‘Tell U What’
Brittni Paiva
(Brittni Paiva Music)
Tom Scott, a three-time Grammy Award winner with recording credits going back more than 40 years, appeared as a featured guest on Brittni Paiva’s 2011 DVD, "Living Ukulele," and previously in the Kenneth K. Martinez Burgmaier documentary film on Paiva that provided most of the content of the DVD. Their relationship continues in "Tell U What," with Scott serving as the producer, arranger, engineer, primary musician and dominant partner on this mainstream instrumental jazz project.
It’s not surprising that Paiva, a young woman from Hawaii island, defers to an older and far more experienced musician in conceptualizing and developing the project, but Scott’s contributions are so extensive in shaping its sound that the results are more his work than hers. To put it another way, Scott deserves equal billing.
On several songs, Paiva’s ukulele is fully engaged with Scott’s broad palette of instruments (the famed saxophonist also provides woodwinds, brass, strings, keyboards, drums and percussion). The title track is an excellent introduction to the partnership. Two Paiva originals — "Friends" and "Alive" — are fine showcase numbers for her.
On others she shares the spotlight with Scott and a second celebrity. Chuck Findley adds the mellow textures of flugelhorn to a beautiful arrangement of "A Taste of Honey," guitarist Ray Parker Jr. puts an aggressive rock edge on "Comin’ Home Baby," and Arturo Sandoval lights things up on "Mira," a Scott composition, with his virtuoso work on trumpet.
Several other cuts display Scott’s talent as an arranger; his take on an Eddie Harris tune, "Cold Duck Time," has an irresistible rhythmic groove to it.
Paiva fits in quite nicely on "A Taste of Honey" but is eclipsed on some of the other pieces. For instance, she’s in there playing along when Michael McDonald sings "I Keep Forgettin’," but the arrangement is much more about McDonald revisiting one of his most memorable hits than it is about Paiva and her ukulele.
In the larger scheme of things, though, this album could be Paiva’s introduction to Scott’s worldwide audience and become her formal debut in jazz circles.
www.brittnipaivamusic.com
"Tell U What"
