Tammy McCann

Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago,IL
Jan. 13, 2008

Tammy McCann

Story and Photos by James Walker

Tammy McCann continues to establish herself as one of Chicago's premier jazz vocalist. A virtual unknown in her hometown until recently returning after touring Europe for almost ten years, she now continues to captivate audiences with her musical virtuosity and repertoire of a varied and deep songbook. Sunday night at the weekly CheckerJazz set at the Checkerboard Lounge in Hyde Park, Tammy appeared to gain energy from the near capacity crowd as the night grew older. Initially though, it took Tammy a while to warm up as she had to work out a few problems with the sound system. After rectifying that problem, and finding a comfort level, it was "lights out" for the remainder of this marvelous three set gig.

As usual, Tammy was accompanied by a fine group of musicians. Veteran Joel Burt took charge on the keyboard, with the incomparable Harrison Bankhead on bass, and her longtime bandmate Ernie Adams keeping time on the drums. Ernie, one of Chicago's hardest working drummers, has performed with Tammy for years and appears on both her current "Classic" CD and upcoming "Mosaic" CD. And if that wasn't enough, saxman Ari Brown(he packed the CheckerJazz set on the previous Sunday) joined the group during the second set.

Tammy is a storyteller and artist who is able to paint a beautiful picture as she sings. As usual with Ms. McCann, her music is of "Love and Relationships". The first set was primarily made up of songs from her "Classic" CD. "Boy from Impanema " was beautifully done as she introduces this song with a story that enables one to visualize the scene she's singing about. Tammy does that with much of her music ,which makes what she's singing very believable. That ever persent smile and pleasant personality makes her a very credible performer.

On her version of Nina Simone's "Black is the Color", she was only accompanied by drummer Ernie Adams, which really accentuated the beauty of this classically trained vocalist's instrument. This also afforded Adams an opportunity to demonstrate his varied skills on the percussions.

The standard "Autumn Leaves" featured Adams and Burt on the keyboard. Unlike most renditions, this one had a "Latin-tinge." Adams again kept superb timing to his beautiful standard. Let there be no mistake though about the "star" of this evening being McCann, but Tammy takes advantage of her exceptional bandmates and allows them to stretch throughout the night. Case in point, on Miles Davis's "All Blues" both Bankhead and Burt had extended solos. Also on the first set's finale "Misty," Burt again displayed his extraordinary command of the 88s.

During the second set, Tammy primarily showcased songs from her upcoming "Mosaic" CD. Based on the performance and audience's reception, it should be a smashing hit. It was arranged and produced by the late Joe Williams' musical director, guitarist Henry Johnson.

As promised, Ari Brown joined the band for the second set. Ari also participated in Tammy's Classsic CD as well as her forthcoming Mosaic CD. Ari was featured on the standards "More" and "Nature Boy". During the playing of Nature Boy, one could easily hear the distinct keyboarding of Joel Burt in the background. It was as if they were playing in five part harmony, yet nowhere was anyone overplaying.

When Tammy belted out the pretty ballad "Never Let Me Go," she gave it that unique "Nancy Wilson" flavor. With Henry Johnson arranging this song, this makes sense because Henry did quite a bit of work with the sensational Ms . Wilson. The following tune, "You Ain't Gonna Love Me Anymore" could well be the hit of the Mosaic CD. This beautiful midtempo song was written by Tammy's long time collaborator and producer of the Classic CD, Kevin Beauchamp. This song-was done from the heart and Tammy was very convincing as she sung this song.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was her touching rendition of Jerome Kerns' "Why was I Born to Love this Person". Not only did this piece bring tears to Tammy's eyes, it also had several members of the audience wailing up. The crowd spontaneously rose in approval as she concluded the 2nd set.

The final set began with Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo". The versatile McCann sounded a bit like Billie Holiday on the tune as she was expertly accompanied by basssist Harrison Bankhead . Harrison is such a wonderful bassist and works thoughout the Chicago Area with many of the top jazz performers. He was on target all night long.

And finally, what would be a Checker Jazz set without a surprise guest. Tonight, trumpeter Corey Wilkes again graced the bandstand on the final number "At Last." What a beautiful sight watching Tammy and Corey collaborating on this lovely standard. Corey is such a special performer who always accepts invitations to "jam." Tonight was no exception- even though it was only one number. What a way to conclude another phenomenal evening of Checkerjazz at the Checkerboard Lounge. Tammy and the band was remarkable. Her previewing of her upcoming CD "Mosaic" promises to be an exceptional project that jazz enthusiasts will not want to be without. Jazz fans, there's no letting up at Checkerjazz. For future Checker Jazz performances, check out their schedule at "http://www.Checkerjazz.org"

Click here to visit the Hyde Park Jazz Society's Web site