Acclaimed Vocalist Rachelle Ferrell at Blue Note Jazz Club
Blue Note Jazz Club (131 West 3rd St New York City, NY 10012)
- Full Price:
- $45.00
- Our Price:
- $22.50*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for Rachelle Ferrell have expired.
The last date listed for Rachelle Ferrell was Sunday June 28, 2009 / 10:30pm.
Goldstar Member Tips
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Deborah R. Clark on Other
The Blue Not was packed with wall to wall people. You must get there early to get a good seat.
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Goldstar Member on What to Wear
Casual
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Deborah R. Clark on Where to Eat
The ribs were tasty and the spicy seafood was awesome.
5 Goldstar Member Reviews
Deborah R. Clark
Rachelle Ferrell was simply fabulous. I had a great evening listening to Rachelle sing her favorite tunes. Although, Rachelle hadn't produced a new CD she mustered up a new one that I haven't heard before. It was more so on the gospel side. That song to me was rated just okay. I just wanted to hear Rachelle sing oldies but goodies. The food at the Blue Note was delicious.Written on Jun 29 2009
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Tammi Hill
What can I say about Rachelle Farrell? She is so talented I would have enjoyed her singing the scales, phone book and nursery rhymes. Her voice is amazing and so is her stage presence. One couple at our table had traveled from Chicago to see her live. This was also true of the other couple next to us. Well worth the efforts to get to the venue!Written on Jun 29 2009
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Goldstar Member
We had a great evening with Rachelle Ferrell at the Blue Note. We were lucky enough to sit at a table with great folks who were there just to say they went to the Blue Note and they were also blown away by the uniqueness of the evening. Rachelle is gracious & giving performer. Don't miss a chance to see her!Written on Jul 01 2009
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Penny Farrington
Rachelle Ferrell is always fabulous and this was no exception. I always try to see her when she comes to NYC and would encourage anyone who appreciates great vocals to she her; they will definitely become a fan...Written on Jun 29 2009
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More Information About Rachelle Ferrell
Website
http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=7023
Description
Rachelle Ferrell, vocals
Morris Pleasures, keyboards
Dwayne "Smitty" Smith, bass
Billy Odum, guitar
Rick Jordan, drums
Rachelle Ferrell is unquestionably one of the most dynamic talents in contemporary pop music. Very few vocal artists in the industry have Ferrell's potent combination of range, phrasing, and musicianship (she is also and accomplished pianist). Such potency was made powerfully aware to Blue Note Record's head Bruce Lundvall who first heard Ferrell on a demo tape (while driving to the supermarket) and signed her shortly thereafter in 1990 after seeing her perform in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
So impressed was Lundvall with her talents, that he signed Ferrell to both the Blue Note Label and the Capitol Label allowing her to funnel her talents through the prism of traditional jazz and R&B. In short, Rachelle Ferrell's talents transcend generic classification and Lundvall had the foresight to realize such a fact. Lundvall quickly set out to plan Ferrell's coming out party via a showcase at the 1991 Montreux Jazz Festival.
In the past, the showcase was used to introduced the talents of Dianne Reeves (also signed to both labels), Stanley Jordan, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Live at Montreux 91-97 captures Ferrell's moving debut at Montreux in July of 1991 and subsequent performances at the venue throughout the decade of the 1990s. Ferrell first emerged in the states with her R&B debut Rachelle Ferrell (1992), a solid collection of self-penned originals that featured a striking duet with Will Downing ("Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This"). It was with the release of First Instrument in 1994 (recorded prior to Rachelle Ferrell) that audiences were really introduced to Ferrell's jazz sensibilities. Many of the tracks eventually recorded for First Instrument were part of Ferrell's program at Montreux in 1991 (she was backed by the Eddie Green trio in both cases), but the live material offers listeners, particularly those who have never heard Ferrell "live", to witness her simply extraordinary live performances.
However accomplished Ferrell's studio recordings have been, the studio is simply incapable of capturing an artistic sprit that refuses to be contained and limited by the constraints of making a record. Live in Montreux 91-97 opens with a dutiful hard-bopped rendition of the Sam Cooke classic "You Send Me" which Ferrell sings so effortlessly and gleefully that it's a wonder that more jazz vocalists haven't recorded versions of the song. Ferrell's rather pedestrian (by her standard) scat finish initially gets a solid rise out of the crowd. The standard "You Don't Know What Love Is", similarly gets backed by a spare hard groove courtesy of Tyrone Brown on bass, as Green's bright piano lines are shadowed by Ferrell's dark hues throughout the first half of the track. But it is Ferrell who brightens up after Green's solo, dancing melismatic flourishes on-top of Green and Brown's vamp. Simply whetting the curiosity of the crowd, Ferrell is well into her thing with the original "Don't Waste Your Time". On the fast paced tuned Ferrell show that she loses neither her timing nor her gift for nuance as the groove begins to overheat (again courtesy of a Green solo). It is in the midst of the song's pulsating close that Ferrell first gets the audience off their feet as she displays the triple-octave screech that has made her such an extraordinary live performer.
In some regards "Don't Waste Your Time" is just a set-up for her off-the-chart version of "Bye-Bye Blackbird". Again matching the triple espresso pace set by Brown, midway through, Ferrell vocals literarily apes the sounds of birds in frenzy. But it's the closing of the song (impressive even on First Instrument) that Ferrell, during her first Montreux become Rachelle Ferrell. Seemingly pacing herself through 30 seconds of scats as if she was measuring her tour de force moment, Ferrell unleashes a flurry of bird sounds finally punching out over and over the phrase "Black Bird" (24 fours times by my count) as her lungs sound as if they are about to collapse for lack of air. On her own composition "I Can Explain", which was included on her most recent studio disc Individuality (Can I Be Me?) (2000), Ferrell is also on the piano, giving the audience a glimpse at her dual genius. Ferrell almost stops time midway through the song with the lyric "you wanted me all to yourself / I just found out, you've got somebody else", holding the last syllable for nearly 13 seconds. Alongside her finish of "Bye, Bye Blackbird", Ferrell's performances of "My Funny Valentine" and "I Can Explain" are the clear highlights of Live at Montreux 91-97. Ferrell is joined by longtime collaborator George Duke on "I'm Special" a track that would later appear on Rachelle Ferrell. Duke is also on keyboards for Ferrell's version of Cy Coleman's "With Every Breath I Take" (drawn from Ferrell's appearance at Montreux in July of 1997. Also taken from that appearance are Ferrell's performances of "Me Viola Seul" and "On Se Reveillera" (both in French) backed by members of the WCR Big Band Cologne.
There was a six-year gap between the releases of First Instrument and Individuality, so the release of Live in Montreux 91-97 is a welcomed release from an artist who admittedly has had less than a consistent presence in the studio. Live in Montreux 91-97 is a literally "best of" more so because it captures Ferrell at her best -- on stage and pushing the boundaries.