The Laura Nyro Project

Great selection of songs! A must have for your collection.

Laura Nyro was always a source of awe for me. Her songwriting was of a range and lushness and poignancy few could match. So imagine my exhilaration when I heard one of my favorite singers had taken on the Laura Nyro songbook (a match made in my own personal heaven). Mark Winkler’s last CD, Sweet Spot, got twice-a-day rotation on my player for a good six months. This one promises to dominate my playlist once again. Mr. Winkler manages to bring a freshness to standards covered so frequently that it seems a given that there wasn’t anything new to say (there was, and here’s proof). But the lesser-known cuts are so striking: every time I play them, there’s an inward shift, a new reveal, a little heartrend. The vocals are so affecting, so genuine, that Mark Winkler’s Laura Nyro Project is now my go-to for heart help. The stunning arrangements by Eli Brueggemann (really, the world would be a much better place if every CD, movie, and TV show just had a Brueggemann Budget) and the stellar playing make for depth on depth. Mark Winkler will make a Nyrophile out of anyone. Buy multiples: you’re going to want to give them away.

When artists in the 1960s and '70s began covering Laura Nyro songs, they became huge hits not only because of the songwriting (of course! Nyro remains one of history's best songwriters) but also because they pretty much kept to Nyro's arrangements of those songs. Think the Fifth Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues," "Sweet Blindness," and "Stone Soul Picnic," Blood, Sweat & Tears' "And When I Die," and Three Dog Night's "Eli's Comin'." There are just some songs (whether lyrically or just somehow magically) are not amenable to changes in their arrangements. Many (most?) of Nyro's songs are that way. That's what makes Mark Winkler's The Laura Nyro Project such a challenge for himself but especially for his listeners. Some of the songs work okay: "Stoned Soul Picnic," "Sweet Blindness," "Emmie," "Billy's Blues"--and they do so, because Winkler does drift so far away from Nyro's original arrangements as he does in other songs, most notably "Save the Country," "California Shoeshine Boys," and "Time and Love." "Save the Country" is a good lesson here. Winkler makes this deeply felt '60s anthem sound like a lounge song. The problem is that Winkler generally just seems to skim the surface of these powerfully emotional, deeply meaningful songs. I would end on a positive note: His cover of "And When I Die" is a nicely jazzy, somewhat improvised cover that does work.

Being a child of the 80’s, Laura Nyro was not someone that was present on the radio or in record stores. If not for the fact that, Stoney End is my favorite Streisand songs, I don’t know if I would have been introduce to the myth, the legend that is NYRO. Her career, tragically cut short by cancer, was more elusive than Streisand. So, any NYRO related albums, covers, or mentions, gets my attention. The wonderful contemporary jazz artist Mark Winkler has released a fantastic, fun, jazz infused tribute to Ms. Nyro. I have long admired Mr. Winkler’s work from “Tropical Night” to his last gem of an album, “Sweet Spot”, so I was eager to hear his interpretations of these classic tunes. He does not disappoint. The song selection, covering her entire career, is wonderfully remarkable. Winkler has found his muse in Nyros’ lyrics and melodies, delivering jazzy angst, purposeful drama and quizzical happiness in his interpretation. “He’s a Runner” is a great example, as is “Billy’s Blue”. The band is great too. They blend well and have an infectious quality as you listen. This album features extended solo sections for these great jazz musicians to shine. I believe”The Laura Nyro Project” will put Mark Winkler back on top of the Jazz charts—where he belongs!! I highly recommend it, buy it now. B. Robert Fox – Washington DC.