by Constance Tucker
I had the opportunity to review Carter’s debut offering in 2012, Carter Calvert is back with a hard hitting offering entitled It’s a Man’s World, with two household names in jazz at the production and arranging helm, Grammy® award-winning Ulysses Owens, Jr. (producer/drums) and Grammy® award-winning Laurence Hobgood (arranger/piano), each bring their talents to the table to back powerhouse vocalist Carter Calvert. I am not going to categorize Calvert as a jazz singer, as she is much more than jazz alone.
Calvert has the type of voice that can sing well in many styles, she just chooses jazz as her love of genre. Manned with a four-octave range, Calvert finesses her way through tunes normally sung by males. It is her strength and utter vocal control that allows her to deliver these songs with fire and passion, and articulate and easy cruise when needed and transition to a barn burning crescendo when the tune calls for it.
Calvert knows how to build a song vocally, her maturity and expertise shine through, something that is so many times lacking in other vocal offerings. Her time in the trenches shows and shines, this is a powerfully arranged, conceived and executed album, and Calvert makes this cream rise to the top. Definitely my pick for 2015 vocal jazz.
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