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Thursday, 29 July 2010

LA Beat: Stephanie Haynes With Karen Hammack Trio at Crowne Plaza LAX

Written by Glenn A. Mitchell, LA Jazz Scene

Sunday, 31 May 2009

L. to R.: Hammack, Colangelo, Kreibich and Haynes (Photo by Glenn Mitchell)

Longtime vocalist Stephanie Haynes has been living in Las Vegas for nearly a decade and made a welcomed visit to L.A. during May. She sang at three jazz venues, including Crowne Plaza LAX, Thursday, May 14th. Many of Haynes’ adoring fans were there to hear her. Pianist Karen Hammack provided captivating backup along with bassist Chris Colangelo and Paul Kreibich at the drum set. Hammack has backed singers professionally for many years and also helps in many workshops put on by well-known vocalists. Her piano work was wonderful this night.

Haynes loves to mostly present songs from the Great American Songbook. Her voice is extraordinary, remarkably identifiable, always coming out soothing and smooth to all her many fans. She also sings in three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese. Her musical influences (of many) are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Carmen McRae. When you hear Stephanie Haynes, you hear the real thing.

Stephanie Haynes with the Karen Hammack Trio (Photo by Glenn Mitchell)

For the evening’s opener, the trio performed a rousing version of “How Insensitive,” Jobim’s 1963 bossa nova classic. All three played mellow solos. Paul Kreibich helped on emcee duties, bringing Haynes up for the first set. She gave us the beautiful ballad, “I Wish I Knew.” The audience loved her singing and gave a lot of applause throughout the evening. Haynes mentioned that she was doing many of the great songs from an earlier time, a time that made music memorable. She kidded about performing songs of the thirties period. (This was one of the best times of the Great American Songbook.) She picked “This Can’t Be Love,” “Blue Gardenia,” “All of You,” “It Could Happen to You,” and “Speak Low.”

Two standout tunes I really enjoyed were Harold Arlen’s “Sleeping Bee” and Tadd Dameron’s “If You Could See Me Now.” While listening to Haynes and the trio, I realized how important it is to really know the material everyone is involved with, making it sound so superb. Colangelo made his mark, playing a remarkable solo on his bass in “Sleeping Bee.” Kreibich did another unbelievable drum solo in Haynes’ portrayal of “The Touch of Your Lips.”

Another fine standard, “It’s You or No One” by Jule Styne, came forward in top form – a real mover with excellent harmonics and melody. Lalo Schifrin wrote a tune from the famous movie Cool Hand Luke titled, “Down Here on the Ground.” Haynes made us remember this gorgeous theme and gave it a distinctive flair. In the third set, she was brilliant on Jobim’s “A Felicidade,” singing it completely in Portuguese – an amazing rendition! Paul Kreibich played a small African drum called djembe in this song, adding some exquisite flavorings. For the evening’s closer, the quartet performed Cole Porter’s “All of You,” ending the concert on a high note.

Reprinted with permission from L.A. Jazz Scene, June 2009.

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