ALLEGRA LEVY

Jazz singer Allegra Levy Memorable Melodies is based in New York. t’s not that Allegra Levy is necessarily an Stephen Riley on tenor saxophone, her frequent Iintrepid traveler or impulsive risk-tak- collaborator Carmen Staaf on piano and the er. The opening track on the 27-year-old veteran rhythm section of bassist Jay Anderson New York jazz vocalist’s first album, after all, and drummer Billy Drummond. Levy wrote was an ode to worry and indecision entitled most of the arrangements herself, with assis- “Anxiety.” But when an email from a strang- tance from Staaf and McNeil, a mentor from er appeared in her inbox one morning asking her days at New England Conservatory. if she might be interested in taking a singing gig “There aren’t that many singers who are at a five-star hotel “somewhere in Asia,” Levy, doing what she’s doing, coming out of the who had always stayed close to home and fam- American Songbook tradition, but very per- ily, responded in the affirmative. Shortly there- sonal,” said Staaf, who worked with Levy on after she was on a plane to Hong Kong. both of her albums. “She swings, which is not As it turned out, the stranger was a bass common for someone of her generation. She player who was putting together a group to play shows that the possibilities for jazz songwriting at Hong Kong’s elegant Four Seasons Hotel. are not played out—there’s still more to say and Levy turned out to be such a hit there, singing do in straightahead jazz and swing.” a jazzy mix of standards and original materi- The lyrics on the new album reflect her al with a piano trio, that she became the hotel’s recent experiences, including establishing her- artist-in-residence for seven months. It was self as an independent bandleader in Hong a life-changing experience, she said recent- Kong and falling in love. In her lyrics she tries ly by Skype from London, where she was to strike a balance between the romantic, rue- vacationing. ful and humorous. “I think jazz sometimes Levy emerged from her Far East sojourn a takes itself too seriously,” she said. “My lyrics more seasoned, confident vocalist. The evi- are an attempt to add a splash of comedy even if dence is on display in her sophomore album, it’s dark. I grew up on Woody Allen—that’s my Cities Between Us (SteepleChase Records), sense of humor.” which largely fulfills the promise of her 2014 She says she is “very much attached to the debut, Lonely City. “I definitely feel more con- American Songbook,” but aims to modern- fident now,” she said. “I lived in Hong Kong for ize the lyrics and melodies, while still making nearly a year, playing at least two nights a week, them memorable. “I like it when people come five sets a night. I came back a stronger sing- up to me and say they have one of my songs, er, for sure. Not only was I a bit older and wiser, like “Cherry Blossom Song” or “Lonely City,” in but I also was feeling more comfortable with their head. Some people on the jazz scene think my authority as a bandleader, and with having that’s a bad thing, because their goal is to be cut- my own voice.” ting-edge and avant-garde. Things have gone in The new album consists of seven originals a more rock direction, if anything, where [a lot for which she wrote words and music, three of new jazz] is really hardcore and complex. Not jazz covers (by Duke Jordan, Dexter Gordon all jazz has to be pretentious or unrelatable. The and John McNeil) to which she has written new avant garde is important and definitely has its lyrics, and one well-chosen standard, Jerome place, but I don’t want to do that. Jazz used to Kern’s “Yesterdays.” On the session, recorded be an art form of the people, and I think it still live in the studio in a single day, she is accompa- should be. It can be a storytelling form, the way nied by an A-list band: Kirk Knuffke on cornet, it always was.” —Allen Morrison

30 DOWNBEAT JUNE 2017