One should immediately applaud vocalist and composer Emma Kedrick for debuting with a collection of original compositions rather than one more tired reading of “My Funny Valentine” (as fine as that would undoubtedly be). While Newcomer is the title, the interior reflects a more advanced and accomplished thinking. A native of Indianapolis, Kedrick was well-schooled at the Frost School of Music in Miami, where she received her BA in music before attending graduate school for her master’s degree on scholarship at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, Netherlands.
During that education, Kedrick accumulated connections with other up-and-coming, like-minded musicians who would make up her core band. These musicians include: pianist Conner Roher, bassist Thor Eide Johansen, drummer Anton Kot, and saxophonist Shane McCandless. New York Voices founder Peter Elderidge, whom Hedrick met at band camp, produced the recording, bringing to it his wealth of experience and taste. Kedrick’s arrangements are a treat as she scores and assigns band formats specifically for each song.
The title piece features Hedrick backed with only piano and string quartet (the strings arranged by saxophonist McCandless). It is a thoughtful rumination on emerging, both airy and dramatic. “Come On Home” features guitarist Andrew Tinch and producer Eldridge lending hit voice to the effort. The song is bursting with contemporary zeal. “Inside Your Mind” is a fun call-and-response between Hedrick and trumpeter David Sneider and trombonist Zach Mcrary and features McCandless playing alto saxophone.
“Tone Poem in Greenwich Village” and “Spring Haiku Collection” make an impressive diptych dividing the recording. “Tone Poem” captures the romance and hustle-bustle of that famed lower west side. The song awakens with a busy homage to the music made famous. “Spring Haiku Collection” takes a more introspective and impressionistic path to completion, showing Hedrick’s talent with more complex forms. Newcomer is an impressive start that begs for more.