It goes
without saying that great voices are few and far between. But
when it comes to last judgments, it is what the interpreter brings
to the lyric that separates the immortals from everyone else.
Enter
Ala.ni, lithe and lissome from London town, on the cusp of becoming
the next great voice. Be as it may that her repertoire defies
category (it isn’t jazz-pop or pop-jazz) she is unapologetically
addicted to slow stuff, the ballads on a slow burn, music with
lots of open spaces, which might be a jazz standard, an original
composition, or something like her sublime take on Glen Campbell’s
“The Wichita Lineman.” She excels in music that most
young singers sagaciously (at the insistence of management) shy
away from.
For the
occasion of Montreal’s
2016 International Jazz Festival at Club Soda,
before a capacity crowd that was treated to what can only be described
as a favourite wish, the bewitching Ala.ni poured herself into
her music, converting the already initiated and just-curious into
ardent enthusiasts.
How good
is Ala.ni’s voice? Good enough to persuade listeners raised
on high-octane rock, Rap and hip-hop to surrender to music and
song that recall an earlier era, singers like Joe Stafford and
Billie Holiday to mention a few, when music and melody were one
and the same.
When
singing softly, her range and control are breathtaking: the transitions
from middle range to high nearly flawless. With minimum accompaniment
– guitar or harp – the music she writes and performs
is pared down to its essentials: not a note is wasted, every nuance
deliberate and purposeful. Her up-close, tremulous, immaculate,
gossamar voice imbues acoustic space with grace and elegance.
From one song to the next, we are reminded that decency and civility
can find no better vehicle than music for their expression.
During
her memorable concert – a jazz festival highlight -- there
were several occasions when her accompaniment fell silent, leaving
her voice totally exposed, suspended in mid-air "like a diamond
in the sky." You weren’t sure if you were listening
to a jazz/pop singer or an opera diva, so clean and controlled
and confident is the voice – where every inflection and
quiver, on the wings of a butterfly, communicate something beyond
the words and music, something at once fragile and transcendent.
Yes, in the higher octaves it’s risky business, but Ala.ni
-- going where few singers dare to tread (trek) -- has made it
her abode, carving out a precious niche for herself where her
hard won values and world-view meet in the privileged realm of
song whose melodies and lyricism remind us of who we are and what
we have lost sight and sound of.
Along
with retro singers like Montreal’s Susie Arioli, who has
made it her mission to revive the swing music of the 30s and 40s,
Ala.ni’s choice of music -- its spare instrumentation, insistence
on separation of instruments, and the delicate spaces and silences
that characterize it -- constitute an open rebellion against the
high-voltage, synthesized, monophony-cacophony that monopolizes
too much of today’s music gone bad, or lost its way. If
there’s an unintended message informing her playlist and
presentation, it’s an invitation to return to “quiet
thoughts and quiet dreams quiet walks by quiet streams.”
When
it comes to getting deep into the lyric, Ala.ni – only in
her early 30s – brings uncommon maturity to bear. Not only
does she inhabit the lyric, she lives it so completely we’re
convinced that this is someone who has already run all of life’s
gauntlets and survived intact, is wise beyond her years. In her
masterful, totally convincing interpretations, her background
in theatre and dance serves her well. On stage, she’s a
total natural, doesn’t take herself too seriously, relates
to instead of simply entertaining the audience, and uses her luminous
eyes and willowy arm movements to cast a spell, like a genie come
out of a bottle, fancy turned into flesh: the eye and ear can’t
get enough.
Her first
complete album, You and I, released in January 2016,
is already a major accomplishment. And while we don’t doubt
that the sky is the limit for this gifted singer/interpreter,
whether or not her retro-repertoire can conquer the world, as
it richly deserves, remains to be seen.
There
are all sorts of reasons to visit London: Buckingham Palace, Tate
Museum, Paul McCartney, Westminster Abbey, Amy Winehouse, Hyde
Park's Speakers' Corner . . . to that incomplete list I add the
name of singer/songwriter Ala.ni, who is actually doing a Take
Five in Paris as of this writing.
