Hennessy is a trumpeter/vocalist/composer who has taken some critical life moments and turned them into a musical journey of discovery. With her here are Kevin Breit on guitars and organ, Tania Gill on piano, Michael Herring on bass and Dave Clark on drums. All are well-known Canadian jazz musicians who also offer background vocals to Hennessy’s solos.
The music, as described in the notes, “deals with love, grief and mental health… being released between the death of (Hennessy’s) mother and the birth of her first child.” She does not have a big voice, but it is pure and clean, and defines the lyrics of each song well. There are a number of guests who expand the overall sense of movement, from the bluesy There’s One Thing to the more meditative Deeper Than the Dark Blue Sea. Breit’s guitar is a treat throughout.
Other highlights are settings for two poems by author Thomas King from his new collection. Hennessy’s tunes to Dig Up the Stories and Nothing Passes for Favour are beautiful and wrap the poems in a warm blanket; her trumpet on the former is ethereal. King is heard briefly on Nothing Passes for Favour (“all promises are bruises in good suits”).
I confess to having been a bit skeptical when I first started to play this album, but have found it increasingly endearing after many listens. It is extremely enjoyable in a package that might be considered “light” if one didn’t pay attention. ★★★★ out of five
STREAM THESE: Eclipse, Dig Up the Stories
Keith Black
Winnipeg Free Press
If you didn’t know this Canadian award winner from before, then you wouldn’t appreciate what a bag breaker and move forward this is for the trumpeter/vocalist as she emboldens her sound, expands her view and really takes on world wide eyes in the kind of expansive jazz/pop mode that would make 70’s Joni Mitchell proud. Proof that real creativity and expression is alive and well, everything about this set is one from the heart.
Volume 44/Number 356
October 23, 2020
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
Copyright 2020 Midwest Record
October 29th, 2020
Rebecca Hennessy – All the Little Things You Do
(Independent, 2020)
Rebecca Hennessy’s new record plumbs the depths of love, grief and mental health. It is released in the profound time between the recent death of her mother and the birth of her first child. The songs are personal, gripping and beautifully written and her voice is warm and comforting.
Hennessy is joined by a world-class band of musicians including Kevin Breit (guitars, mandolin, organ), Tania Gill (piano), Michael Herring (double bass), and Dave Clark (drums). All band members contribute spirited backing vocals as well. The rrecord was lovingly produced, mixed and mastered by David Travers-Smith. It is a sonically-inspiring recording that is warm, clear, balanced and engaging.
David Reed – Kingston Whig Standard
Now and then, an album arrives that not only surpasses expectations but demands a wholesale reappraisal of the artist. A case in point is All The Little Things You Do, which recasts Rebecca Hennessy from jazz trumpeter to a singer-songwriter of the first rank. Having already distinguished herself with her FOG Brass Band project, the Toronto-based artist does so as arrestingly with this latest endeavour. The subject matter addressed on the album runs the emotional gamut, seeing as how its songs crystallized in the time between the death of her mother in early 2019 and the imminent birth of her first child. The former experience is confronted directly in “It’s a Beautiful Day to Say Goodbye,” but in keeping with the uplifting tone of the album, Hennessy honours her mother’s passing through an acceptance of life’s natural transitions. A beautiful tribute infused with warmth and affection, it’s merely one of many standout moments on this special recording.
…. For now, Hennessy can draw immense satisfaction from the wondrous accomplishment that is All The Little Things You Do. Clearly a major step in her development, it’s an album that can’t be recommended too highly.
Ron Schepper – Textura
8/10
The award winning trumpeter, vocalist, composer and bandleader Rebecca Hennessy returns with an all star cast as the Canadian luminary addresses love, grief and mental health with incredible poise and much diversity.
Hennessy starts the listen with the sounds of birds before her soft, expressive singing enters the playful setting of the title track as bouncy bass and warm keys complement her soulful trumpet, and “Magnolia” follows with a gentle delivery of soaring vocals and dreamy instrumentation.
Close to the middle, “There’s Only One” moves with marching band style drumming alongside gentle brass and spirited guitar work, while “Dr Good” recruits banjo acrobatics in the shuffling pace of dance friendly sensibilities. “Dig Up The Stories”, a deep album highlight, then displays Hennessy’s sublime pipes in the stirring piano focused balladry.
