Ada Bird Wolfe

Ada Bird Wolfe: Odd Bird
By Paul Freeman | Pop Culture Classics


With her third album, "Odd Bird," jazz songwriter/vocalist Ada Bird Wolfe really takes flight. Benefitting from a burst of creativity during the Covid-19 lockdown, she penned a number of new songs and a delicious dozen of them pop up on her new release. Adventurous, smart and elegant, the results prove to be mesmerizing.

Wolfe enlisted an outstanding group of musicians to back her on this project -- pianist/musical director Jamieson Trotter, bassist Dan Lutz, drummer Peter Buck and Scott Mayo on saxophones, bass clarinet and flute. Each gets plenty of chances to shine individually.

Wolfe wrote the consistently intriguing lyrics and composed the music with Trotter, who handled the harmonies and imaginative arrangements. Wolfe's melodies offer many pleasing surprises.

With her conversational, yet percussive manner of phrasing, Wolfe's compelling voice finds an ideal balance between smokiness and warmth. Her original material is enticingly challenging.

Her inspiration could come from anywhere. The bebop opener, "Odd Bird Bop," takes its title from Charlie Parker's monicker, as well as the artist's own name. The sax work enhances the song's effect. The enveloping "The Wave" came out of a childhood near- drowning experience. "Ashes to Ashes" grew from the California fires. "Ericolloquy" pays homage to Eric Dolphy. "Ordinary Man" is Wolfe's emotional reaction to the George Floyd tragedy. The wonders of nature give shimmer to "Ocean, Mountain, River, Sky." The album concludes on an optimistic note with the clever "An Egg."

"In the Shade," with the acoustic bass lines wrapping themselves seductively around Wolfe's vocal, is a sultry highlight. She soars in a Brazilian direction for the peppy, rhythmic "Samba Batucada." On "Lover's Leap," she sings of taking another chance on romance. The melancholy "Did I Ever," about a love that went wrong, allows Wolfe to showcase a powerfully poignant vocal. Her lyrical eloquence, along with the sparkling interaction between flute and piano, make "Something Fast, Something Light" something special.

Wolfe's astute songwriting and bewitching vocals, accompanied by an entrancing combo, will leave you convinced that she is a rare bird, indeed. Her music will make you feel. It will make you think.

Ada Bird Wolfe: Odd Bird
By Richard J Salvucci | All About Jazz

There is a style of singing—midway between conversation and conventional vocal technique—which can only be called talk-singing, or something to that effect. It puts considerable weight on the meaning of the song, the words themselves, rather than the melody per se. Chances are, one could not hum such a tune if one wanted to. To some ears, Abbey Lincoln was an expert in the technique, or even more so, Nina Simone. Much of the success of the genre depends on the emotional impact of the lyrics, on delivery, even on the personality and life history of the singer. Some people like it, and some do not, but whatever the case, it is not easy to do well.

Normally, one associates the University of Chicago with intellectual depth rather than performance art, but in this case, the story is the song, the lyrics are the story, and the lyrics are far from conventional. Ada Bird Wolfe, a U of C graduate in an interdisciplinary course linking philosophy and psychology, has obviously got the intellectual chops to do this kind of recording, and enough vocal chops (if not Nina Simone level) to persuade people to listen. The angular, jagged rhythms of the compositions are the first thing one notices, as well as the crystalline piano of Jamieson Trotter, the reeds of Scott Mayo, and the infinite variations that the rhythm section of Dan Lutz and Peter Buck serve up. It gets going with "Odd Bird Bop," and does not let up. Bop? Ok, bop for intellectuals.

"In the Shade" is a tune for anyone who has ever lived in a torrid zone: "it is hot, we will lie, while the sweet time drifts by." Hard to imagine an ode to climate change, but here it is. "Something Fast, Something Light" is just that, spinning off a twisting flute. "Ericolloquy" somehow brings Eric Dolphy's "Straight Up and Down" to mind, haunting in spirit, featuring another sinuous flute solo. "Ashes, Ashes" ostensibly dates back to the Great Plague and London Fire of 1665 but is based on a much more recently contrived catastrophe, the California wildfires. It is, to say the least, evocative, swinging into 4/4 as Wolfe questions "Can we get away?" "Lover's Leap" is a postmodern "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," unexpected and a little more representative of our current condition. "With a leaping fearless boy, perhaps my heart can mend." Good luck, one thinks, as the tune ends on an all too certain tonic. "The Wave" is a metaphor for life, or drowning, or both. A "Samba Batucada" is Afro-Brazilian, and very fast paced, and an upbeat counter to "Did I Ever," which is about a busted love affair, and poignant. "Ordinary Man" is what it is, to use a contemporary refrain. Listen, please. There is more to this meditative recording, reflective without being attitudinizing. Whether its style, outlook or introspective turn is for you is a matter of personal preference. Whether or not, it is a sensitively realized and provocative work of art.

Ada Bird Wolfe: Odd Bird
By Ron Weinstock | Jazz-Blues Report

Ada Bird Wolfe's "Odd Bird" is a remarkable jazz vocal album comprised of original songs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she treated her time as a job and wrote 45 songs. She has worked with pianist, composer, and arranger Jamieson

Trotter for several years, and during the lockdown, they worked on the songs through zoom. She provided the melodies and lyrics to which he added harmonies and arrangements. The two are joined on the twelve tracks by bassist Dan Lutz, drummer Peter Buck, reeds player Scott Mayo, and percussionist Joey Deleon.

Wolfe's lyrics and melodies are structured to allow her horn-like phrasing to shine. Things start with the bebop-flavored "odd Bird Bop" with trio backing. Here she sings with a subtle, conversational intimacy. Her vocal range may be relatively small, but her phrasing and timing make for some sublime performances on this album of mostly songs about love and nature. She imparts a sensual quality to "In the Shade," a duet with bassist Lutz. Mayo's flute adds spice to the delightful, briskly paced Then we have "Something Fast, Something Light" and the moody "Ericolloquy," an homage to Eric Dolphy with pianist Trotter playing some unsusual harmony to go with Lutz's fluffy solo.

Mayo is on tenor sax on "Lover's Leap," with a Monkish-tinge to the accompaniment as Wolfe wonders about the risks of love. Another sterling selection is the breezy evocation of lovers walking together on Rio's beaches, "Samba Batucada." Deleon's percolating percussion helps drive along with Mayo's heated tenor sax solo. "Did I Ever" is her heartfelt remembrance of a love affair that went wrong with Trotter's exquisite accompaniment. The one topical song is "Ordinary Man," written after George Floyd's death with Trotter's austere accompaniment complementing her poignant vocal.

These are some of the pleasures heard on this marvelous recording. "Odd Bird" contains intriguing songs that are superbly sung and backed, whose performances will linger in one's head after listening.