Sweet Lu Olutosin - Meet Me At The Crossroads (2017)

Lutalo “Sweet Lu” Olutosin is one of the most promising male jazz singers around town. He is far from a newcomer, having spent a long period in the military, but he displays a youthful enthusiasm in his vocals along with a mature and individual style. Based in Atlanta, he has a background in gospel music and early on was inspired by hearing Al Jarreau to pursue a career singing secular music. He has since mixed together aspects of jazz, r&b and such musical role models as Oscar Brown Jr. and Eddie Jefferson to form his own style.
Meet Me At The Crossroads, Sweet Lu Olutosin’s third CD as a leader, features him in prime form mostly singing his own originals. He is joined on the diverse set by pianist Tyrone Jackson, bassist Kevin Smith, and drummer Henry Conerway III with occasional contributions by tenor-saxophonist Mace Hibbard, trumpeter Lester Walker and background singer Crystal Monet. The great Donald Brown (an alumnus of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers) is the producer and also guests on piano on some selections.
Meet Me At The Crossroads begins with Kevin Mahogany’s “Still Swingin’” which pays tribute to swinging jazz both in the lyrics and in Sweet Lu’s colorful scat-singing. “Love You More Than You Ever Know” puts the focus on Olutosin’s powerful voice and ability to caress a soulful piece. His “How They Do That,” is about finding one’s purpose in life and staying focused on it despite the obstacles, is catchy and funky. “Sister Sadie’s Blues,” featuring Sweet Lu’s lyrics to Billy Strayhorn’s “Intimacy Of The Blues,” is boppish and bluesy with fine solos from Hibbard and bassist Smith.
“Skin Game (Granny Said It),” is a call for racial understanding based on the advice given to the singer by his grandmother years ago. “Dancea Swing A Nova” has the feel of a classic bossa nova and even a sly hint of “The Girl From Ipanema” during the keyboard solo. The assertive love song “You’ll Never Find” and the singer’s modern jazz original “Tunji Baby” (which discusses the dilemma of how to approach a woman who is above one’s class) precede the closer, “Don’t Forget To Remember,” which features his inventive lyrics to Joe Henderson’s “Recorda Me.”
Throughout Meet Me At The Crossroads, Sweet Lu Olutosin provides warm vocals, versatility and subtle creativity. His latest release is well worth exploring and savoring.