Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Dear Ms. Dearie , from Dawn Clement , and its really quite good. Opening with The Gentleman Is A Dope , Dawn Clement on piano and vocal leads the way, supported by John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums. Steve Kovalcheck on guitar really gives the track a workout with bright guitar soloing. Super opener. With it's waltz feel, Dance Only With Me is one of my favorite tracks on the release with Clement, first laying down the base melody and clean and articulate soloing by Kovalcheck on guitar. Clement's improvisation on piano is quite nice and her vocals are clean and sweet. Clement's cover of Blossom Dearie 's I Like You , You're Nice is quite nice with smooth vocals over piano by Clement. Latin rhythm under Dearie's, I Know The Moon is cool with light, almost breathy vocals and firm, percussive piano over an easy but firm bass and drums bottom. Another favorite on the release, Our Day ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Delight , by Dawn Clement and I really like it. Opening with Outstretch , Dawn Clement opens her latest with an original track, Outstretch, and a driving piano vamp. Reinforced by the excellent bass work of Buster Williams and aggressive drumming of Matt Wilson. Playing a lower vamp on piano against a brilliant upper register soloing is brilliant. Excellent opener. Elvis Costello's Someone Took The Words is really a nice composition and I don't think that he gets nearly the appreciation he deserves. Clements handles the vocals on this track with clarity and elegant phrasing. If I had never heard the track, I would know it was Costello because of her thoughtful arrangement. Her precise piano work, accenting her vocal phrasing and the addition of Wilson on drums is just right making this a beautiful contribution to the set. Williams' Tokudo is a solid contribution with a great bop. Lightly dancing on the keyboa...