Jazz has two fundamental qualities that differentiate it from other forms of music. Improvisation and innovation. Not since Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass did their famous set of four albums, under the Pablo label famous for their black & white record jackets, have I heard a voice/guitar duet. Happily, I have the whole set.
Perhaps less known, but equally admirable, is Joe Pass with Sarah Vaughan. Try listening to ‘That old flame’ in the Vaughan album How long has this been going on.
In jazz, the fewer the number of players the more difficult it gets. So the trio is a more difficult format than the quartet or the quintet for example. Of course the duet then, logically, is more difficult than a trio. In jazz literature, the voice and guitar combo is not too common. To that extent, Radha, who normally prefers to play with keyboard players, has changed gears with this album. For a singer with roots in rock, she does an excellent job with jazz which I am sure is now her first love.
Besides the proficiency of the vocalist, there is a lot of pressure on the instrumentalist, the guitarist in this case who has to weave in a few solo melodic lines along with the simultaneous bass lines to make the accompaniment sound full so that you don’t miss the other instruments.
Photo: By arrangement
Radha Thomas has found 3 very proficient guitarists who did a great job of soloing in between verses. The album also has some of my favourite standards. Here are a few of my favourite tracks.
The album starts with that old George Gershwin favourite from Porgy and Bess, ‘Summertime’ which is always a challenge because it is the most overdone song in jazz and every dilettante’s favourite. Radha plays with the words to scat and refresh this old favourite.
She sings another one of my favourites, ‘It could be happen to you‘ which was composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It first appeared in the Paramount musical comedy And the Angels Sing in 1943. Chet Baker fans will remember that this was one of his favourites which he injected with an overdose of melancholy.
‘I fall in love too easily’ was introduced by Frank Sinatra in 1945 in the film Anchors Aweigh. I am sorry to repeat myself, but I can’t help thinking of Baker once again. The lyrics in those days were so universal that they could apply to many of us. They also propounded a general philosophy on love and life.
I fall in love too easily
I fall in love too fast
I fall in love too terribly hard
For love to ever last
Daahoud was an album by Max Roach and Clifford Brown, who later died in a car crash. Daahoud is the Arabic equivalent of David or my beloved. Brown named the song after a friend of his called Talib Dawud. Jazz folklore has it that he was also his drug dealer. This is actually a consummate instrumental track for horns but Radha weaves through the melody with ease. Her choice of the guitarists for this album is commendable. The 3 guitarists – Reg Shwager, Pete McCann and Paul Meyers – have compatible styles of playing the jazz guitar so the tracks move seamlessly from one to the other with no stylistic change.
Radha wet her feet as a singer by singing with the Human Bondage, a premier rock band in India in the 70s. She then developed a strong liking to jazz and later left for New York to pursue her ambition of being a jazz singer. With day jobs in travel and publishing, she sang in jazz clubs at night. One of her most remarkable collaborations was with jazz fusion guitarist Ryo Kawasaki who also pioneered the use of the synthesiser. Radha boasted of a full 4 octave range during her time with Ryo.
Ryo even wrote a song for Radha that was called a ‘Song for Radha’ in three parts. YouTube also reveals Radha and Ryo performing ‘Lush Life’ and ‘Trinkets and Things’ on a demo tape.
Radha is no stranger to the duet. Her earlier album released in 2020 was also a duet with Berklee alumnus pianist Aman Mahajan whom she has worked with for the last ten years. In the same year, she also produced an EP, Vocalese: A tribute to Chet Baker in 2020. The influence of Chet in Radha’s music is quite noticeable to the astute jazz listener.
Radha is responsible for keeping jazz alive and kicking in Bangalore with her band Radha Thomas Ensemble. Her latest album As I Sing adds to her already impressive ouevre.
Prabhakar Mundkur is an ad veteran with over 40 years in advertising in India, Africa and Asia.
