Shawnn Monteiro’s latest album You Are There is a fine documentation of her high caliber vocal prowess. This Providence, Rhode Island chanteuse showcases her prodigious talents in a variety of musical settings, arrangements, tempos employing everything from breathy vocals, sustains, scat, and a large vocal presence.
Opening cut “Dearly Beloved,” popularized by Nancy Wilson, opens the album with a lot of snap, crackle, and pop. Jaunty rhythm from the drums and upright bass keep this one in a playful motion. Above that playful mesh of spirited notes from Steve Langone and Dave Zinno, Monteiro flies uptempo, a brisk pace that leaves the listener breathlessly following. It’s an edge of your seat high wire act, with all of the instrumentalists rapidly dropping notes that the nimble, affectionate Monteiro voice hopscotches over with grace and aplomb.
“Inside A Silent Tear,” written by Blossom Dearie, quietly reaches the ear and the heart through Monteiro’s whispery presence. She draws the listener in with a seriousness of purpose that lingers among her timbre in this dark, smoky piece. Monteiro also graces this with her phrasing, a considerate, gentle, well-timed release of vocal, just enough of her prowess at a time. A forlorn piano(Mike Renzi) drizzles melancholy notes in the backdrop, combining with the foreground vocal to deepen the emotional grip.
The unobtrusive jaunt “Let’s Eat Home,” popularized by Rosemary Clooney, features plenty of pretty, shiny Renzi piano notes moving in polite steps around Monteiro’s self-retrained rasp. Her vocal panache cuts in when she emits her lyrics in brief bits of a self-restrained roll. Words roll out of her lips as she moves her voice through twisty lyrical expressions. Her vocal make the song dance with her disciplined delivery. Hard, shiny piano notes, fancy stick work, and a flexible upright bass line(Zinno) carries the piece’s magic further with their own fleeting moments.
Title track “You Are There” finds Monteiro letting her eloquent vocal whisper its magic. Her mild assertions and laid back sustains massage the ear with their supple authority while soothing the soul with its high tide of emotion. With Renzi’s piano notes gently falling behind and beside her voice, Monteiro does not need to remind us she is there. Her presence, even in this down tempo, low key manner, retains a vibrant presence.
“How Deep Is The Ocean” gets its depth of expression from Monteiro’s mountainous vocal presence. She puts her voice across an edgy piano and rhythm section with a deeper rasp, a voice that accentuates as hard as the assertive players beside her. She makes one feel she’s drawing on a well spring of feelings as her voice draws from its huskier persistence.
Classy piano bar style, “You’ll See” lets Monteiro showcase her most elegant phrasing. One can almost picture her in a black dress with white gloves gripping the Shure microphone. She phrases with subtle touches, giving out a bit of silky smooth voice here, a sustain there. Monteiro also has a breathy upward approach near the end of each line that gives her piece even more classiness. Speaking of class, Steve Davis breezes in and out with a seductive trombone line that buttresses the motion of Monteiro’s vocal push.
Monteiro’s classy piano bar voice reemerges on the wider tune “The Shadow Of Your Smile.” Beginning with strong, clear phrasing, a voice thick with emotion as well as tone, she eventually plunges into freewheeling scat, vocalizing colorful sounds that come together with the haphazard artistry of a Jackson Pollack painting. Steve Davis chimes in once again with a vibrant trombone line, moving in a mid tempo spiral manner, garnering more steam as she moves it forward.
“Autumn Leaves” becomes a moody metaphor for a fallen relationship. Monteiro perfectly captures the end of romance feeling. Her voice expresses both the joy of what was had and the loss of it at once. It’s all in her voice. Even when this tune turns to mid tempo joy ride, this vocalist still has the angst of loneliness. A bounce in the Kenny Barron piano and rhythm section of drummer Joe Farnsworth and upright bassist Nat Reeves keep the music spirited as the voice and the lyrics contrast well with the wavy support.
The lengthy “Alone At Last” (by Neil Sedaka) showcases how well Monteiro can use her voice to recreate another artist’s main melody line. She phrases it so we can hear the inspiration of the original as well as her fresh interpretation. Exuberant trumpet from Josh Bruneau takes the spotlight to add another thick brush of color to this romantic yearning.
Monteiro controls the mellow pace and gentle appeal of “Never Let Me Go.” She only lets us have a small portion of her strength, project, and timbre at a time. These bits of vocal assertion keep the song moving in a fetching rhythmic patter. A Kenny Barron piano line skitters playfully across the hopeful landscape, contrasting wisely with Monteiro’s vocal melody sustains.
A medley of “I Hear Music/How High The Moon” gives our heroine a chance to somersault her vocal over a brisk, lively Kenny Barron piano line. Barron’s notes come so quick it makes the song shine like sunlight dappling over a brook. Running those piano notes alongside Monteiro’s frenetic scat and quickly delivered lyrics makes for an energetic treat for the listener.
Monteiro croons with a large majestic vocal presence over Kenny Barron’s quiet, moody piano line on close out number “My Old Friend.” John Allmark’s trumpet adds another layer of self-restrained beauty as the Monteiro vocal effusion fills the forlorn landscape with a feeling of longing and respect. It’s another of her techniques to leave the song awash with her large vocal presence, especially when she’s working her magic alongside the horn presence in the backdrop and the elegant piano supporting her voice. Bravo.
Monteiro has accomplished a great deal on her latest album, You Are There. She swings. She scats. She croons. She features giants like Michael Renzi, Kenny Barron, and Dave Zinno in a true artist’s effort to flesh out her musical vision. What this album, years in the making and showcasing decades of knowledge, has to offer is huge. Produced by Monteiro and Steve Rizzo at Systems Two Sound and at Stable Sounds in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, You Are There can be appreciated for its resonance as well as its talent.
Monteiro will appear Dec 17 @ 7:00PM — 10:00PM The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA;
Feb 14, 2023 @ 7:00PM Scullers Jazz Club (In the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Boston – Cambridge), 400 Soldiers Field Road , Boston, MA
Mar 5, 2023 @ 4:00PM The Center at Eastman, 6 Clubhouse Lane, Eastman, Grantham, NH 03753
Apr 22, 2023 @ 8:00PM Chans eggrolls and jazz, 267 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI
