Friday January 03, 2020
From WBGO
Take Five: Stellar Trios Led by Kenny Barron and Dave Holland, Dayna Stephens, Aaron Diehl
By: NATE CHINEN
“The Women Who Raised Me, the forthcoming album by Kandace Springs, could be understood as autobiography by way of portraiture: it’s a collection of songs by, or associated with, female artists in Springs’ personal pantheon, from Nina Simone to Norah Jones. For a lead single, Blue Note has shared a video for ‘Pearls,’ Springs’ low-simmering, deeply soulful take on an iconic song by Sade.
The video, in atmospheric black and white, depicts Springs on a subway platform and in an idealized recording studio. On the album, her elite accompaniment includes guitarist Steve Cardenas, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Clarence Penn ‘” and, on ‘Pearls,’ trumpeter Avishai Cohen, whose murmuring obbligato deepens the poignancy of the song.”