Press

Sharing a Creative Wavelength
Jim Traegser, North County Times, May 11th, 2006 www.turbula.net

Guitar and saxophone? Jazz, right? What if we add acoustic guitar and vocals? Folk, maybe?

That is the challenge facing Allison Scull and Victor Martin ---- just what do you call their music?

"Magical" would be a good place to start. Martin's warm tenor sax provides a surprisingly complementary foil to Scull's folky guitar and vocals.

We"ve heard that combo before, of course: Al Stewart's mid-1970s hits "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages" both featured saxophone solos, as did Gerry Rafferty"s "Baker Street."

But what makes this different is that Martin remains firmly ensconced in the jazz idiom in his playing; he's not playing R&B a la Clarence Clemons behind Bruce Springsteen ---- he's playing jazz saxophone as accompaniment to Scull"s folk guitar and singing.

And it works.

It"s not all Martin, obviously. The reason his jazz lines work so well with Scull's folk approach is that her guitar playing is lithe and complex, much more so than that of most folkies, and able to serve as foil for his sax passages.

Their second release, "Live," was recorded in front of an appreciative audience in Northern California and with the addition of percussion and bass to fill out the sound.

As with their 2002 debut, "From the Back Burner," "Live" finds the duo playing mostly original songs written by Scull with a few covers. And as with their debut, it is the original songs that provide the most memorable moments. There's nothing wrong about their covers of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" or Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado" ---- but these are songs that have been covered to death.

It's on songs like "Esperanza," or "My Room," or "Sugar Mama" that we hear the magic that is Allison and Victor, that we hear the interplay between two musicians, one folk and one jazz, who share a creative wavelength.

Allison Scull and Victor Martin perform at Beaumont's in Bird Rock at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday

There with Allison and Victor, January 7, 2006

The first time you listen to Allison Scull & Victor Martin Live you’re in for a treat. And the second time. And the third. And every time.

This CD is one of those timeless recordings that will withstand repeated playing for many, many years. Why? Because the two musicians who created it—and those musicians who’ve joined them—are just that: Musicians … skilled musicians for whom music is their life, a passion, a way of expressing themselves and not a fast road to fame and riches.

Allison Scull has a luminous, brilliant voice that ranges from earthy contralto to crystalline soprano effortlessly. In fact, all of her singing feels completely effortless, never forced, never strained.

Allison’s guitar playing is as skillful as her singing. It’s subtle and never overpowers her singing because—while Allison does play guitar—her voice is her instrument that she commands with great talent.

Although it appears Victor Martin plays the sax, he doesn’t really. He paints colorful soundscapes with it … using a few, clear brush strokes to create his musical images, not the muddied, frenetic onslaught of noise all too often associated with the saxophone.

The blending of Allison and Victor’s voices when they sing in duet is magical. Victor usually remains in the background for his vocals, his resonant voice providing true counterpoint (learned through years of jazz musicianship) for Allison’s lead.

But when Victor takes the vocal lead as on Bob Marley’s Waiting in Vain, he does so with authority and command … and with a phrasing that’s been uniquely shaped by his years of playing jazz saxophone.

Intimacy. That’s what is so compelling about this CD. Allison and Victor make you feel as if they’re singing just to you. But in spite of the quiet, reserved approach these two outstanding musicians take, the music never slips into becoming background music. There’s an urgency about the compositions and arrangements that captures the listener’s attention.

The play list features a near even blend of Allison’s original compositions and covers arranged by Victor. But the covers bring new sensibility and power, so you feel as if you’re hearing them for the first time.

But if you’re trying to pin a genre onto this CD … good luck.
There is a distinct Latin flavor, but the CD takes inspiration from all over the world. My Room vibrates with a definite Middle Eastern essence. And Allison’s rendition of Autumn Leaves makes you feel like you’re sitting in a dusky, smoky French cabaret, while Corcovado will whisk you to the nightclubs of Rio.

Jazz? Yes, some of the CD is jazz. Folk? Indeed, it’s folk as well. And it’s Latin, reggae, pop, and so much more.

But it isn’t like one song is folk and the next jazz. Every song combines elements of different genres seamlessly into a genre that’s uniquely Allison and Victor.

A CD of this quality comes about only from the effort of many people. Allison and Victor are joined by Bill Vallaire on bass, Joe Furnari on congas, and Vic’s longtime partner Rick Garrison on guitar for Corcovado and Autumn Leaves.

Ron Davis recorded the CD live at Rare Images in Mount Shasta, California. He also mixed and mastered the CD at A Wing and a Prayer Productions in Central Point, Oregon. Tyler Davis was assistant sound engineer.

