(Vocal Jazz) Madeline Eastman - Point Of Departure - 1990, MP3, 320

A fearless improviser who seeks out equally intrepid collaborators, San Francisco jazz singer Madeline Eastman strips a lyric bare to reveal unspoken secrets and unanticipated meanings. With the intensity of a torch singer and the chops of a post-bop saxophonist, she’s forged a singular approach unlike any other vocalist on the scene, in what the Los Angeles Times describes as “a consummate, inventive, endlessly entertaining artist at work…a prime example of what jazz singing in the 21st century can be.” Her new collection of ballads, A Quiet Thing, a ravishing duo album with pianist Randy Porter, captures an artist rising to new heights, offering a master class in the art of improvisational storytelling. Eastman possesses an uncanny gift for communicating emotional insights with sophisticated, truthful phrasing that mainlines straight to the heart. She combines an alluringly lustrous sound with an in-the-moment ethos that turns every song into an uncharted journey prompting JazzTimes Magazine to describe her as “an inveterately unpredictable traveler who never fails to take us to magical places.” Exploring a delightfully diverse array of material, including haunting movie themes, unaccountably overlooked standards, and transformative interpretations of Sondheim, the Beach Boys, Chick Corea, Randy Newman, Alec Wilder, and Laura Nyro, A Quiet Thing captures Eastman’s startlingly intimate musical partnership with Porter. It’s a high-wire collaboration between equally fearless improvisers who treat songs less as launching pads than as living texts ripe for reinvention.
Eastman’s confidence stems from a lifetime devoted to jazz. Born in San Francisco, Eastman became enamored with the music at 18, first fascinated by Billie Holiday. She spent the next decade tracking down a series of pianistic mentors, working extensively with Bay Area jazz stalwarts Flip Nunez, Smith Dobson and Paul Poyten. She listened deeply to Miles Davis, particularly his mid-'60s quintet. Among vocalists, her prime inspiration is Carmen McRae, one of jazz's most incisive lyric interpreters. “There's the holy trinity – Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae – and for me, Carmen was it. Her singing was so truthful and it landed right in my heart,” Eastman says.
Inspired by jazz vocal legend Betty Carter’s Bet-Car Records, Eastman and fellow Bay Area jazz singer Kitty Margolis launched their own record label, Mad-Kat Records in the late 1980s, a time when only a handful of jazz artists were producing themselves. She made an international splash with her 1990 debut “Point of Departure,” featuring trumpet great Tom Harrell. She quickly followed up with 1991’s “Mad About Madeline,” an even more impressive session with pianist Cedar Walton, altoist Phil Woods and special guest Mark Murphy. But it was her third release, 1995’s “Art Attack” that fully unleashed Eastman’s creativity. The album features a bevy of cutting edge artists, including pianist Kenny Barron, Turtle Island String Quartet and Tony Williams, whose dynamic, churning drum work sparked a creative epiphany.
“It was so exciting for me,” Eastman recalls. “Our very first take in the studio was ‘Gypsy In My Soul’. The band didn’t hold back because I was a singer. I finally felt like I was one of the cats. It was what I’d been looking for my whole musical life, musicians who wouldn’t coddle me, but would expect me blow. My eyes filled with tears. It was a musical turning point for me, and from that record on I had a more developed and individual concept. I found my authority, my voice. ”
Eastman’s snowballing musical maturity is evident on her first duo album, 2001’s “Bare,” another collection of stunning ballads with the late great Los Angeles pianist Tom Garvin, a highly sought after pianist who also put in significant stints with Carman McRae, Peggy Lee, Lou Rawls and Diane Schuur. Eastman first met Randy Porter about a decade ago when they were both working at the Reno Jazz Festival. “There was an instant chemistry,” she says. They started working together and first documented their collaboration on 2009’s critically hailed “The Speed of Life” with the superlative rhythm section of bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Akira Tana. Next was Randy and Mad’s only live recording, “Can You Hear Me Now?” with a rhythm section that included Matt Wilson. Stereophile Magazine describes Eastman as “hitting from beginning to end, sizzling and snapping with electricity, sliding across bar lines, scatting choruses, slowing to a whisper, bending melody line to her will. She is IN CHARGE.”
For over 20 years, Madeline Eastman has been steadily and consistently raising the bar for what modern jazz singing can be. And it’s on full display on A Quiet Thing. Like any great work, A Quiet Thing bears repeated listening for its freshness, intensity and honesty. Madeline Eastman should be a household name for anyone who is interested in true vocal artistry.

Jazz vocalist Madeline Eastman's debut is quite impressive. With strong assistance from trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Mike Wofford (Paul Potyen fills in on one song), bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Vince Lateano, Eastman performs a wide ranging set. Highlights include such unlikely singing material as "Wild Is the Wind," and a minor-toned "You Are My Sunshine" (inspired by Mose Allison's version), Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge," and Bobby Hutcherson's "Little B's Poem" along with "Little Boat," "Nobody Else But Me" and "I Only Have Eyes for You." Lots of chances are taken on this enjoyable CD and Madeline Eastman shows that she has a flexible enough voice to handle all of the creative challenges. Highly recommended. ~Review by Scott Yanow