There must be something in the water in Portland, Oregon. First Esperanza Spalding, then Liv Warfield, followed by Excellent Gentleman, Jarrod Lawson, everybody on the city’s Bespeak Love compilation, and now a fresh-faced singer/songwriter by the name of Tahirah Asha Memory. It’s enough to make Seattle jealous.
To say that Memory’s debut, Pride, is one of the season’s must haves is an understatement for an album that is often understated in its quiet beauty and elegant offerings. While the duet with Jarrod Lawson is an impressive showing of voice and keys, it’s not even the best cut on the project (one could make an argument for the title track or “Alright”).
If “All The Time” feels timeless, as though it could have been made any decade in the last century or so, it’s because it’s that crisp, clean, and naturally executed with an eye on the music and story rather than the trends. Co-written and co-produced by Memory and Jarrod Lawson, with just a trio of piano, bass guitar, and drums to back them, the duet displays a strong pairing of matched partners, yet never grows overwrought into too showy of an affair even though both vocal powerhouses can—and do on the vamp out—go for broke and riff with the best of them. It’s passionately soulful and still highly controlled, with a clear ear for technique and technical accuracy, which is more difficult than one can imagine. It is also old school in all the ways one wistfully turns the phrase, where the subject is one of fresh love and deep friendship. Classic, just like everything else about this Tahirah Memory song.
By L. Michael Gipson
Tahirah Memory feat. Jarrod Lawson
“All This Time”
