Standards Do Not Hold Up to Elkins’ Vocals

courtesy of Play MPE

A standards album released by Jazzheads about a month ago fell disappointingly far from what it promised. ’Tis Autumn is vocalist Marty Elkins’ fifth recording. For this project she was joined in the studio only by bassist Mike Richmond. Taking advantage of the technology, Richmond added an improvised cello line to a few of the tracks.

Sadly, Elkins’ musicianship never rose to the height that Richmond attained in his capacity as accompanist. The major problem was that her approach to stylization seems to have involved bending every pitch beyond recognition. Those of us with a sense of history would probably come away wondering if Elkins’ had acquired her vocal talent through lessons with Darlene Edwards (who, in turn, probably cultivated her sense of pitch through studies with Florence Foster Jenkins). Indeed, it is hard to avoid speculating that Edwards’ capacity for missing the pitch of every note in “Honeysuckle Rose” may have inspired Elkins’ rendition of the same tune on her new album.

Still, when we listen to Darlene accompanied by her pianist husband Jonathan, we know we are supposed to laugh (particularly when Jonathan takes his solo turn at “Nola” or Darlene chugs her way through “Alabamy Bound”); where the ten tracks on Elkins’ album are concerned, I regret that I am not so sure.