“No Ways Tired,” Kim Burrell’s first album since 2001, is a collection of “after-hours” worship songs designed not for the exuberant praise of Sunday morning, but the laid-back afterglow of a Sunday afternoon.
Burrell helped carve out a jazz niche within the gospel genre with her smoked-honey tone and mature arrangements. Her improvisational style, studied by vocalists of various genres, is filled with jazz phrasing and limber riffs.
On “No Ways Tired,” she uses her instrument to turn standard hymns like “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” into jazzier numbers – and gives one jazz standard, “Someone to Watch Over Me,” a gospel message after a few lyrical tweaks.
Producer Chris “Big Dog” Davis lets Burrell’s tone shine on this album, rather than her power riffs. It caters to those who like their gospel with less fire and more quiet streams.
“No Ways Tired” is an album of subtle pleasures from a woman who has nothing to prove.
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Kim Burrell
“No Ways Tired” (Shanachie)
Genre: jazz-worship
Grade: A