Joyce Spencer – Sweet Dreams

Joyce Spencer
Sweet Dreams
HIM Records (2010)
www.HIMRP.com

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Joyce Spencer has sax appeal.

Undaunted by the insufficient music training available in the small town where she grew up, Spencer learned clarinet, flute, and tenor and alto sax, and emerged with a degree from McNeese State University in instrumental music education. Roughly twenty years later, Spencer recorded her first solo album, Sweet Dreams.

On Sweet Dreams, the sacred/gospel jazz saxophonist and flutist from Texas puts heart and soul into the mouthpiece. Throughout the project, she plays with fire and passion, at turns punchy (“Keep It Simple”), keening (“Sweet Dreams”), snarly (“Lion’s Den”) and sweetly lyrical (“Your Voice”).

Spencer sets her sax aside to sing on a few tracks, too, most notably “You Touched My Life (The Family Song),” on which she sees God in the memories of, and connections with, family and other loved ones. For “Thank You,” which concludes the album and is arguably its finest selection, Spencer offers a simple but memorable melody to accompany her prayer of simple gratitude for blessings received.

Her vocals aren’t as commanding on “Fall Afresh,” though this composition – she wrote all the material for the album – has loads of potential in its fine melody and traditional evocation of water/rain as a source for healing.

The musicians accompanying Spencer on Sweet Dreams are sufficiently skilled, especially the pianist H. Tyrone Walls, and the lady even plays the flute, but it’s her sax that captivates.

While the CD is grounded in smooth gospel jazz, Spencer’s aggressive and imaginative style will also please classic jazz enthusiasts.

Three of Five Stars

Pick: “Thank You”