San Jose singer Amy D. is branching with her new album.
Jazz artist adds a crisp, cool R&B feel to ‘Like You’
NOTE >> Amy D.’s local concerts have been canceled but see our recommended videos and recordings at far right.
San Jose vocalist and songwriter Amy D. has been nurtured by some of the South Bay’s finest jazz artists. The ability to tease apart a melody and improvise on a phrase is woven into her musical DNA. But with the release of her sleekly grooving solo debut CD “Like You” on the women-centric Los Angeles label Unspeakable, she’s taking another step toward her creative independence with a crisp and cool R&Blaced sound. “This represents a moment where I am becoming less and less concerned about what style I’m doing,” says D., who is also known as Amy Dabalos. “I’m coming from singing jazz, loving that art form and being inspired by improvisation, and now I’ve got this project that doesn’t fit in any particular box. I’m trying to find as much growth outside my comfort zone, something I think is necessary as an artist.” Part of what makes her such an engaging performer is her ability to lead and respond to her bandmates in the moment. She’s been at the center of a cadre of young South Bay players like keyboardist Bennett Roth-Newell, bassist Frederick Paclibon and drummer Sutton Marley, who’ve anchored a weekly session at Five Points Cocktail Bar in downtown San Jose. She’s also worked closely with veteran masters like guitarist Mason Razavi and trumpeter John Worley. More than technical skills, what she’s gleaned from them is a sense of the big picture. Building a life in music is far more about developing face-to-face relationships and cultivating one’s creative spirit than making a splash on social media. “There are so many people who’ve lifted me up,” she says. “The main message is persistence and hard work. With ‘Like You’ there’s been this opportunity to work with Hristo Vitchev, who’s such a mentor and champion for so many people here. Whenever I talk with him, I know there’s someone out there pushing harder than me.” A prolific San Jose composer and guitarist who performs internationally, Vitchev met D. back in the mid-aughts when he was running a jam session at Hotel De Anza. She’d come by when she was home on break from studying classical voice at Chapman University in Orange County and made a strong enough impression that he started keeping an eye on her. “I saw her develop into an arranger who had a very unique way with standards, bringing a whole different perspective into the songs,” says Vitchev, who didn’t play much with D. after she moved back to San Jose. He was busy composing, recording, releasing his original music on his label First Orbit Sounds Music. But as she increasingly started putting together her own bands to play her original songs, Vitchev was “fascinated by her voice and her original music,” he says. “The way Amy writes gives players a lot of creative freedom. You can really go in any direction. There are enough specifics to identify her sound, but there’s also a lot of space to put your own stamp on it.” They’ve started working as a duo, distilling the “Like You” arrangements created by veteran pianist-keyboardist Michael Aaberg. She’d done a few trial runs with other producers and when no one clicked she sought a recommendation from a frequent bandmate, ace trumpeter Geechi Taylor. He put her in touch with Aaberg, an Oakland-reared studio wizard who’s recorded with heavyweights in R&B, hiphop and jazz such as Lalah Hathaway, Goapele, bassist Derrick Hodge and the Coup. “I feel very lucky Mike had an opening,” she says. “I found out along the way that he’s not really keen on taking a bunch of projects, but it was the right time to explore a collaboration.” She brought her book of originals to the studio and presented them to Aaberg and credits him with a good deal of her sound’s recent evolution. The production on “Like You” is spacious and uncluttered but with a level of textural density three notches past stripped down. On just about every track he seems to finds just the right crisp and insinuating beat for her cool and understated voice. The album captures a sound she’s been working toward for several years, but still might come as a surprise to people who think of her as a jazz chanteuse focusing on Gershwin, Porter and Arlen. She’s hoping longtime fans will accompany her on the journey, and isn’t particularly worried with what people call her new music.