Critics Corner 2

21. Vanessa Rubin - Girl Talk

Vanessa displays her warm vocal skills on a wide variety of styles. She's bouncing on the opener, sprucing up pop classics like Matchmaker, Matchmaker, singing the blues on One for My Baby and Gee Baby, Ain't I good to You with Etta Jones, and swinging with Eric Alexander (sax) on Won't Have to Say Goodbye. Undoubtedly her best yet!

D. Oscar Groomes -- O's Place Jazz Newsletter

22. Girl Talk -- AMG EXPERT REVIEW

Jazz vocalist Vanessa Rubin is joined by a stellar cast on her second Telarc release. Bassist David Williams and drummer Lewis Nash hold down the rhythm, joined alternately by pianist/arrangers Larry Willis and Cedar Walton, tenor saxophonists Eric Alexander and Javon Jackson, and trombonist Steve Davis. Rubin's flexible voice covers a wide-ranging repertoire, from standards to Sondheim ("Loving You") to adult contemporary (Bill Withers and Larry Carlton's "Whatever Happens"). She also contributes a yearning original ballad, the closing "If You Ever Go Away." The album is memorable mostly for its offbeat tracks, however: a jazz-novelty number, "Sex Is a Misdemeanor (The More You Miss, de Meaner You Get)," a perky calypso featuring Rubin's double-tracked vocal with only bass and drums; and the penultimate track, David Williams' endearing "Won't Have to Say Goodbye," which begins and ends with an implied reggae feel but swings in the middle. Rubin also delivers a splendid "One for My Baby" and invites the great Etta Jones for a tête-à-tête on "But Not for Me" and "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You."

David R. Adler -- All Music Guide

23. Vanessa Rubin "Girl Talk" Telarc

It's a welcome development that singers such as Cassandra Wilson and Diana Krall are redefining jazz vocals, but it's just as important that some singers keep alive the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. No one serves that legacy better than Vanessa Rubin, who once again breathes new life into old standards on her new album, "Girl Talk." With her crisp articulation, precise pitch, bluesy swagger and harmonic imagination, Rubin proves herself as much a musician as any of the all-star player behind her.
The album takes its title from the Neal Hefti/Bobby Troup composition about the things women say beyond male hearing, and the rhythmic sassiness comes as much from Rubin's phrasing as from Cedar Walton's piano fills. Most of the other songs are the kind of confidences and advice that one woman might share with another, Rubin can be irreverent about love on "Sex Is a Misdemeanor (The More You Miss, De Meaner You Get)", but she has to respect its power on "Comes Love" ("Comes love, nothing can be done").
The "Girl Talk" theme becomes quite literal when Rubin and fellow singer Etta Jones trade vocals and giggles on "But Not for Me" and "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You." The album's finger-snapping swing is generated by bassist David Williams and drummer Lewis Nash, and Eric Alexander's sax solos on "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" and "Whatever Happens" are as sensual as Rubin's leads.

Geoffrey Himes -- The Washington Post online

24. Vanessa Rubin Girl Talk

     Cleveland, Ohio, native Rubin reinforces her status as a major jazz artist with her second CD for Telarc. This disc swings from start to finish, with drummer Lewis Nash and bassist David Williams providing the rhythmic pulse, and either pianist Cedar Walton or Larry Willis filling in the chords. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander joins the group for three selections, while trombonist Steve Davis and tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson add their sonorous blend to four others.
     Rubin takes as her theme love and romance as seen from the woman's perspective. The concept works: as explained in Devra Hall's well-written notes, Rubin succeeds at inflecting each lyric with her own personal life experiences. An energetic, "Comes Love," which opens the CD by informing the listener that "nothing can be done" in a case of true love, is followed by a corking version of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" that features Alexander's spiraling tenor. Two duets with reigning vocal jazz queen Etta Jones, in which Rubin's elegant approach contrasts nicely with Jones' soulful growling, epitomize the friendly musical interplay heard throughout this CD. Rubin also includes one ballad-tempo original, "If You Ever Go Away," as well as a Bill Withers song, "Whatever Happens," and Walter Bishop Sr.'s humorous calypso tune "Sex Is a Misdemeanor."
     Girl Talk is a commendable and highly enjoyable effort by one of the top jazz singers in the world today.

