There’s a running joke within our community that time travel — going back in time, specifically — is something we never want to mess with. While not wanting to experience each previous decade’s brand of racism is justifiable, I have always been curious about the brilliance of vintage Black expression. Old scenes from a retro film, lines from a Toni Morrison novel, or even a melody from an old song spark my desire to know, more intimately, the art that laid the roots for our current cultural expression. Kandace Springs’ newest album, ”Lady in Satin,” struck that chord for me.
The vocalist and pianist (whose career was catapulted by encouragement from the iconic Prince), brings us back to 1958 in her musical tribute to the pioneering blues singer Billie Holiday. While Springs is a contemporary jazz artist, the project thrust Springs out of her comfort zone. “My safe spot is behind the piano because I feel in control,” Springs tells me. “I can lay the chords how I want, the spacing how I want. But in this case, it was all about Billie Holiday and reliving where she might’ve been at that time.”
With help from the 60-piece Portuguese Orquestra Clássica de Espinho, each track taps into Holiday’s signature grit and tenderness—serving as a balm that eases listeners in even the most turbulent of times. Springs tells me that it wasn’t her intention to emulate Holiday’s sound but instead evoke her energy. “Nobody sounds like her. She sounds like an instrument,” says Springs. Instead, she experimented with specific stylistic notes and runs unique to Holiday’s technique. “I’d go back into some of her enunciations of stuff. And then just think, ‘how did she feel when she was with the orchestra?’”
