(vocal jazz) [WEB] Charenee Wade - Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - 2015, FLAC (tracks), lossless

nspired by Sarah Vaughn, Brooklyn native Charenee Wade began singing jazz at the age of 12. Through her 12 years of intense studies in jazz as well as classical music for, she has grown to become a notable singer, composer, arranger and educator. She completed her Master’s Degree at Manhattan School of Music. Charenee has been featured in many configurations from jazz trios to Big Band to the conservatory’s 100-piece Jazz Philharmonia Orchestra.
She has received various scholarships, including the ASCAP Foundation Award and Scholarship and the International Women in Jazz’s Youth in Jazz Award. She has studied with Miles Griffith, Bob Stewart, Lenora Zenzailai Helm, Pamela Baskin-Watson, Carmen Lundy, and is currently studying with Peter Eldridge, Luciana Souza, and Cecil Bridgewater. She has performed at Festival du Riou, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, and the Ascona New Orleans Jazz Festival, and opened for Herbie Hancock at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in 2003. She recently returned from Russia on tour with the Oleg Butman Trio at various venues such as Le Club in Moscow, and the Province Jazz Festival in Orenburg. She performed the Rufus Reid work Linear Surroundings with the bassist-composer in 2004.
She was accepted into Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program and performed her original music at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In 2006, she was 1st Runner-Up in the Jazzmobile Vocal Competition. In the 2007, and 2009 she was selected for the JAS Academy Summer Sessions, directed by Christian McBride. She served as a judge at the Jazzmobile Vocal Competition alongside Dr. Billy Taylor and Grady Tate. She returned to the Kennedy Center for the 2010 Thelonious Monk Competition, where she placed 1st Runner-Up in the finals.
Charenee has performed at various venues including the Jazz Gallery and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. She appears regularly at The Zinc Bar and at various venues in the tri-state area. Her debut CD, Love Walked In, was released in July 2010.

As it often happens with many artists so in tune with the times that they are actually ahead of their time, the immense contribution of musical/cultural revolutionary Gil Scott-Heron continues to be revealed and acknowledged. Albeit, there has been a perpetual cult surrounding this enigmatic figure which defied any sort of categorization both in music and personality, but judging by the posthumous releases of his catalog and continuing tributes, his legacy has taken on the iconic qualities it deserves. His musical partner throughout his most productive phase, pianist Brian Jackson, provided the catalyst for much of Gil Scott-Heron's best work, and is recognized as an innovator in jazz and modern urban music.
Charenee Wade is a singer, composer, arranger and educator, noted for her self-produced "Love Walked In," in 2011. Previous to this release, she honed her vocalizing skills as featured guest on releases by Tia Fuller, Eric Reed, and the Eyal Vilner Big Band, among others. Armed with unfathomable passion and assurance, Wade introduces Offering—The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson. Utilizing the lyrics and music of the gifted duo as a launching pad, she takes her innovative arrangements into another dimension, conveying the intended message with her singular and assertive vocal textures, evolving, while honoring the spirit of the original source.
Gleaning from the songwriters' peak prolific period of the 1970's, Wade chose an interesting set list with the title track setting the conceptual tone of the record. "Song Of The Wind," shows the dynamic emotional range that Wade can cover, accompanied by vibraphonist Stefon Harris, the song becomes the transporter of the skies. The pace is slightly quickened with "A Toast to the People," with its timeless salutation to those who were lost in the struggle. There is the straight ahead version of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is," this being one of Scott-Heron's masterpieces, Wade cleverly takes it into a tailspin, building into almost frenetic phrasing with her horn like voice that portrays the song with all its dark poignancy and despair. "Ain't No Such Thing As Superman," is set up superbly by bassist Lonnie Plaxico, who authenticates the tempo with that inner city feel, allowing Wade to stretch and scat her way through the other side. "Western Sunrise," featuring Plaxico and guitarist Dave Stryker, is an enthusiastic number, greeting the coming of a new day.
Gil Scott-Heron was also highly regarded as a New Black Poet, a title he both relished and rejected, he liked to call himself a messenger of his people, a modern throwback to the African griots. To fully capture his poetic essence, Malcolm-Jamal Warner on "Essex/Martin, Grant, Byrd & Till," and Christian McBride on "Peace Go With You Brother," take on the lead roles representing the spoken word. These are critical participants in these songs, for the poetry, with its bare knuckle frankness, lies at the root of this music. Wade picks up on the peace missive, softening the tone, bringing it down to almost a plea, for there has to be a way out of the madness.
If there was ever a perfect song for this record's closure "I Think I'll Call It Morning," is it. The Music of Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson, though identified with political, cultural and racial references of revolution and change, also depicted an immense sense of optimism. This final song portrays just that, that no matter what happens, the sun will rise tomorrow, and with it another opportunity to make the changes and choices necessary for our collective peace of mind.
With this production, Charenee Wade has proven that she possesses courageous talent, and is a singer whose time has come. Choosing to interpret this material was not an easy route, but in the true spirit of a jazz improviser, she absolutely made these songs her own. She recorded much more than a tribute to two exemplary musician/songwriters, it is a resolution that the work continues, it is an Offering.
-- JAMES NADAL, allaboutjazz --

Charenee Wade - vocals, arrangements
Brandon McCune - piano
Dave Stryker - guitar
Lonnie Plaxico - bass
Alvester Garnett - drums
Stefon Harris - vibes
Lakecia Benjamin - alto sax (# 06)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner - spoken word (# 06)
Marcus Miller - bass clarinet (# 06)
Christian McBride - spoken word (# 09)