The only problem with the CD is that it’s a live album … and I wasn’t able to be there to experience the excitement of the recording session in person. However, there is magic in this CD, a magic that makes you feel like you are there with Allison and Victor.

Will Newman

Area Musicians Offer Rich Releases

Mount Shasta singer-songwriters Allison Scull and Victor Martin have been finding a blend of laid-back folk and jazz for years in the north state. They captured an inspired evening of their work in this new CD recorded at Rare Images Gallery in Mount Shasta.

Five of the nine tunes on the album are written by Scull, whose warm, sincere voice intertwines with Martin’s clear, tasty saxophone leads. Martin also shows his vocal prowess on somber-sweet version of Bob Marley’s "Waiting in Vain." Another highlight is the duo’s cover of Cyndi Lauper’s "Time After Time."

Of Scull’s songs, driving "My Room" soars for nearly seven minutes to become perhaps the CD’s strongest track. It’s followed by "Sugar Mama," a fun tune that reveals Scull and Martin’s happy banter with their audience.

Bassist Bill Vallaire, conga player Joe Furnari and guitarist Rick Garrett assist on the performance.

The record is an excellent grab for those who have enjoyed Scull and Martin’s live shows.

CD Review: From the Back Burner

CD and Artist Review

One listen to her debut CD, "Allison St." and you'll come to understand why. The songs on "Allison St." were written during an eight year span beginning in 1990 and recorded in Ashland, Oregon in 1998. "Allison St.", named after an actual street in Ashland where Scull went to college, is comprised of 10 songs-and are absolute gems. By combining different instruments (bouzooki, dhotar, congas, ragtime banjo, and saxophone) Scull has built a bridge between traditional and acoustic music, light rock and jazz. The results are truly startling. The music, skillfully guided by Scull's deft and delicate voice, calls to mind the young Mary Travers.

When Victor Martin began playing music as a youngster, he originally passed up the saxophone "because it had too many keys." He chose the trumpet instead (it has only three keys), but soon he found himself unable to play it. Discouraged, intent on giving up the study of music altogether, Victor was handed a saxophone by his mother who demanded he stay in the school band. Thirty years later, Martin has become one of the accomplished horn players in Northern California.

Martin is featured on "Allison St. " and has been playing with Scull for almost 3 years. Tall and muscular, he blends the physical stature of King Curtis with the range of the late, great session man Steve Douglas.

Aside from playing with Scull, Martin contributed regularly to the Mount Shasta R&B band "Sound Advice." He also played alongside Grammy award winning saxophonist Joe Henderson at the Sacramento River Jazz Festival in 1992, a concert he regards as a high-point in his career.

Trinity's Lively Arts

In Siskiyou County, the City of Dunsmuir is a place that basically grew on the side of a mountain slope near the Sacramento River because of the railroad switchyard existed. There, Allison Scull and Victor Martin found a home base from which to travel to various gigs around the North State, across the nation, and especially to come here to be a part of Trinity's lively arts.

Allison had a dream from an early age to write and perform and publish her own neo-folk songs. That dream came true when she published her first CD "Alllison St" in 1998. About that time she met Victor Martin and invited him to play backup sax for one of the songs on the album. Soon they were performing their jazzy folk blues to audiences regularly.

The first time I saw them perform was at the Straw House in Big Flat, CA on September 2, (2004). The next night they performed on the deck of Noelle's Garden's Cafe. Some of the numbers they did were from their new album "From the Back Burner." Allison wrote most of the songs and she sang and played guitar throughout. Victor's voice and sax added depth and balance to the numbers. Sometimes in the duets, their voices were so matched the effect was as one. When Allison sings in close harmony or unison with the sax, it is incredible. Dinner on the deck with live entertainment. It can't get any better.

I was privileged to have them stay over at my home, to relax and talk with them over breakfast. While Victor worked with his new sax, Allison shared with me a bit of her process of writing a song. The day before while they were setting up at the Straw House, she had a little time so took the opportunity to sit by the river with her guitar.

She started playing with a melody that they had been working on but she hadn't come up with the exact lyrics. I imagine that day, the surroundings, the quiet flow of the river, any of which could inspire her, did and she said that as she sat there playing, her thought went back to her childhood. Images came flooding through and the words and phrasing fell into place and she had a song. It's not always that easy, but if you talk to any artist, you will find out that this is often the way it happens when they do their best work. Pure inspiration.

Allison and Victor had five gigs over Labor Day weekend. Here(Trinity County), Ashland, Oregon, and the Mount Shasta Blackberry Festival. You can see more about this hardworking duo on the Internet. In search just type, Allison Scull and Victor Martin and go.