NED ROREM
“Lisa Kirchner’s sultry way with a song is very winning. I found her French and Brazilian tunes especially colorful and original ... a wonderful album..”
– RUTH LAREDO
“It is beautiful to hear Lisa Kirchner’s singing which is so very musical, genuine and touching… a lovely album.” – PETER SERKIN
“Lisa Kirchner is that rare phenomenon of the consummate performer whose artistry is world-class. Unforgettable is her unique sound and the manner of her musical presentation. Like a magnet, she draws the listener into the complete compass of what it means to be a human being from our most earthy elements to the sublime. Her voice says it all as she uses her extraordinary gifts in the service of the music she is singing. Listening to Lisa Kirchner is an experience not to be missed.” – LUISE VOSGERCHIAN / Harvard University
MICHEL BEDIN / JAZZ HOT (English Trans)
Lisa Kirchner doesn't have a particularly strong voice, but she uses it creatively as she applies it to the lyrics of songs she selects to sing. There are subtle renditions of such tunes as "Autumn Leaves" where she plays with the melody and the phrasing, causing a novel interpretation of this and the other classic standards on this CD. The CD also lists two originals and other material that Kirchner addresses in her unique offbeat manner. The medley of two Brazilian tunes -- and neither one of them written by Jobim! -- "Coraçao Vagabundo/Berimbau" have catchy rhythms on which the singer performs vocal magic. Further evidence of the different approach Kirchner takes with the music comes through on "But Beautiful" where she takes the words at one pace while guitarist Ron Jackson plays at a slight faster tempo making for an interesting setting. As do many of her contemporaries, Kirchner uses different sets of musicians for this session. Accordionist Walter Kuehr shows up to give a French bistro flavor to "Joana Francesa." This relaxed mood continues on the Kirchner-composed "One More Rhyme," a story filled with melancholia and musically well-put together. James Weidman is given a good deal of individual time at the piano on this track. The singer's view of "All or Nothing at All," includes a slight Latin beat and matches performances of this song by such geniuses of the vocal arts as Sarah Vaughan, Chris Connor, and June Christy. Kirchner's voice and expression comes closest to a combination of Christyand Sheila Jordan with a touch of Edith Piaf. But it's the sensitivity to music and lyrics and the way she works with her sidemen that brings her version to the level of these other singers. Kirchner manages to successfully combine ingredients of country and blues on "Red Sails." Kirchner's father is Leon Kirchner, an important American classical composer having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for one of his works. This album is awesome evidence that his daughter has taken full advantage of the formidable musical genes he passed on. One More Rhyme is highly recommended.
"Coracao Vagabondo/Berimbao" (le “Ce n’est que de l’eau” de Claude Nougaro ") The voice is beautiful, a little tart and the bossa, in Portuguese, that she offers us is entirely different than that we already know, it is very good. Let’s take "But Beautiful", she sings it in rumba, accompanied along with the rest, by a guitar that’s very Carlos Jobim, that of Ron Jackson, it’s impeccable. Let’s take "Dez Anos", backed up by the superb accordion playing of Walter Kuehr, it is touching. She can have an acerbic voice ("Blue by the River"), but can plunge in the low register, for example on "Joana Francesa", a beautiful text in franco-portuguese, or take off into the very intense (Danced da Solidao") It’s superb. She can sing nostalgic ballades ("One More Rhyme") as she can transform a straight out standard ("All Or Nothing At All".) She can emphasize a song and give it content and an undeniable jazz form as in "Red Sails" particularly successful, and a splendid end to close the CD. "- Michel Bedin- Jazz/Hot (English Trans)
RICHARD BOURCIER /JAZZ REVIEW.COM
“The Manhattan chanteuse, Lisa Kirchner comes by her musical talents naturally. Her mother was a coloratura soprano who entertained in New York supper clubs and her father is the prize-winning classical composer, Leon Kirchner. Lisa is no stranger to the stage having performed in the role of Lucy Brown opposite Raul Julia in the Broadway production of Three Penny Opera. In addition to appearances at prime night clubs including the Metronome, Wilson's, Copacabana and Cleopatra's Needle, Lisa appeared at Carnegie Hall with Judy Collins. This CD presents the singer within two jazz groups, one led by pianist James Weidman and the other by guitarist Ron Jackson. Both combos are a credit to the wealth and health of the New York jazz scene. The leaders are excellent soloists and lend sympathetic accompaniment to the vocalist's eclectic style.
