Rondi Charleston at the Dakota©Andrea Canter

“Charleston has the chops that can leave us in awe, but always makes it about the song, which in the end is the greatest compliment that one can pay a singer.” —Bob Blumenthal (liner note, In My Life)

Few musicians of any genre can count Emmy and Peabody Awards in their resumes, but Rondi Charleston’s path to the stages of top jazz clubs was hardly the norm. The multi-talented Chicago native “heard Miles Davis records in utero, met Duke Ellington when I was six, and would find classic novels next to my cereal bowl," she recalls via Bob Blumenthal’s liner notes for her latest CD/DVD release, In My Life.

Inspired by a family of musicians as well as the great Carmen McRae, young Rondi sang professionally from age 15, but turned to theater after wowing the late John Houseman with her Juilliard audition at 16. Adding studies in the Voice Department two years later to pursue a career in opera, she earned her BM and MM degrees in music. But even international performance as a lyric soprano didn’t seem to be her life dream. "The classical years were tough because the spontaneity of creating something in the moment was missing for me,” she explains. Seeking more fulfillment, Rondi returned to school, earning another master’s – this time in journalism—from New York University. Over the next six years, she worked as an investigative reporter for ABC’s Prime Time Live, earning Emmy and Peabody Awards. Yet she never stopped singing, finding gigs in her “spare time” and studying jazz voice with the great Peter Eldridge. Now, fully concentrating on music, Rondi Charleston is proving that her voice in song is at least as compelling as her voice on prime time news! This fall, she celebrates the release of a double-disc package, her third studio recording, In My Life, and a DVD, Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola.

Finding a story as a reporter or finding the story within a lyric have much in common for Rondi, who notes that it is much like “deep sea diving. My job is to dive down deep and bring back the shining pearl to share with everyone. What drives me is my passion to live and breathe my honesty, truth and integrity into every song and story.” And her classical training, she believes, helps her to do just that: “We can sing beautiful words, but the tone of our voice expresses everything about the intent and true meaning of what we are saying.” Her talent in this regard was already evident at 23, at which time Will Crutchfield wrote in the New York Times, “Rondi Charleston is in tune with herself and her material, and is a joy to hear. She works her way into her listener's hearts and her emotional range is wide." Crutchfield was responding to Rondi’s classical voice recital at Weill Recital Hall (as winner of the American Art Song Vocal Competition), yet the same comment would equally apply to Rondi’s current performance as a jazz artist.

Bruce Barth©Andrea Canter

Both discs (with four tracks overlapping) serve up a tasteful menu of mostly familiar tunes from diverse sources (“the most personal collection of music I have ever recorded,” Rondi notes), from Johnny Mercer (“Baby Don’t Quit Now,” “I’m Old Fashioned”) and Rogers and Hart (“Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”) to Carole King (“Beautiful”) and Lennon and McCartney (“In My Life”) to Sting (“Until”); jazz standards from Bill Evans (“Waltz for Debbie”) and Jobim (“No More Blues”) appear on the live program, along with the Charleston/Barth original, “Telescope.” Notes Rondi, “My thirst for the modern economy of line and space is rooted in a deep love of rich, traditional music and literature."

The CD takes off immediately on a high and bright note with Rondi’s personal take on Carole King’s “Beautiful.” The rhythm section—Barth, Rogers, Smith and Penn--guarantees a translation of the rock classic into a swinging, modern jaunt while Frahm blows warm riffs across the pulsating, samba-touched beat. Adam Rogers particularly glows in a brief solo. You know that Rondi got up with a “smile on her face,” her phrasing transcending the song’s origins. The Johnny Mercer/Jimmy Rowles jewel, “Babu Don’t Quit Now” starts as a piano/voice duet, slow and sultry. Rondi pulls out her vowels like soft taffy, while Frahm places his phrases in the key crevices and takes a lovely midtempo solo. As if connected by a lifeline, Penn syncs his percussion pulse to her lines, but it’s Rondi whose timing and phrasing sells each word without any negotiation.

Adam Rogers©Andrea Canter

Sting’s “Until” is a beautiful song that has been interpreted many times, but perhaps seldom with such grace and warmth. Again the strings are artfully and simply arranged by Barth to support rather than compete with the voice. I think this is the first time I really noticed the lyrics, as Rondi truly makes “time stand still.” Barth is in particularly fine form at the piano on the second Mercer tune, “I’m Old Fashioned,” his comping chords and fills keeping the pulse centered on a fractured swing. Penn adds colorful splashes that lift the mood even higher and we are quickly reminded that the accompanying musicians here are among the best in the business. The studio set closes with the Brighetti/Martino standard, “Estate,” featuring beautiful flute from Hadar Noiberg. Here Rondi takes some liberties with the melody and shows her improvisation talents as she fits her phrases into Noiberg’s cadence.

Rondi, live at Dizzy's

Tunes not represented on the studio recording include the original “Telescope,” which Rondi explains was inspired by her 8-year-old daughter Emma’s piercing questions following a trip to the Hayden Planetarium. “I had no answers, none,” she explains, and invites Emma to provide the “background vocals” on Dizzy’s stage. The ensuing vocalese duet by mother and daughter is followed by Smith’s bouncing bass pulse that generates the feel of an African tribal chant, and overall the driving rhythms of flute, bass and percussion generate an Afro-Cuban vibe. Barth takes his most adventurous solo of the two sets, and mom and daughter scat through the final bars. There’s a similar, maternal glow to Bill Evans’ “Waltz For Debbie,” with Noibergs’ flute a prominent partner. Rogers’ solo demonstrates why he is one of the top guitarists of his generation, and the arrangement keeps this one upbeat at a luxurious tempo. Rondi sings Jobim’s “No More Blues” with alternating English and Portugeuse lyrics, Rogers providing a playful acoustic solo as well as rhythmic support throughout. Nimble flute lines and Frahm’s intricate weaving complement the vocalist perfectly, and applause seems appropriate, DVD or not.

However, the CD/DVD package reviewed here is only half the story. Fourteen tracks for a CD and 15 for the DVD were mastered and the full recordings will be released sometime in 2008. Additional material not available on the current release includes “Shall We Dance,” Tom Levin’s “Fragile as a Song,” and another Charleston/Barth collaboration, “Ancient Steps,” which features Rondi’s brother Erik on vibes. Normally this sort of marketing would not bother me, but, frankly, knowing it's "out there," I want more.

The fact that In My Life is Rondi Charleston’s third CD, and that many of us never were aware of her before the new release, is one of the unfortunate crimes of modern, underappreciated and underfunded music, which too often is the fate of jazz. Hopefully the strategy of Virgin Megastores to release and distribute the CD/DVD package will lead to wider recognition for an undeniably important talent. With the Emmy and Peabody already on her shelf, is there a Grammy in sight? Only if talent correlates with recognition.

“It’s never too late to reinvent yourself… It’s never too late to live your dreams.” –Rondi Charleston

More on Rondi available at www.rondicharleston.com.