Jaana Narsipur - The Re-Collection
(In the Pocket Jazz, 2026)
Having been born in Kerala, India, and raised in the United States, singer Jaana Narsipur's eclectic sonic palette draws from rigorous classical training and street-level jazz immersion. She holds a bachelor's degree in Classical Voice and Music History from Northwestern University—where she first began making her mark by sitting in on the vibrant Chicago jazz scene—and later earned her Master’s in Jazz Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. A highly respected fixture in the NYC and Hudson Valley live circuits, she has studied under avant-garde vocal virtuoso JD Walter and the legendary NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan. This considerable experience, coupled with over fifteen years spent as a dedicated music educator, shapes her as a performer of immense technical control, stylistic fluidity, and remarkable emotional depth. This is grown-up music for grownups. Generation-X grownups, that is.
On her debut recording, Better Than Anything (Self Produced, 2022) was laser-focussed on the bebop and hard bop sounds of Bob Dorough and Horace Silver. The singer delivers eight original arrangements of Dorough and Silver compositions, using a bright bit of genius. Narsipur maxes out the funk on “The Jody Grind” while installing the “hard” in hard bop. Her nods to Dorough include a lush, Lady in Satin, treatment of “But for Now” and a nosebleed swinging “Devil May Care.” An Adderal-attention span does this singer not have.
With her second studio offering, The Re-Collection, Narsipur offers listeners something far more substantial than a standard covers project. Artfully fusing a deep-seated affection for her ‘80s and ‘90s youth with sophisticated contemporary jazz sensibilities, Narsipur delivers a bold, narrative-driven reimagining of iconic 1980s British pop and art-rock gems. Rather than simply imposing a jazz filter onto the familiar hooks of Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and Tears for Fears, Narsipur and her music director, pianist Nicki Adams, meticulously deconstruct these formative tracks. With devastatingly clever musical imaginations, the two reinvent these songs from tabula rasa, using circuitous horn arrangements (check out the opener, “Breakout”), cinematic string textures, and an intimate, storytelling vocal approach that beautifully bridges the past and present.
Narsipur recasts these songs in an inventive and thoughtful manner. Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” floats over a light Caribbean presentation well suited for the lyrics. Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years” distills into a smokey ballad with complex bones. The song “With or Without You” begins with a gentle, wordless ostinato that flows into its natural power and presence. The Re-Collection is a pleasant surprise among an ocean of vocal jazz offerings surrounding it. Elevate this artist and recording.
Brilliant review. Looking forward to re-listening to The Re-Collection with re-newed ears.