Friday night, I went to the 55 Bar—one of several small, inviting, low-to-no-cover jazz clubs in New York City’s West Village—to hear Kendra Shank sing in celebration of her (improbably) 50th birthday. Audiophiles will recall Shank’s mid’90s album, Afterglow (on the Mapleshade label), one of the best-sounding jazz-vocal records in recent times as well as a balladeer’s strong debut. In the years since, her voice has grown suppler, deeper, more versatile, dynamic, controlled, and adventurous. Her first mentor was the late Shirley Horn, and her biggest strength remains the ballad (she opened Friday’s set with a heartfelt and swinging “Like Someone in Love”). But she has also come under the sway of Abbey Lincoln (her most recent CD, A Spirit Free, is a Lincoln tribute, and a wonder), and so she staggers rhythms, syncopates lines unexpectedly, stretches a phrase, then snaps it back, with a fine feel for the building and release of tension—and she does it all with a purity of pitch and tone that eluded both her teachers (or that they both evaded in any case). Her rhythm section included the wondrous pianist Frank Kimbrough (whose new solo CD, Air, is, as I’ve written here already, one of the year’s best), Dean Johnson on bass, and Tony Mereno on drums. The band is mind-melding tight. Shank sings at the 55 Bar the last Friday of every month.

Permalink :: Blog Home

< Previous Post | Next Post >

Reader Comments

Posted Wed May28, 2008, 11:48 AM — By rvance

One of the many perks of living in New York! Whenever I loan out music to the cognoscenti in my small town I always throw in Kendra's Afterglow to get a reaction. It's usually one of the faves. Good to hear you are a fan. Very nice description of the music, BTW. I could almost feel I was ther.

Posted Fri Aug15, 2008, 3:53 PM — By jj

PSP GAMES

For anyone who had just gotten hold of a brand new PSP, learning how to put psp game downloads to PSP is something that should be learned. Learning how to do so can help a person enjoy his PSP to the fullest, explore all of its features and maximize its use.

Posted Sat Aug16, 2008, 6:54 PM — By ed

great site well done

Posted Wed Aug27, 2008, 1:19 AM — By nmkju

��ջ�е��λ�ھ��÷��Ϻ��ÿ��ͨ�ĺ��ձ��ǿ��ƣ��ѡ��ש��̫��ˮ��ŷ��ƶ��Ȳ�Ʒ��ﵽ��Ƚ�ˮƽ��ͬ��Ʒ��ͬ��ȼ۸񣬽��ջ�е��ֻҪ��г��⣬û��̸��ɵ��!!

Posted Wed Aug27, 2008, 1:21 AM — By uijko

�й��רҵ��,רӪ��󡢹��Ʒ,��۹��Ʒ�Ƴ��ϵ�в�Ʒ,Ʒ�ʱ�֤,�۸��Ż�,�ɻ��,��ѡ��!

Posted Mon Sep 1, 2008, 4:40 AM — By nicedai

Fred, I just love your bolg!! So nice!!! Good luck to you! love animation a -caricature

Posted Wed Sep10, 2008, 5:39 PM — By cf

phone sex phone sex

Posted Wed Sep10, 2008, 5:40 PM — By gh

phone sex phone sex

Posted Tue Oct14, 2008, 4:21 AM — By fatman

tod converter can convert TOD files to other video formats, such as AVI, Mpeg, DivX, VOB, WMV, MP4, etc, with high out-put quality and fast converting speed.

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 6:33 AM — By wholesale jewelry

wholesale jewelry handmade jewelry

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 6:57 AM — By handmade jewelry

jewelry wholesale wholesale handmade jewelry

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 6:59 AM — By pearl jewelry

pearl jewelry wholesale pearl jewelry

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 7:03 AM — By gemstone jewelry

wholesale gemstone jewelry wholesale turquoise jewelry

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 7:06 AM — By coral jewelry

wholesale coral jewelry wholesale shell jewelry

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 7:08 AM — By handcrafted jewelry

whole sale jewelry hand made jewelry

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 7:11 AM — By jewelry store

wholesale jewelry jewelry store

Posted Tue Oct21, 2008, 7:13 AM — By fashion jewelry

fashion jewelry wholesale crystal jewelry

Posted Sun Oct26, 2008, 4:10 PM — By vdsaas

warhammer gold Warhammer Online Wiki warhammer, warhammer online, wiki, war, gold, war gold, warhammer gold, warhammer online gold

Posted Tue Nov11, 2008, 10:25 PM — By crystal jewelry

costume jewelry handmade jewelry

Posted Tue Nov11, 2008, 10:26 PM — By handmade jewelry

coral jewelry shell jewelry

Posted Sat Nov15, 2008, 2:38 AM — By johnsunvalley

good news. thank you. laptop parts,Laptop Battery

Posted Fri Nov21, 2008, 4:17 AM — By rugs

rug rugs

Posted Mon Dec 1, 2008, 2:16 AM — By rugs

ccna coupling

Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 4:17 AM — By dfdfhg

MCSE flexible coupling

Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 4:19 AM — By ertry

mobility scooter mobility scooters

Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 4:22 AM — By tertr

wheelchair wheelchairs

Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 4:27 AM — By ert

Laser Engraving Machine Laser Welding Machine

Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 4:29 AM — By dfg

3D Engraving Laser Engraver

Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 4:34 AM — By ert

software outsourcing website development outsourcing

Posted Sat Dec20, 2008, 3:51 AM — By Anonymous

play online games, online game

Posted Sun Dec21, 2008, 2:43 AM — By water damage restoration

It seems that more would leave a decent comment since this post was about one of the best Jazz singers ever. I guess they missed the whole thing.

Posted Sun Dec21, 2008, 2:45 AM — By Marlin

Agreed!
water damage restoration"

Posted Sun Dec21, 2008, 5:47 PM — By Marianna

I am just getting into jazz, and I've heard of Shirley Horn but not of Kendra. I will have to check her out. Thanks for the indirect suggestion! Florida plumber

Posted Thu Jan 1, 2009, 3:26 AM — By Anonymous

online games, online game, flash games, free online game, free online games, flash game!

Posted Thu Jan 1, 2009, 7:57 AM — By sohbet

thank you very much Sohbet

Posted Fri Jan 2, 2009, 10:13 AM — By Jones

Her rhythm section included the wondrous pianist Frank Kimbrough (whose new solo CD, Air, is, as I’ve written here already, one of the year’s best), Dean Johnson on bass, and Tony Mereno on drums. regards. David Jones - Free poker money

Posted Sun Jan 4, 2009, 3:23 AM — By Laptop Battery

laptop battery
Sony laptop battery

Add Comment