Kristine Mills: Playing with the Big Boys — Live!

Playing with the Big Boys: Kristine Mills holds her own.

Details

6 p.m. Sunday, September 28, at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk, 713-528-5999.

www.kristinemillsmusic.com

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More About

• Vocalist Kristine Mills
• Rocky White
• Paul Chester
• Paul Cezanne
• Duke Ellington

Vocalist Kristine Mills is doing something almost no one else in Houston is doing these days: singing jazz. Not watered-down jazz lite, but real, actual jazz — with nuance, improvisation, interplay between her and her musicians, and respect for the art form. Mills's new CD, Playing with the Big Boys — Live!, recorded live at Cezanne in April 2007, is filled with her fresh takes on standards including "They Can't Take That Away from Me," "How Long Has This Been Going On?" and especially "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me." She's sassy, smart and smoldering on that Duke Ellington classic; if it's not her signature song, it should be. On "One for My Baby," she's both fantastically forlorn and somehow hopeful. Accompanied by the Ken Ward Trio and guests Barry Lee Hall Jr. and Rocky White, Mills is technically flawless, and her performance seems effortless. Pianist Ward does a good job supporting Mills, while bassist David Craig is less helpful, but thankfully stays out of the way for the most part. Paul Chester's guitar adds a melancholy sound to tunes like "How Long...," and Big Boys stands as a memorial to White, a longtime drummer in the Duke Ellington Orchestra who recently died after a long illness. His brushwork, especially on "Do Nothing...," adds just the right touch, fluidly going from delicate to bold. The interplay between Mills and Hall, on trumpet and flugelhorn, makes "Bye Bye Blackbird" another bright spot. But without taking anything away from her band, Mills is clearly the star here. As well she should be.