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NEW JERSEY STAR-LEDGER
Review of the latest CD release,
Josephine Baker – A Life of Le Jazz Hot!
June 28, 2007
By Bradley Bambarger
The fourth disc by New York- area quintet Imani Winds celebrates the legacy of Josephine Baker, the African-American cabaret performer who became an exotic sex symbol in 1920s France and, later, used her stardom as a platform for civil-rights activism. Imani's flutist Valerie Coleman and French horn player Jeff Scott are also composers, and their works here brim with the charm of early jazz and prewar burlesque, the group's lithe sound bolstered by swinging percussion.
Coleman's "Suite: Portraits of Josephine" is a joy of picturesque rhythm and tune, particularly the slow-rolling opening movement, "Ol' St. Louis." Scott's suite "The Beautiful Siren as Comedian" is lighter, an apt mix of slinky humor and sensual texture. Scott also ar ranged two chansons and the typical Baker novelty tune "Don't Touch My Tomatoes." Guest singer René Marie may be more formal than the flirtier lines demand, but she has a regal voice and a real sense of theater. A blue- hued melancholy peeks out from the teasing fun at times, giving the album a depth that transcends nostalgic pastiche.
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