Lisa Kirchner, in my opinion, is a voice of the night. Her beautiful and sultry phrasings are difficult to imagine outside the intimate atmosphere of a cozy and classy night spot. Singing in English, Portuguese and near flawless French, Ms. Kirchner takes the listener on a journey through the songs of the Americas and Europe in a delightful way. From Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's "But Beautiful" to Henri Contet's "Padam, Padam", the singer commands the listener's attention. I especially appreciated her sensitive rendition of Jacques Brel's unforgettable "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (Don't Leave Me). The title tune, "One More Rhyme" is a collaboration between Lisa and James Weidman in the form of a tender jazz ballad. Lisa composed "Blue By The River" with the Canadian born pianist/ composer Galt MacDermot who is fondly remembered as the writer of the classic musical production "Hair" in the days of bell bottoms and flower power. "Blue By The River" tells of the serene Mississippi and New Orleans. The set winds up with a bluesy version of "Red Sails In The Sunset" and some great piano by James Weidman. I really enjoyed this CD and recommend it to those who share my taste for jazz with an international flavor.
- RICHARD BOURCIER Bourcier/jazzreview.com
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/jazz-vocals-cd-reviews/one-more-rhyme-by-lisa-kirchner.html
JOE ZUPPAN- WICN Public Radio-90.5 FM-Massachusetts
“You must take the time to hear One More Rhyme. The selections are as varied as Lisa’s background and musical influences. And she’s assembled a group of well-seasoned veterans to accompany her. I have to restrain from playing it everyday.”
- Joe Zuppan- WICN Public Radio-90.5 FM-Massachusetts
“…magnetic vocal style… captivating…” ALAN BARGABUHR / CADENCE MAGAZINE
RON DELLA CHIESA- WGHB 89.7 FM – Massachusetts
“A wonderful CD, the selections and the beautiful way you interpret this music… your sound is very beautiful to listen to… I was very impressed with it… very nice choice of material and beautifully performed”
– Ron Della Chiesa- WGHB 89.7 FM – Massachusetts
AL MONROE- WNTI-91.9 FM- New Jersey
"Lisa's voice is clear, soft, serene, and at the same time powerful. Seamless segues from English to French to Portuguese vividly display her artistry in telling a musical story in a variety of languages. Exudes a bundle of charm. A delicious album"
-
"A marvelous talent from super genes"- ART HELLYER- WJOL- Illinois
"One of the nicer vocal presentations I've heard this year. I like this album better than some of the 'big names' that have had releases recently. Sultry voice and engaging inflections- definitely has her own 'voice' which I like to hear"- DR. BRAD STONE- KKUP-FM- California
"An example of real class- the voice, the approach and the accompaniment. American Culture- Here it is!"
- JACK SIMPSON- Jazz on the Beach- Florida
"Lisa wrote two of the songs on her new CD and she does a nice job mixing in some standards... Mercer's 'Autumn Leaves' and 'All or Nothing At All' ...Nicely arranged and produced. Wait until you hear 'Red Sails'"
- JIM STONE- Big Band Swing WLNZ 89.7 FM- Michigan
CABARETS AND NIGHT CLUBS
“the French songs defy explanation when it comes to intensity and emotion… Her renditions of ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ and ‘Jessie’ may be the most heart-wrenching ever” -ELECTRONIC LINK JOURNEY
“this smoky torcher with the mane of red hair is absorbing… an intense singer” – BACKSTAGE
“a formidable interpreter” - AMSTERDAM NEWS
“she’s got striking range with the ability to emote rage, loss or longing in equally convincing measure… Her covers of ‘Dansa da Solidao’ and ‘Padam, Padam’ were especially vibrant with Kirchner using her arms, torso and face eloquently to embody the passion in the music… Kirchner is a singer who can galvanize the stage both vocally and physically.. – KOROLY"S CABARET CORNER
“a sexy chanteuse… very much her own woman” – VARIETY
“the French songs defy explanation when it comes to intensity and emotion… Her renditions of ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ and ‘Jessie’ may be the most heart-wrenching ever” -ELECTRONIC LINK JOURNEY
“this smoky torcher with the mane of red hair is absorbing… an intense singer” – BACKSTAGE
“a formidable interpreter” - AMSTERDAM NEWS
“she’s got striking range with the ability to emote rage, loss or longing in equally convincing measure… Her covers of ‘Dansa da Solidao’ and ‘Padam, Padam’ were especially vibrant with Kirchner using her arms, torso and face eloquently to embody the passion in the music… Kirchner is a singer who can galvanize the stage both vocally and physically.. – KOROLY"S CABARET CORNER
“a sexy chanteuse… very much her own woman” – VARIETY