Basking in different shades of cool

By way of Toronto, Chicago and Vancouver, singer Dawn Aitken takes us on a tour of cool in this independent Beyond, by Joshua first CD. It's astonishing how, in this country, apparently out of the blue, a new voice arrives on the scene fully and perfectly formed. But Aitken paid her dues in commercial jingles, cabaret and musical theatre in Toronto before singing jazz in Chicago. She evokes different shades of cool in Be Cool, nowhere more than in the Joni Mitchell tune which gives the album its title. Her voice is amazingly even in its strength, and her tone is warm as coffee. Her use of head voice (falsetto), expands her range with respect to both pitch and expression. Faint echoes of Shirley Eikhard ghost through her words. Aitken has a good sense of swing, great phrasing and expressive intensity, and an amazing ability to sing a note without vibrato and hold it perfectly in tune. She uses that (cool) colour with a subtle wave in it at the end of long note. It's a melodic moan, and it is only possible when the pitch is perfect and the tone colour mesmerizing in its plasticity and warmth - no ornamentation - just that colour and the shape of her air. The song list mixes standards (Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Willow Weep For Me, Until The Real Thing Comes Along) with bluesy-tramp bits like Cold, Cold Feelin', and Love Potion 9. The band (bass, guitar, piano, drums, tenor/soprano sax), play like chamber musicians. Textures are transparent and the musicians are in symbiotic contact with Aitken's voice. She has the confidence to take chances, like the exposed bass/voice duet on the head of Cold Cold Feelin. The recording ambience of Be Cool is extremely clean. But the album is focused on Aitken's voice, a lovely instrument. Even spoken words resonate.