JONATHAN KARRANT: Live in Concert

With pianist and longtime collaborator Joe Alterman, singer Jonathan Karrant has recorded and released Live in Concert, a selection of 14 songs from a recent performance. Accompanied by bassist Mike Gurrola and drummer Kevin Kanner, Karrant and the band deliver a solid set that clearly has roots in the classic era of jazz, while also incorporating a more contemporary vibe. Live In Concert has plenty of jazz, a pinch of rock and pop, and a bunch of soul.

A confection of a hit for Nat King Cole during the lazy hazy crazy pop phase of his career, “That Sunday, That Summer” gets a soulful treatment from Karrant and the band. Karrant references much of the romance with which Cole imbued the ballad, yet he takes things a step further and gives his audience a taste of the desire and excitement that is part of this song.

The band delivers a lot of soul with the 1967 ballad “Everybody’s Talking.” The Fred Neil classic has been recorded dozens of times, including a sort of Love Boat/CHiPs TV-themed arrangement performed by Louis Armstrong. This rendition is probably the most soulful that I have heard. With the almost heavy rocking backup of the band, this mid-sixties anthem of introspection, alienation, and wanderlust becomes a declaration of fun and freedom.

Other tunes that get the soul treatment include “Your Song,” the 1970 hit that introduced Elton John to the world, and James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” from 1972. Both of these tunes have grooves as strong as freight trains.

Besides the soul and groove of the recording, there is a Kennedy era/Mad Men sort of vibe to Live in Concert. A third of the tunes Jonathan Karrant and Alterman chose for this recording are from 1963: “We Got a World That Swings,” “That Sunday, That Summer,” “West Coast Blues” (recorded as a vocal by Nancy Wilson in 1963), “How Glad I Am,” and “Who Can I Turn To” (okay, that one’s from 1964, but you get my point).

Hearing all these songs together on this disk had me harkening back to times when our spirits were shaken, not stirred. A time when a man could still possess panache, and a time when nightclubs and restaurants could be posh. Men were addressed as “sir” and doors were held open for women. These were stylish times, even if that meant that much of that era could merely be glossy, like the covers of Life magazine.

The song most befitting these times on this recording is “We Got a World That Swings.” Introduced by Jerry Lewis—yes, THAT Jerry Lewis of Martin and Lewis. Jerry Lewis, the telethon Jerry Lewis—”We’ve Got a World That Swings” combines mid-century malaise, post war progress and paranoia, and apocalyptic anxieties all wrapped up in an upbeat love song. What other song has a B section with the lyrics “Atom bombs and Cape Canaveral”? Just one listen had me reaching for my diet Tab while freaking out over watching Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

Live in Concert is a wonderful recording: a topnotch jazz trio backing up a terrific singer on a great selection of tunes. Jonathan Karrant sings with verve and style. Two thumbs up!