Following up his 2000 tribute to guitarist
Django Reinhardt,
Chasin' the Gypsy, saxophonist
James Carter pays homage to iconic jazz singer
Billie Holiday on
Gardenias for Lady Day. Perhaps never before has the jazz iconoclast balanced so perfectly his "big top" avant-garde leanings with his more pinstriped traditionalist aesthetic. This is a beautiful album that revels as much in classic melody as it does in
Carter's most torrid saxophone "skronk." Although the album largely succeeds on
Carter's virtuosic performance, it gains most of its character from the deft and unpredictable orchestral arrangements of
Greg Cohen and fellow Detroiter
Cassius Richmond. In particular,
Richmond brings a cinematic quality to the album with his treatments of "Sunset," "I Wonder Where Our Love Is Gone," and "Gloria" that breathe and swell, rubbing dramatically against
Carter's muscular sound. Similarly,
Cohen -- who has worked with such N.Y.C. downtown scenesters as
John Zorn,
David Byrne, and
Tom Waits -- brings a quirky and epic quality to his tracks. Featuring a very
Nina Simone-esque performance by vocalist Miche Braden,
Holiday's most famous number, "Strange Fruit," is magnified by
Cohen into a brooding film noir that ultimately descends into an apocalyptic barrage of screams and wails, with
Carter and Braden manifesting all the anguish and anger the song implies. It is unclear if the orchestra and band recorded at the same time, but even if they did not,
Carter's stellar rhythm section featuring pianist
John Hicks, drummer
Victor Lewis, and bassist
Peter Washington lends an organic quality to the proceedings that feels natural and lithe. Continuing to display a unique and singular vision,
Carter has crafted a fittingly urbane, elegant, and unnerving album that celebrates both
Holiday's haunting spirituality and earthy sexuality.