Heidi Martin - Gifts & Sacrifices (2023)

Martin is from Washington and started out in local clubs, receiving encouragement from drummer/vocalist Grady Tate among others. Now in New York, she works locally and plays overseas festivals according to her publicity; an earlier album received good reviews and here is its successor with some of her current associates on board.

If the names listed suggest some degree of front and centre interpretation of classic themes or clever improvisations using familiar vocal templates, then look away now. Ms Martin seems to relish vocal immersion in a sound wash compounded of keyboard overlays and trumpet filigree, with occasional interludes from Warfield and Bollenback, her voice well back in the mix and largely confined to floating, wordless incantations. In ‘Given To The Left’, she’s facilitated by Brown’s backing vocals, her own voice pitched high, the dynamic more or less unchanging as she pulls each syllable this way and next. By any definition, this is soul music not jazz. And that pretty much defines most of what goes on here; ‘My Father Left Us For The Moon’ (don’t ask) is relatively conventional with Warfield’s peachy soprano featured ahead of the synth tide. Those of a more broad-minded point of view regarding contemporary jazz song may find Gifts & Sacrifices of interest; this reviewer is not among them.