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Rating: Six octaves of range, a vocal technique with no limits and an unparalleled musical mastery. Exaggerated and uncontainable in her virtuosity, Rachelle Ferrell is capable of performing any acrobatic feat. A multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer, she has two albums under the prestigious Blue Note label, “First Instrument” from 1994 and “Individuality” from 1998. But it is only with this stunning and disarming “Live In Montreux” that she showcases her atypical talent to the whole world.
Recorded between 1991 and 1997, the album captures the most significant moments of her presence at the famous Swiss festival with pianist Eddie Green's trio. Rachelle Ferrell is absolutely irreverent and bold, so talented that she becomes almost irritating… The album opens with a hard-bop version of Sam Cooke's “You Send Me,” adorned with a hint of scat that explodes in the daring versions of “Bye Bye Blackbird” and “Don’t Waste Your Time.” The spectacular performance is skillfully supported by Tyrone Brown's offbeat double bass and Doug Nally's robust rhythm. Ferrell also manages to stand out in the more whispered smooth ballads like “My Fanny Valentine” and “I Can Explain.”
“Live In Montreux” is an impeccable and exemplary album, but in these 72 minutes of cosmic perfection, is there room for expressiveness? Or is it completely absorbed by vertiginous register jumps, acrobatic vocalizations that could shatter the strongest crystal? I can only state that what I hear is a performer who sings with awareness and intelligence, in absolute respect of her own instrument. The result is filled with excessive mannerism, but it is absolutely astonishing, leaving me breathless…
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