Beaky - Speak Beak

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Album Details: Speak Beak

Release Date:: 01/01/2004
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From AMG Reviews

It's been said that familiarity breeds contempt, but in the case of Chicagobased jazz vocalist Beaky Johnston, it doesn't breed contempt but rather, a combination of enjoyment and frustration. Enjoyment because she's a charming, likable singer with an appealing sense of swing, attractive phrasing and a healthy appreciation of the 40s and 50s output of Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Anita Day (among others). Frustration because on her debut album, Speak Beak, she plays it much too safe in her choice of material. Speak Beak is one of those jazz vocal albums that favors an allwarhorsesallthetime policy; from "The Man I Love" to "But Not For Me" to "Skylark"from "Angel Eyes" to "A Foggy Day"everything on this 2004 release is a warhorse that has long since been beaten to death. No one is saying that Johnston is obligated to reinvent the jazz wheel or avoid standards altogetherand if she would rather leave the more abstract, avantgarde singing to Ann Dyer and Kitty Brazelton, that's fine. But instead of embracing warhorses exclusively, how about surprising us with some lesser known treasures? From Duke Ellington to Billy Joel to Ivan Lins to Stephen Sondheim, great composers have provided countless gems that haven't become warhorsesgems that would work well for a romantic jazz vocalist like Johnston. In the ultracrowded jazz vocal field, Johnston needs to do more to stand outand part of that process is finding overlooked gems and setting out to provide definitive versions (the way that Shirley Horn, for example, made "Here's to Life" her anthem or June Christy defined "Something Cool"). But despite the surplus of warhorses, Johnston is obviously good at what she doesand one can hear her potential on this tasteful, if overly conservative, debut.

- Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

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Beaky Biography

Chicago resident Regina Johnston, who goes by Beaky Johnston or simply Beaky on stage, is among the many female jazz vocalists who has been active on the Windy City jazz scene in the 90s and 2000s. Johnston is not an abstract, cerebral or avantgard...Full Beaky Biography