Kayla Taylor
Jazz
S Marty Kat Productions
The duo of vocalist Kayla Taylor and guitarist Steve Moore is an idyllic pair as Moore’s dewy chords accentuate the sensual intonations of Taylor’s timbres. Their new CD, Jazz from S Marty Kat Records is a selection of classic jazz tunes rejuvenated with modern jazz-pop trimmings.
The candlelight atmospherics infused in Dan Fisher, Ervin Drake, and Irene Higginbotham’s signature number “Good Morning Heartache” are buttressed by the elegant swags of Will Scruggs’ saxophone which also enhances the penetrative glint of Taylor’s vocals in “I Only Have Eyes for You” penned by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. The mambo-tinged rhythm put on Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things” adds volume to the base supporting Taylor’s smooth glides. She sings Irving Berlin’s “You’d Be Surprised” with kewpie-doll pizzazz and womanly sophistication in George and Ira Gershwin’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay.”
The casual stride of her vocals through “You’re Driving Me Crazy” is light and upbeat, which then moves into a daydreamy state through Richard Rodgers and Lorena Hart’s “Where or When.” Cole Porter’s “It’s De-Lovely” opens with a few bars of bubbly bass notes by Justin Owen-Head before Taylor glides in joined by the solid thumping of Michael Dana’s drumbeats and Moore’s sultry chords. The album cruises into the calypso sway coasting along “Devil May Care” and closes with Taylor’s soaring vocals complemented by the pulsating riffs of Moore’s guitar in “Blues Stay Away from Me.”
A veteran of the Georgia All-Star Chorus, Kayla Taylor honed her vocal chops performing in such productions as Guys & Dolls and The Pirates of Penzance. On the other hand, Moore was influenced by the pop/rock world particularly guitarists Carlos Santana and the Allman Brothers’ Dicky Betts in addition to jazz musicians such as saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins. Together, Kayla Taylor and Steve Moore have rejuvenated jazz standards and made them into modern pieces of work.
Musicians:
Kayla Taylor – vocals, Steve Moore – lead and rhythm guitar, Michael Dana – drums, trombone, pandeiro, agogo bells, congas, guiro, claves, shaker, triangle, and wind chimes, Justin Owen-Head – upright bass, Will Scruggs – tenor and soprano saxophones
Tracklisting:
Good Morning Heartache, Just One of Those Things, You’d Be Surprised, Our Love Is Here to Stay, I Only Have Eyes for You, You’re Driving Me Crazy, Treat Me Rough, Where or When, It’s De-Lovely, Devil May Care, Blues Stay Away from Me