Naama - "Waltz For Debbie"
(From Where Flamingos Fly, La Reserve, 2023)
"Waltz for Debby" continues her singles rollout for Naama’s LP Where Flamingos Fly (scheduled for full release on July 28, 2023). The Israeli/American singer kicked off promoting her new recording with the single release "Oh! You Crazy Moon" last month. Naama describes this music as reflecting a more vulnerable, mature side of herself, all within the magical sound environs of her longtime band. “This project is more about me and where I was emotionally while recording it. It’s a true self-portrait, a grown-up album.”
For her previous recording, If I Knew Then (Sassy's Back In Town, 2022) Naama employed the piano trio of pianist Ben Paterson, bassist Neal Miner, and drummer Evan Sherman. For this recording, she has changed her instrumentation by using her long-time band, replacing the drums with a vibraphone played by Steve Nelson plus pianist Bruce Barth and bassist Dave Baron. The change is one of texture, the vibraphone being more of a harmony/melody percussive instrument tending to soften the performances.
On Bill Evans' "Waltz For Debbie" Naama takes advantage of the lighter accompaniment of the vibraphone to provide her the vocal space to explore the lyrics (written by Gene Lees). The singer offers her insight into the song and her performance:
“I love songs with a good story,” Naama shares. “This is a song about innocence and childhood. I performed this song for the first time right as Russia invaded Ukraine. I couldn’t stop thinking of the children and how their little bubble of a world had burst prematurely. Growing up in Israel, a state in constant conflict, I’ve seen kids having to face realities you’d hope they wouldn’t have to. "Waltz for Debby" is a reminder to us adults to take a moment to return to a childlike careless world, even if just for the couple of minutes this song plays for.”
In the brief space of 2:07, Naama summons from her impressive emotional palette the necessary elements for conveying the complex environment of uncertainty in the face of sorely-needed normality. Her voice, cushioned with Nelson's lightly applied vibraphone, captures the delicately suspended and fragile memory of childhood. Where Flamingos Fly is shaping up to be a considerably different, more fully evolved recording than If I Knew Then or her debut, Dearly Beloved (Cellar Music, 2020). A "...grown-up album," indeed!