Having just heard vocalist Nancy King on Wednesday in a duo with pianist Fred Hersch, I’m all the more unmoved by 16-year-old vocal phenom Nikki Yanofsky, whose Decca debut Nikki grates on my last nerve, and whose rise to stardom has been ably dissected by my colleague Nate Chinen. This child is going to “save jazz” — here we go again.
Alright, let me be clear that I’m not anti-youth: Esperanza Spalding is a perfect example of a young vocalist (and bassist) who lives up to her hype, and whose artistry is therefore more than just hype. And I’m not expecting every young singer to sound as seasoned and world-weary (yet still utterly joyful) as King, who’ll turn 70 next month and who walks with a cane.
But the experience of hearing King last night on “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” — well, let me just declare it to be probably the best ballad performance I have ever heard. Her connection with the crowd, the lyric, the daunting modulations of the final passage, which King tossed off as easily as breathing — this was not only virtuosity, it was humanity on display. And it made me wonder anew about the whole issue of “throwback style” versus the modernizing current in vocal jazz today, a subject that Nate has dealt with incisively. I’m more interested — and I think Nate would agree — in artifice versus art, regardless of genre or historical reference point.
Mostly, I’m saddened that Nancy King labors in obscurity while lightweights continue to be anointed as the music’s saving grace.
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Obviously I feel the same way, David. In fact I caught Nancy King's first set with Hersch on Tuesday. She didn't do "Spring," but she slayed me on "The Nearness of You." Exquisite.
Funny thing is, Nikki Yanofsky mentioned Nancy King in our conversation. Apparently they met during a scat workshop of some kind. And Nancy brought Nikki onstage for some stuff. Here's how Nikki remembered it, according to my transcript:
"She’s very obscure. She made me cry, in a good way. She told me after the set that she once had a dream, where Ella Fitzgerald told her 'Don’t go anywhere, you’re my person.' Nancy said, 'Now you’re my person.' And it kind of felt like somehow it was all being passed down."
So much to say about that exchange, but I'll leave it open to interpretation.
Hmm, that is interesting – thank you so much, Nate. Maybe it is all being passed down, and maybe Nikki Y. will bloom into a serious contender with a lot to say in a few years. And I certainly wish her no ill. I just get so fed up with the marketing around these teen stars, while we have national treasures like Nancy King who don't even have a publicist.
And I still can't bear the Nikki album.