Open
Dominique Eade Jed Wilson Open 2006
★★★★ (4 Stars) John Corbet, Downbeat
#4 Best Album of 2006 Ken Dryden, The Pulse
Top 10 CDs Jazz Journalists Association.
Top 5 CDs Jazz Brunch
★★★★★ (5 Stars) Alex Dutilh Jazzman (France)
★★★★★ (5 Stars) All Music Guide
Best of the Year in Jazz The Boston Phoenix
Best of the Year All About Jazz
Top Ten The Coda
Best Jazz Act Nomination 2007 Boston Music Awards
"Dominique Eade's shows last year in this same room were among the best local jazz performances of 2005. Eade's singing was marvelous, whether singing actual words or applying her voice to instrumental lines. [Jed] Wilson's piano work, skilled and subtle, made plain why a guy so young has become Eade's duo partner of choice." The Boston Globe
“Now I can’t stop playing it for friends…a sharp arrow to the heart. Help, before I play it again.” Seattle Times.
In spring of 2004, needing a pianist for a Boston gig, Dominique Eade called Jed Wilson, soon to graduate from the New England Conservatory. They'd never played together before. "That gig was a blast," Eade says. "The combination felt both playful and serious, right away. At the end of it Jed asked me about how I wrote." Jed Wilson: "I wanted to know the lyrics, the story, and what was behind them. I hate the idea of reading these tunes clinically, being separate from them, sideman on the sidelines."
No problem there: he's in the thick of it. Had to be a little daunting, to join the line of pianists Eade's worked with: Ran Blake, Stanley Cowell, Fred Hersch, Donald Brown, Bruce Barth, John Medeski, Kevin Hayes, Larry Goldings.... But Wilson has his own perspective, trusts his own taste (and touch, and creative chord voicings, and melodic sense) and Eade's ability to fend for herself (plummeting to her disarming low notes, ascending to "W.G."'s breathtaking high G's).
The duo's different perspectives fuel the chemistry: Eade knew the standards here from versions by (respectively) Helen Humes, Blossom Dearie and Nat Cole. Jed, looking in another direction, brought Leonard Cohen's "In My Secret Life," and if you wanted to spotlight Eade's gifts, as a musician who's never sounded more in command of her glorious instrument, or as an interpreter who brings out the drama in a lyric without over-reaching, you could hardly do better
(From the liner notes by Kevin Whitehead / NPR's Fresh Air)
Released 2006
Home ( J. Clarkson, H. Clarkson, Van Steeden) 4:55
Open Letter (Eade) 5:12
You Fascinate Me So (Leigh,Coleman) 4:55
Go Gently To The Water (Eade) 4:16
Series Of One (Eade) 2:26
In My Secret Life (Cohen, Robinson) 5:01
What's The Use (Eade) 4:02
W.G. (Eade) 4:23
Never Let Me Go (Livingston, Evans) 4:19
CT Bridge (Eade) 2:14
The Last Bus Home (Eade) 3:42
Dominique Eade voice
Jed Wilson piano
Recording dates July 2004 - March 2005 at Wellspring Sound by Eric Kilburn, Acton, MA. Assistants: Stefan Colson, Nick Gallant. Series Of One recorded at Sean Swinney’s Studio, NYC, September 4, 2004. Mixed at Wellspring Sound by Jim Anderson, assisted by Nick Gallant. Mastered at ArtDigital by Alan Silverman. Design by David Greenberg [product]. Photos by Frank Vriale. Additional photography by Mia Greenberg.
“…class and style, with a rare depth of talent, subtlety, and panache, with a straightforward honesty of delivery, glowing intimacy and warmth. With a lot of talent out there in the female vocalist field, this one stands out for its honesty, intelligence and spare, unalloyed beauty.” All About Jazz.
“…that voice remains a formidable instrument –one of the best going today…It is artistry of the highest order. It is magic. North County Times
“Dominique Eade has another kind of magic. There’s always a touch of mystery to her silken renderings –at once luxuriant and spare. The liquid sense of time and phrasing are entirely organic and arise from the song itself. Eade has as good a sense of self-editing as any jazz singer extant. The resources she holds in reserve—waiting for just the ring moment —make for a delicious undercurrent of tension.” L.A. City
“The chemistry that is generated between Eade and Wilson is phenomenal and weaves a creative duality of purpose.” Jus’ Jazz
“Besides Eade’s exceptional singing abilities, she is a first-class composer/lyricist.” Jazz Times
“…both engaging and inscrutable in its defiance of simple stylistic comparisons.” Moment’s Notice
“The talent of the singer finds its transcendence. One thinks of Sarah Vaughan for agility, precision and grace, of Patricia Barber for songwriting talent…Grand moment.”Jazzman, Le Journal de Tous les Jazz.
“I was so taken with her performance, with Jed Wilson on piano, that I bought a second copy of her new disc, Open.” Fanfare Magazine
“…a marvelously individual singer-songwriter. She inhabits the material and delivers it unmediated by artiface. It’s an illusion, but a persuasive one. And Wilson is superb.” The Irish Times
