Hale Baskin Classic
“Sitting here in limbo, waiting for the tide to flow/ Sitting
here in limbo, knowing that I have to go/ Well, they’re
putting up resistance/ But I know that my faith will lead me
on…”
These lyrics from “Sitting in Limbo,” the final cut on
Classic, seem entirely appropriate for this point in Hale
Baskin’s life. She stands as a college freshman in personal
limbo between being a girl and becoming a woman. She stands as
an 18-year-old performer in professional limbo between
artistic potential and its realization.
Not that Baskin is without accomplishment. She has already won
three DownBeat Student Music Awards (most recently the ‘Best
Jazz Vocalist’ for 2007 High School Division), shared the
stage with Arturo Sandoval at Yoshi’s storied jazz club in
Oakland, and twice performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
She often works in various formats – jam sessions, big bands
and various ensembles – with some of the San Francisco Bay
area’s finest musicians. Classic demonstrates her skill with
all of these formats and many of these players, most notably
pianists Dee Spencer and Larry Dunlap and bluesman Danny Hull
on harmonica.
It might seem surprising that she would shine most
brightly on one of its darkest, deepest tunes, but
Baskin turns Lady Day’s “Lover Man” into a Classic
highlight. She renders her heart to sing with
sadness so intimate and profound that her voice,
cast against Dunlap’s elegant jazz piano, seems to
stop time. |
From where does Baskin express such mature jazz feeling?
“Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and
Stanley Turrentine are all on my playlist for deep listening,”
she explains. “Ella didn’t do too bad soaking up all those
great horn players’ licks and obviously she’s a major
influence.”
She also seems keen to try on different Classic styles and
sounds. “God Bless the Child” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing” come
straight from the jazz catechism. “Gee Baby” sounds like one
of Nelson Riddle’s arrangements for Sinatra (especially the
organ and drum parts); Hale both digs down and swings out on
this groove, even vocalizing a muted cornet solo during the
instrumental break.
Classic captures the reggae version of “Summertime” with which
Baskin has been playing in performance for years. The happy
sound she paints on this tune enhances its lilting rhythm,
cooing and satisfied as a breastfed baby, riding and rocking
that fat backbeat to get her groove on. It closes with Jimmy
Cliff’s “Sittin’ in Limbo,” a reggae classic that’s been
covered by Jerry Garcia, the Neville Brothers and Willie
Nelson. Into this vibrantly sunny groove, Baskin steps out
strong and sure to play tag and peek-a-boo with the elastic
band’s thick, rubbery rhythm and the snare drum’s crackling
beat.
Talent generally comes in two components. The first is easy to
identify: It’s that innate gift that you either have or you
don’t. The second component seems more vague but also of no
less importance: It’s that desire to skillfully develop, apply
and make the most of that gift. These sounds you hear, of Hale
Baskin’s gift and the way she is learning to use it, are
Classic. |
