Kate Kortum: Wild Woman

Kate Kortum is only in her early 20s and yet her voice reminds me of the great late Lena Horne, particularly her reinterpretation of “Love Me or Leave Me,” in which she sings at double time and swings like hell too. I just discovered her sophomore release, Wild Woman, and I am digging it. The album kicks off with the Cuban-flavor intro, in which Kortum welcomes listeners into the favorite corner of her mind: “The sweet and inviting sound of my voice / The sweet solitary thoughts of my mind.”

On “Lucky to Be Me,” Kortum flips the scripts on Tony Bennett and Bill Evans’ ballad. She swings hard and I love the way she sings the bridge, “I am simply thunderstruck / At this change in my luck / Knew at once I wanted you / Never dreamed you’d want me too.” With “I Feel Pretty,” she turns the “West Side Story” tune into a swing number and you can feel the sarcasm in her singing: “I feel charming / Oh, so charming / It’s alarming how charming I feel / And so pretty / That I hardly can believe I’m real.”

When not giving a new twist to old standards, she sings her own songs. “Little Lullaby Lucy” is a hypnotic piece, particularly with the dope-ass double bass tone and her sensational scatting skills. “Obsession” is another original, in which she is backed by a lust orchestra. It’s such a splendid bluesy broadway piece.

Wild Woman is a lovely jazz-singing album to be enjoyed at this time of the year. I am dealing with so much stress recently and I just can’t wait to escape to the snowy mountains to ski, ride, and listen to jazz.