Near the end, “Nothing Passes For Favour” leads with narration from Thomas King before a calm jazz landscape unfolds where Hennessy’s trumpet prowess doesn’t disappoint, and “When You Say Goodnight To Me” exits the listen with a lullaby of subdued beauty.
This is Hennessy’s first time working with producer and engineer David Travers-Smith, and Kevin Breit contributes guitars, mandolin, and organs, while Tania Gill brings piano, Michael Herring offers doubles bass, and Dave Clark sits behind the drum kit. They all contribute to vocals, too, on this flourishing and timeless jazz outing where Hennessy’s debut as a singer-songwriter impresses us immensely.
Tom Haugen – Take Effect
November 6th, 2020
Den canadiske singer-songwriter / jazztrompetist og -vokalist, Rebecca Hennessy, har med All the Little Things You Do skabt et spændende, smukt og raffineret album med originale, ukonventionelle og dog melodiske jazzballader, der alle har et lyrisk strejf / i enkelte tilfælde et element af let tilgængelig poprock over sig – samtidig med, at der i alle numrene er flere facetter, flere farver, der tilsammen skaber større dybde, end vi er vant til i poprockens verden (i hvert fald). Jeg fornemmer lidt folk, lidt roots, traditionelle træk. Men det hele blandes på en måde, der netop gør musikken ukonventionel og original. Også takket være produceren, David Travers-Smith. Åbningsnummeret, All The Things You Do, er et godt eksempel. Det afslører både, at Hennessy er en usædvanlig sanger og sangskriver, komponist og trompetist, arrangør og kapelmester. Og – for eksempel – at hun er en, der er i stand til at samle et kompetent band, der kan forløse hendes visioner i samarbejde med produceren. Selv mere åbenlyst tilgængelige numre, som det poprockede Magnolia forløses med fascinerende farveeksplosioner.
★★★★★
Ivan Rod
Nov 2nd, 2020
Ребекка Хенесси, уже одна фамилия которой должна радовать любителей известного французского коньяка, начинала свою карьеру на острове Ванкувер в Британской Колумбии, но настоящий успех пришел к ней после переезда в Торонто в 2003 году. Ребекка поет и играет на трубе, она прекрасный композитор и аранжировщик, записала уже немало альбомов. В 2018 году Toronto Arts Foundation удостоил ее награды, как восходящую звезду джаза. Есть у немало и иных престижных наград. Она объездила с концертными турами много стран и стала желанным гостем на крупнейших джазовых фестивалях. Так что очередной альбом Ребекки Хенесси под названием All the Little Things You Do, составленный полностью из ее собственных или сочиненных в соавторстве композиций, – это работа зрелого и опытного музыканта.
Leonid Auskern
All the Little Things You Do Ребекка записывала с квартетом инструменталистов и с привлечением большого числа гостей. Как мне показалось, она сегодня в большей степени вокалистка, хотя в очень колоритной композиции There’s One Thing ей удалось блеснуть и вступительным соло на трубе. Я назвал эту вещь колоритной из-за явного акцента на «корневую» музыку. Но вообще альбом очень разнообразен. Отдельные вещи близки к традиционной поп-музыке, иные – к джазу, иные – к фолку, а скажем, It’s a Beautiful Day to Say Goodbye по своему настроению живо напомнила мне репертуар Beatles. Надо упомянуть, что две композиции в альбоме – Nothing Passes for Favour и Dig Up The Stories – написаны Ребеккой на стихи известного поэта Томаса Кинга, который даже принял непосредственное участие в записи, сказав вступительное слово к Nothing Passes for Favour.
Альбом создавался в непростой период жизни Ребекки Хенесси: после смерти ее матери и перед рождением первого ребенка. Но несмотря на такие жизненные обстоятельства, в нем нет ни тени торопливости или небрежности, все здесь сделано тщательно и на весьма высоком уровне. Мне даже вспомнилась другая канадская исполнительница добившаяся мировой известности, пианистка и певица Дайана Кролл. Не вижу причин, которые помешали бы Ребекки Хенесси достичь таких же высот, тем более, что All the Little Things You Do она впервые создавала в содружестве с очень опытным продюсером Дэвидом Треверс-Смитом. Нужно только чуть-чуть удачи, все остальное у Ребекки Хенесси уже есть.