Laurin Talese

by Carole Verona

After hearing Laurin Talese sing George Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me,” a Chicago Tribune music critic said that Gershwin himself perhaps would have applauded the audacity of the way she transformed the song and made it her own, moving from an a cappella opening to a soulful gospel rendition.

Making her debut at Pastorius Park, Talese will be accompanied by bassist Jon Michel, pianist Sullivan Fortner, drummer Marcus Myers and guitarist Anthony DeCarlo. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 20.

Pastorius Park is at the corner of Millman Street and Hartwell Lane. If it rains, the show will move to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 8000 Cherokee Street. The free Pastorius Park Summer Concert Series is produced by the Chestnut Hill Community Association and is supported by the Chestnut Hill Community Fund and Chestnut Hill Hospital.

For those who have never heard her sing, Talese describes her style as “a nod to the jazz tradition’s tried and true vocalists like Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, Abbey Lincoln and Dinah Washington, with influences from less traditional artists like Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto.

“I think I’m a mix between jazz and soul with a little nod to Disney and 1950’s cinema. I love Henry Mancini and those old Hollywood film scores. A lot of the inspiration behind the songs that I write will definitely lead back to those influences,” she said.

The first half of her new CD “Gorgeous Chaos” was recorded at Philadelphia’s legendary Sigma Sound Studios and produced by Adam Blackstone, who has been the music director for many acts, including Queen Latifah and Rihanna. The second half, produced by Ulysses Owens Jr., the drummer for the Christian McBride Trio, was recorded in New York. Talese co-wrote six of the songs on the CD with pianist Eric Wortham II.

“This album is a character arc, from me at 18 when I thought I knew what love was, to me at 33, still figuring it out but having a much better idea of who I am as a person and what I actually bring to the table,” Talese said. “So if you listen to the CD all the way through, you might hear conflicted feelings, a lot of back and forth.”

In the end, she just wants to experience life in the moment and not think or try so hard.

One of her songs called “Trenchcoat” came to her while watching “The Fountainhead” with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

“I could kind of smell the huge oak desk, the whiskey that people were allowed to have in their offices back in those days, and even the cigarettes,” she said. “I was transported into one of the scenes in the office with those two. There was that kind of tension you get when two people really love each other. It’s subtle and classic because of the time when the movie was made. I started imaging myself as Lauren Bacall, going to see my significant other at his place of work.”

On another day, she heard Wortham playing an infectious tune on the piano.

“It sounded like something from an old Tom and Jerry film,” she said. “I went home and wrote the song “This Love” in less than 30 minutes. The lyrics just came to me. It was the easiest song I’ve ever written. It’s about being grateful for the love you have in your life, no matter what kind of love it is.”

When looking for standards to sing or record, Talese searches for those timeless stories and themes that never go out of style. Even as a child, she was familiar with a lot of standards.

“As I started to experience life, I started to listen to the songs through a different filter,” she explained. “I started being able to apply things from my life and my experiences. So I pick songs that are about things that move me, things that I relate to so that I can articulate them and make them my own.”

These could include things that she’s gone though, people she’s met or even stories that her close friends told her.

For those who may be curious about her name, she is not related to the writer Gay Talese. Talese is actually her middle name, one that was chosen for her by her father.

Right now, Talese is busy promoting the album and trying to get it into as many ears as she can. She just returned from Europe where she performed in Paris and held meetings and visited radio stations in London and Amsterdam.

“The world is saturated with amazing musicians,” she said. “It’s hard to sift through the fray, hoping that your cream rises to the top.”

More information is available at www.laurintalese.com. Stay tuned to the Chestnut Hill Local for previews of each upcoming band or go to chestnuthill.org for more information about the Pastorius Park Summer Concert Series.