Rachel Lauren

It’s the phrasing and jubilant tempo-shifting that allowed the Ron McCurdy Quartet’s performance of “The Love Songs of Gershwin” to be more than just a Gershwin symposium.

McCurdy, who presented a sterling performance of “The Langston Hughes Project (Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz)” at the Columbia Museum of Art in April, returned Nov. 29 for the Gershwin premiere.

“Our Love is Here to Stay” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” two Gershwin standards, were given hard-bopping, riverboat rumbles. The quartet took the theatrical sheen off the love songs, rendering them as contemporary, though with a city-as-spirit feel.

McCurdy, who sang, recited and played trumpet in his April show, left the singing to Rachel Lauren this time. She channels soul ghosts like, say, Amy Winehouse, which is to say, her vocal flurries come from her gut. Her version of “Summertime” was graceful.

Especially entertaining was “My Man is Gone,” which began at a chompy, piano-driven pace before sliding after a few bars into something less muscular. The pace then increased, only to yield to another harmonic, full-band slide. The frequent tempo-shifting kept the music giddy.

McCurdy’s bandmates, Tim Archer (bass), Brian Carmody (drums) and Hiroe Sekine (piano), were poised for the sweetly jostled arrangements.

The Gershwin show, while extremely pleasant, was merely a solid performance compared to “The Langston Hughes Project,” which was majestic performance art, something one would expect to see at Spoleto in Charleston.

The museum’s crowd was older (it was good there was an attentive audience at all), but the lack of youth was disheartening. The MP3 generation shouldn’t forget the greats — and those who interpret and expand on great creations.

“Everyone loves Gershwin, don’t they,” McCurdy rhetorically asked the audience.

When presented like this, what’s not to love? - The State South Carolina

Rachel Lauren is at the beginning of her career but already has a mature voice, sensitivity to lyrics and the ability to make vintage standards sound worth hearing again. She made her stage debut in musical theater when she was five, appeared in a couple of dozen shows, and discovered jazz when she was 14. Now 21, the USC student has her debut recording out on her own new label. Joined by guitarist Ross Grant, bassist Daniel Fabricant, drummer Brian Carmody and tenor-saxophonist Kirk Hamilton, Ms. Lauren performs ten familiar standards including “You Stepped Out Of A Dream,” “Solitude,” “The Shadow Of Your Smile” and “Caravan.” She has a very attractive voice and improvises well, particularly for her age. The material could be fresher but this is an excellent start and she certainly has plenty of potential. She clearly has a lot of talent and Away From The Crowd (available from www.rachellauren.com) is a very good first step for Rachel Lauren"
- Scott Yanow - LA Jazz Scene - Scott Yanow

Vocalist Rachel Lauren was awarded USC’s Thorton School of Music Legacy Award: The Lamont Dozier Scholarship. This honor for accomplishments in the field of music is designated to the USC student who demonstrates exceptional talent while maintaining the highest academic standard throughout their University years. For 21 years, Legacy Award Scholarships have honored talent including Ella Fitzgerald, Herb Albert, and Burt Bacharach. The 2007 Legacy Award was given to Lamont Dozier, one of America’s top composers. Mr. Dozier has created over 54 timeless hits that topped the charts for the Supremes, the Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye and has penned such classics as “Baby I Need Your Loving”, “Baby Love”, “Stop In the Name of Love” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There”.
Rachel Lauren is a junior in the esteemed Music Industry Program at the University of Southern California. Ms Lauren is a native of San Jose, CA where she was graduated from Archbishop Mitty High School before attending University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Ms Lauren performs classic jazz standards and brings her own unique and innovative style to her unforgettable performances.
Lauren’s first album, ‘away from the crowd’ released in mid 2007 won critical acclaim and there’s another in the works. Rachel Lauren is a featured performer in the Southern California area and has held the spotlight on international stages in Japan, and ___.


“Meeting Lamont Dozier and his family and sitting with them during dinner was one of the most exciting moments of my career. Then performing a medley of his classics “Goin’ Back to My Roots”, “Where Did Our Love Go”, “Baby Love”, “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Heatwave”, was an honor!” says Ms. Lauren.
The night was magical for all attending the gala, and it was difficult to sit still with familiar favorites –one after the other being performed. The crowd was treated to a rare moment when Lamont Dozier took the mike and sang his cross generation crowd pleasers, the gold in the fabric of collective memories, “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch”, “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You” and “Stop In the Name of Love”. The excitement peaked again with special guest James Ingram singing.
- Daily Update

RACHEL LAUREN
Silky San Jose jazz vocalist Rachel Lauren adds a contemporary sensibility to classic tunes like "My Funny Valentine" and "Cry Me a River," two stunners from her debut CD, "away from the crowd." The softly swinging "Whisper Not" is another gem. A University of Southern California music industry major, Lauren displays a rare degree of sophistication. She played the Fillmore jazz festival this summer.
www.myspace.com/rachellaurenjazz - Palo Alto Daily News

“Its not about how many notes or beats you have. If you have people feeling something, feeling what you are feeling, that’s what jazz is about.” – Rachel Lauren
Jazz standards and their indelible style will always remain, the question is where. Will they continue their downward decline out of the public eye and into nothing but historical record? Or will they witness some sort of resurrection and have their beauty launched back into the pop realm? If the answer is to be the latter option, then consider Rachel Lauren the slingshot.

A beautiful, 21-year-old slingshot that is. Judging by her looks one might assume she’s another twenty-something pop starlet singing vocals doctored with auto tune supported by an ensemble composed of digital loops. Think again, my friend. Singing jazz standards originally recorded many decades before she was born, Ms. Lauren and her ensemble inject a modern vibe so refreshing that the tunes would be nearly unrecognizable if it weren’t for their titles. Though originally recorded by Julie London in 1955 without percussion, Lauren’s “Cry Me a River” is full of catchy guitar riffs spread over a Latin groove. Check out the video for “Cry Me a River” here. Originally a show tune from Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, Lauren’s rendition of the famously mocking “My Funny Valentine” features a wah-ing guitar at a slow and sultry tempo. Similarly to the original, the sound of this tune is completely serious until the lyrics make their entrance.

There’s no doubt that Rachel is fantastically talented, but whether or not she can do something to revive the nearly lost art form to remains unseen. Her performance and awards résumé make up nearly half of her profile page, but the majority of attendees at these events are the usual suspects: elderly jazz enthusiasts at black tie functions. Should she make the conscious decision to step foot inside the mainstream music bubble with some material bridging the jazz-pop gap, she’s well equipped and probably has more support from pop music fans than one would assume.
- AidanR on December 5, 2009 Ourstage.com