– Greg Robinson

25. Vanessa Rubin Down Beat review

On this strong 2001 release, Vanessa Rubin sings of timeless fundamental verities - love, relationships and loss, and the pain, ambivalence and self-knowledge that they engender. True to post-feminist principles, the veteran diva refuses to carry a torch, that said, she is reticent to wear her heart on her sleeve. In an ironic footnote, we hear her in dialogue with generational elder Etta Jones, the recently deceased queen of evoking women bruised but unbowed by life’s travails.
Though the program sags a bit in spots, Rubin imbues Girl Talk with unsinkable "You go, girl!" flair, a soulful, richly textured voice and the nuanced passion of a method actor. Abetted by an impeccable cast of New York first-callers and subtle, never-in-the-way arrangements from pianists Larry Willis and Cedar Walton. Rubin pays homage to inspirations Carmen McRae ("Comes Love"), Nancy Wilson (Stephen Sondheim’s "Loving You") and Roberta Flack ("You’ll Never Know"), creating dramatic inter-pretations with unerring phrasing bedrocked by total command of rhythm and pitch. Those qualities serve her well on an impeccably paced "One For My Baby," the Harold Arlen three-in-the-morning slow drag that Frank Sinatra made famous. She arpeggiates flawlessly through the intimate confidences of the Walton-arranged title track’ saucily delivers "Sex Is A Misdemeanor," an insouciant Walter Bishop Sr. calypso; and throws down the intergenerational gauntlet with Jones on a good-natured "Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You."

—Ted Panken

26. Vanessa Rubin's Girl Talk

BMG Jazz Club April 2002

Album Review
Vanessa Rubin’s Girl Talk
Vanessa Rubin is a jazz chanteuse of the old school: she sings as if she were telling a story, using her voice in service of the song, rather than an end unto itself. Like many of the great vocalists, she surrounds herself with collaborators who bring out the best in her. This is evident on "Girl Talk," a set of sweetly realized standards on which she is backed up by such luminaries as Lewis Nash, Javon Jackson, Eric Alexander and Cedar Walton. Evoking Dinah Washington and a touch of Sarah Vaughn, Rubin croons her way through Comes Love, One For My Baby, Matchmaker, Matchmaker and others. It’s an elegant and sophisticated set: the way they used to make them.

27. Representing New Womanhood in Jazz - Vanessa Rubin

A new era emerged in the early in the early 1990’s for female jazz vocalists when the generation of what is called ‘divas nouvelles’ made their mark more or less around that time. From Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall and Vanessa Rubin to the recently rediscovered Patricia Barber, they are not debutantes but all well-honed vocalists with a track record behind them. Whether in terms of image or subject matter of their songs, they are closer to the vein of post-feminism.

As opposed to the spearheading style of Cassandra Wilson and the strong clear-throated Diana Krall, Vanessa Rubin is definitely more understated, but she never lacks that interesting quality that invites the listener to explore and find out. A jazz vocalist that deserves more than what she gets, Rubin has a sweet, burnished timbre that belongs more to the traditional lineage of Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae and Nancy Wilson. She is able to immerse in the stylistics of her seniors yet come out into her own, and each rendition becomes a tribute to the great jazz vocalist of the past.

The jazz chanteuse of today has a much more capacious repertoire than the old style Broadway numbers that dominated the previous generation. More and more are taking a stance of modern feminism and expressing their views through their songs. Like other female artists of her generation, Rubin has found the subjects of love and the sexes close to her heart. The stories she writes and tells are captivating, intriguing, touching, yet without the hackneyed sentimentalism. This sister of the new womanhood is a wise, strong, independent individual with high expectations about love, and stays cool when confronted by male onslaught.

Rubin is an expert in telling a story. The way she doles out the words and the drama in her pacing is sassy with punch. She can breathe new life into old standards, and with flair; as exemplified by the way she turns a 1930s Broadway classic But Not For Me into a manifesto of the woman of the 21^st Century.

Chai Wai-fat, Writer/Musician/Music Instructor
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Hong Kong

September 2003

28. Superband Shine In Flushing

Superband Shine In Flushing

Part of Ongoing Series at Town Hall
And then there was Vanessa Rubin, the icing on an already satisfying cake. Her first number was a showstopper right out of the gate, "Are You Ready For Me" which also featured Sudhalter's gruff baritone. Rubin then executed a rapid shift of gears with a sensitive rendition of Carol's original "Dry," the first time it had been presented with lyrics. The composer's full-toned flute work was also featured. During the second set, Rubin showed more facets of her talent with "You're A Joy" from her forthcoming Tad Dameron collection, and a lovely "Never Let Me Go," accompanied with just Hope's sensitive keyboard work. Indeed, Hope's skill as an accompanist--along with Clarke's rock-solid bass lines--was the glue that held the Superband together.

Overall it was a good evening. Complimenting the music, the sound was well handled, the hall is comfortable and the people are friendly. Their upcoming program has something for everyone. Please go to www.flushingtownhall.org and check it out!

For entire review go to http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-5915.html

Concert Review by: Peter Westbrook
Venue: Town Hall (Flushing, New York)