Vocalist Marley Munroe (aka Lady Blackbird) evokes the maverick style of singer Nina Simone on her potent 2021 debut Black Acid Soul. Produced by Chris Seefried, Black Acid Soul is Munroe's first full-length album following a handful of singles and several years of studio work and live performing. Much like Simone, Munroe is blessed with a throaty, highly resonant voice that's well-suited to carrying a jazz standard, but which also fits nicely on dusky R&B ballads. Working with guitarist Seefried and an intimate ensemble of ...
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Vocalist Marley Munroe (aka Lady Blackbird) evokes the maverick style of singer Nina Simone on her potent 2021 debut Black Acid Soul. Produced by Chris Seefried, Black Acid Soul is Munroe's first full-length album following a handful of singles and several years of studio work and live performing. Much like Simone, Munroe is blessed with a throaty, highly resonant voice that's well-suited to carrying a jazz standard, but which also fits nicely on dusky R&B ballads. Working with guitarist Seefried and an intimate ensemble of collaborators, including pianist Deron Johnson, bassist Jon Flaugher, and drummer Jimmy Paxson, Munroe finds a spellbinding balance between acoustic jazz and live small group soul. She underlines the Simone connection from the start, opening with a burnished take of the legendary singer's classic "Blackbird," conjuring a menacing, earthy sensuality that perfectly sets the tone for what is to come. Part of what made Simone's classic work of the '60s and '70s so intriguing was her ability to take a song from any genre and make it her own. Munroe has the same gift and displays it throughout, diving into an organ-tinged take on Reuben Bell's 1967 track "It's Not That Easy" and transforming Bill Evans' languid 1958 composition "Peace Piece" into a dreamily intoxicating tone poem called "Fix It." She even reworks the James Gang's 1969 "Collage" into a far-eyed modal number that draws equally from John Coltrane and the psychedelic band Love. While Lady Blackbird's distinct influences and love of Simone certainly drives much of Black Acid Soul, there's an immediacy and warmth to the album that feels all her own. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi
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