Bringing Back Mo' Sunshine Lemonade

The jazzy lady from Chi-town demonstrated plenty of promise on her refreshing, if wildly uneven debut, Overtones and Innuendos. But, it’s her sophomore project, New Familiar, which really tells the tale. On her latest, better produced offering McClendon gets closer toward realizing what was only intimated on early, cool breeze cuts like “Joyous” and “Sunshine Lemonade.” Tip toeing into the lounge vibe of compatriots Lizz Fields and Deborah Bond, Trizonna McClendon exhibits a hand-holding innocence on a project drizzling with precious moments. With its lovely light R&B and smooth jazz forays, there is enough solid ground here to forgive the occasional over-reaches beyond what McClendon’s light vocals can carry, as on the acoustic rock of “A Song For Teena (What About You).” So, pour a glass of McClendon’s divine evening songs and enjoy the moonlight.

TAGS: Jazz, jazzy, McClendon, R&B, Trizonna