There’s so much fresh talent across the idiomatic board in Nashville these days that folks sometimes miss performers operating outside the pop/rock universe. But exciting, versatile vocalist Kandace Springs is generating so much buzz courtesy of her new Blue Note debut Soul Eyes that she’s garnering widespread praise and considerable attention outside the usual arenas of specialty radio, jazz clubs and festivals.
Springs, appearing Monday evening at City Winery, has long been surrounded and immersed in music. She’s the daughter of veteran Music City R&B/soul stylist Scat Springs, a popular fixture both locally and across the region, and the family’s musical involvement also includes her aunts, uncles, a grandfather and even two great-grandfathers. Her 2014 self-titled four-song EP was produced by Pop & Oak, whose past clients include Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. Springs appeared on Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live! while burning up the stage at festivals like Bonnaroo and Afropunk. But despite her alluring delivery and impressive range — ideal for the rhythmic tapestries urban and contemporary R&B producers prefer — Springs’ natural affinity for jazz, especially her flair with melodic interpretation and storytelling, was what resonated when Prince heard her version of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me.” He not only invited her to perform with him at Paisley Park for the 30th anniversary of Purple Rain, but urged her to follow her stylistic heart, rather than take the safe, more commercially viable route.
The results can be heard throughout Soul Eyes, produced by Larry Klein. His forte is helping artists with a jazz foundation strike a balance between adhering to the tradition’s mandates and finding ways to reach wider audiences, as he previously demonstrated on sessions featuring Lizz Wright, Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell, among others. This approach is evident most notably on the title track, which was written by pianist Mal Waldron. Waldron was formerly Billie Holiday’s pianist, and the tune was among her signature songs. Springs’ version inserts a few more soulful flourishes while expertly navigating the original’s prominent, lengthy note turns and crisp phrases. With Terence Blanchard’s crackling trumpet soaring around and behind her inflections and expressive presentation, it’s a showcase for how an ace contemporary performer can update a classic tune without losing its flavor or altering its lyrical intent. The evocative ballad “Rain Falling,” one of Springs’ own compositions, displays both her writing style and ease at guiding a song through differing emotional stages, while her cover of War’s “The World Is a Ghetto” reaffirms her ability to excel in a non-jazz framework. Another of Springs’ pieces, “Too Good to Last,” has more of a blues edge in its storyline, its themes nicely reinforced by Blanchard’s brilliant trumpet accompaniment.
With guitarists Dean Parks and Jesse Harris, organist Pete Kuzma and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta joining Blanchard in the strong musical corps behind her, Springs demonstrates on Soul Eyes she’s a most worthy addition to the ranks of topflight contemporary jazz vocalists, singers who adore and treasure the burden of mastering the Great American Songbook, but also have plenty to say to and for 21st century audiences.
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