Sirens In the C-House

Still in his thirties here, J. D. Walter is one of the newer breed of male singers, like Kurt Elling, who look to Bob Dorough (who provided this album's liner notes), Dave Frishberg, and Mark Murphy as their models. Like these veterans, Walter brings unique interpretations to standard and non-standard material alike. As a representative of the latter group, a Stevie Wonder song is on this play list. But even more significant is the way Walter addresses, or, more accurately, attacks the familiar material on this album. Throwing aside conformity and convention, he uses all sorts of vocal devices to provide a new perspective to this material. "It Never Entered My Mind" has Walter moving back and forth between regular and wordless vocalizing, sometimes in the same sentence. This is a segue into a lengthy and in-depth examination of the art of scatting. A tune popularly spoofed by Spike Jones, in the hands of Walter and his cohorts, borders on the avant-garde, especially in the dynamic pianism of Jean-Michel Pilc coupled with the probing drums and bass of Greg Hutchinson and Steve Varner, respectively. Out of the ordinary arrangements are a trademark of this session as shown on the Nat King Cole/Oscar Moore "Beautiful Moons Ago" which becomes a discourse between Walter, the flügelhorn of John Swana, and the Hutchinson snare. But Walter, if nothing else, is flexible. His rendition of "Turn Out the Stars" approaches a Gregorian chant with its intensity. This is one of the album's highlights. Another highlight is a swinging but slightly off-center "The Song Is You." While possessing a very pleasing to the ear voice, not everyone will warm to Walter's singing style, especially as it is applied to those classics which have been recorded by Sinatra, Cole, Torme, and the like. However, given a couple of hearings, this album will slowly but surely seduce and will be taken from the shelf often. This album is adventurous and recommended.